The Dayton Basketball team has always been around the bubble in March, but it hopes to break through this season and return to the big dance.
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: Dayton basketball.
It’s been a tough couple of years for the Dayton Flyers since the 2020 season got canceled, and that team will always go down as one of the biggest what-ifs in whether it had what it took to cut down the nets. Ever since then, Anthony Grant and co. haven’t been able to replicate a season like that, with all the buzz around college basketball.
The Flyers will have to replace much of last year’s production, with Javon Bennett, Keonte Jones, and De’Shayne Montgomery all departing, and will look to get production from many new guys brought in from the high school ranks or the transfer portal.
The team does return big man Amael L’Etang, who averaged double figures and will be the anchor down low and can stretch out the floor with his three-point shooting.
Head coach: Anthony Grant (10th season at Dayton, 19th overall)
2025-26 record: 25-12 (12-6)
2026 postseason finish: Lost to Illinois State (61-55) in the NIT quarterfinals
Notable departures:
- Javon Bennett- 15.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 34.7 3P%
- De’Shayne Montgomery- 13.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 33.5 3P%
- Keonte Jones- 7.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.5 SPG
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Cincinnati (Nov. 14)
- vs. Shriners Children’s Hospital Charleston Classic (Nov. 20-22)
- at Florida State (Dec. 5)
- at Liberty (Dec. 19)
Projected Rotation
PG: Travis Perry (6-1, 185, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.3 PPG, 1.1 APG, 1.6 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 35.3 3P% (Ole Miss)
SG: Zaide Lowery (6-5, 200, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 29.5 3P%, 11 GP (Marquette)
SF: Jaiun Simon (6-6, 220, Rs.-Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 40.0 3P%
PF: Grant Randall (6-9, 195, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.8 APG, 45.7 FG% (Quinnipiac)
C: Amael L’Etang (7-1, 235, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 49.0 FG%, 1.2 BPG
6: Jalen Haynes (6-8, 250, Gr.-Sr.)
Missed all of the 2025-2026 season with injury (Cincinnati)
2024-25 stats: 14.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 55.4 FG% (George Mason)
7: Landen Joseph (6-2, 163, So.)
2025-26 stats: 7.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 41.3 3P% (Marshall)
8: Aiden Derkack (6-6, 180, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 78 ranked recruit
9: Cody Peck (6-10, 205, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 116 ranked recruit
10: Jaron McKie (6-3, 180, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 211 ranked recruit
Dayton basketball team MVP: Amael L’Etang
Not too many teams get blessed with a dominant stretch big coming back for another season in the mid-major ranks, and the Flyers get that opportunity with Amael L’Etang back for another season. The big showcased all he could and wasn’t the top scorer, but his impact around the glass and ability to stretch the floor from deep open the floor even more for the Flyers to attack the glass off the dribble.
L’Etang had 5 double-doubles a season ago and looks for that number to only go up with a higher usage rate as long as he can stay out of foul trouble. The big had its best game of the season against Saint Louis, who was and will be the best team in the A10 again this season.
The Frenchman also had the game-winning three-pointer against the Billikens in the A10 conference tournament.
Dayton basketball make-or-break player: Zaide Lowery
Zaide Lowery only played in a handful of games before leaving the Marquette program in December, but a fresh new reset and start can be said about the guard who has all the tools to be a dynamic scorer in the A10.
The Flyers will have to replace a lot of their scoring from a season ago at the point guard spot, and a physical 6″5 guard can be just the guy to continue the production from a season ago. At times, Dayton has always been a defensive-first team under Anthony Grant, and Lowery can be the guy to get the team a bucket when it needs one late in the game, or when the team is on a drought
Key statistic: Home court advantage
The Dayton Flyers faithful have always been one of the most passionate fanbases in college basketball. Whether hosting the first four, traveling in high numbers for MTE, or taking over towns for the conference tournament, there are always a lot of red and blue in the crowd.
Just a season ago, the team went 12-3 at home in the regular season and hopes to continue that home-court dominance in this upcoming season.
UD Arena holds just over 13,000 fans, and it packs out every night, no matter how good or bad, with 94 straight home-game sellouts. These fans deserve to see the team make it back to the big dance in 2027.
Dayton Basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 3rd in A10
Projected postseason ceiling: First-round NCAA Tournament