Takayo Siddle and UNC Wilmington basketball are ready to maintain their CAA dominance heading into the 2026-2027 season
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: UNC Wilmington basketball.
For the first time in nearly a decade, UNC Wilmington was the sole winner of their conference. However, they didn’t have an NCAA Tournament to show for it. They were knocked out by the nine-seed Campbell in their first game of the CAA tournament, a shocking upset that prevented them from back-to-back tournament appearances.
Despite year after year of success, Takayo Siddle has somehow not been poached by a Power 5 school. UNC Wilmington basketball fans aren’t complaining, though, as he brings in a combination of returners and transfers capable of winning the CAA once again, and perhaps even more.
They lose three of their top four scorers and four of their five starters from last season, but do return Patrick Wessler, who’s in for a big season. They also get CJ Luster Jr. back, who missed all of last season with an injury. They scheduled a fun non-conference as well, filled with teams as good or better than them at the mid-major level.
Get your FloSports account set up, because this team will be a team you’ll be wearing in late February and March.
Head coach: Takayo Siddle (7th season at UNC Wilmington, 7th season overall)
2025-26 record: 27-7 (17-3)
2026 postseason finish: NIT second round exit
Notable departures:
- Nolan Hodge (14.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.6 APG)
- Christian May (10.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG)
- Madison Durr (10.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG)
- Noah Ross (9.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 APG)
- Greedy Williams (9.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 4.1 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- at East Carolina (Nov. 7)
- vs. Kent State (Nov. 11)
- at LIU (Nov. 18)
- Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic (St. Thomas, Princeton, Liberty)
Projected Rotation
PG: Xavier Brown (6-2, 183, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 2.7 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 3 GP (USF)
SG: CJ Luster II (6-3, 165, Sr.)
Missed 2025-26 season
2024-25 stats: 16.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 42.9 FG%, 42.1 3P%, 86.5 FT% (Stony Brook)
SF: William Kermoury (6-5, 194, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 44.6 FG%, 40.2 3P%, 71.7 FT% (Northeastern)
PF: Gavin Walsh (6-8, 225, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 9.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 43.1 FG%
C: Patrick Wessler (7-1, 250, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.6 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 59.9 FG%
6: Tahlan Pettway (6-2, 165, So.)
2025-26 stats: 8.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 43.1 FG%, 39.4 3P%, 76.2 FT% (Western Carolina)
7: Jahnathan Lamothe (6-4, 192, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.4 SPG, 39.1 FG%, 40.3 3P%
8: Treyvon Maddux (6-6, 180, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 179-ranked recruit
9: Spencer Elliott (6-10, 225, Jr.)
2025-2026 stats: 4.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.6 BPG, 47.0 FG% (Charlotte)
10: Matija Prodanovic (6-11, 230, Fr.)
Most recently played for KK Mladost VEBA in Serbia’s First Regional Basketball League
UNC Wilmington Basketball team MVP: Patrick Wessler
After two seasons of limited action at Virginia Tech, Wessler joined the UNC Wilmington basketball program last year, and boy was it the right decision. He averaged 13.6 PPG and 9.5 RPG, including a stretch in late February and early March where he averaged 11.7 RPG over a seven-game stretch. He knows his role well, not taking a single three all season while establishing position in the post and using his 7-1, 250-pound frame to set screens.
With Wessler being the only returning starter, they’ll lean on him early in the year while the other players try to figure out their roles and build chemistry. He has a serious chance at being the CAA player of the year, and you have to imagine he’ll take another step up in his game with the year in the system plus an offseason. Defensively, he averaged a block a game, but don’t be surprised if that number grows as well.
UNC Wilmington Basketball make-or-break player: CJ Luster Jr.
Luster came into last year as a preseason First Team All-CAA after making All-CAA at Stony Brook. However, he suffered an undisclosed injury in the preseason and would later announce a redshirt due to the injury. Let’s talk about the 2024-2025 season, though. He averaged 16.8 PPG while shooting 42% from three on seven attempts a game. Remember, this is against the same conference that he’ll play in this year.
With UNC Wilmington’s top 5 scoring guards all leaving this offseason, they’re looking for a leader in the backcourt. Luster can absolutely be that guy, and not only make himself succeed, but his teammates as well. There is the concern with missing an entire season, especially due to injury. Luster was also a negative defender that season, and that could cause him to get forced out of games for stretches. Trust Siddle, though, and he’ll make sure that Luster’s strengths are showcased on this team.
Stat to know: Opponent 3P%
In the modern era of basketball where teams live and die by the three, UNC Wilmington has used that to their advantage, playing terrific perimeter defense. Teams shot 29.7% from three, 6th worst in all of college basketball. That’s why Siddle has so much success, because he knows how many teams, especially at the mid-major level, focus on shooting because they don’t have the same level of athleticism as Power 5 players. By taking away the three, teams are forced to adjust, and UNC Wilmington basketball will always win the inside battle with Wessler on the floor.
UNC Wilmington Basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 2nd in CAA
Projected postseason ceiling: No tournament / NIT appearance