BOONE, N.C. – App State Men's Basketball is set to tip off the 2024-25 regular season with the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Monday. It will be the first meeting between the Mountaineers and RedHawks. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Monday's matchup will start season No. 105 of Mountaineer basketball in the High Country and season No. 25 in the Holmes Convocation Center. Head coach
Dustin Kerns enters his sixth season at the helm of the program after being named Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023-24 – App State's first conference coach of the year honor since Houston Fancher in 2003.
A mixture of experienced veterans and talented newcomers highlight this year's team. Headlining the roster are
CJ Huntley and
Myles Tate, who both were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt teams, and three Division I transfers in
Jalil Beaubrun (Stephen F. Austin),
Jackson Threadgill (Charlotte) and
Alonzo Dodd (Texas A&M-Commerce). Joining them is a trio of talented junior college products in
Jamil Muttilib (Kilgore College),
Dior Conners (Triton College) and
Ben Ezeagu (Hill College).
App State will look to build off its success in the Kerns era as it has posted 97 wins across his first five years as head coach, marking the winningest five-year stretch in program history. The Mountaineers have yet to post a losing record under Kerns, which is the longest stretch of .500 or better basketball since 1987-92.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. Miami (Ohio)
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Monday, Nov. 4 // 6:30 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: ESPN+ | David Jackson (PxP), John Reisterer (Color)
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 96.3 (Winston-Salem/Greensboro), 1350/96.1 (Asheville), 1250/103.9 (Marion), 790/93.7 (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters the 2024-25 season as the reigning Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion – the program's first outright conference championship since 1979. The Mountaineers will look to become the fourth Sun Belt team to repeat as regular-season champs since 2010.
The Black and Gold have turned the Holmes Convocation Center into one of the Sun Belt's toughest venues since Kerns took over the program. Not only did the Mountaineers post a perfect 15-0 record in 2023-24, but they outscored their opponents by 20 points a game in Boone. App State currently owns the nation's 10th-longest home winning streak, with its last loss at home coming Feb. 18, 2023.
In addition to Huntley and Tate, who are the only two Mountaineers who played in every game last season, App State welcomed three experienced transfers to the team in Dodd, Beaubrun and Threadgill. Each player has seen action in over 50 Division I contests, with Threadgill being the most experienced of the bunch, having played in 110 career games.
Joining the veterans are three junior college products in Conners, Muttilib and Ezeagu. All three averaged greater than 10 points a game a season ago, with Muttilib posting the highest average at 19.2 points a game, the 37th-best mark in the NJCAA. Conners has championship experience, playing in the NJCAA national championship game a season ago, while Ezeagu leads all active Mountaineers in double-doubles with eight. The roster also includes four scholarship freshmen in
Jason Clarke Jr.,
Michael Marcus Jr.,
Anthony Alston and
Andrin Njock.
Scouting the RedHawks
Miami enters this season following a 15-17 campaign and a 9-9 finish in league play, good for a sixth-place finish in the MAC
The RedHawks return two players who played in at least 30 games a season ago in Eian Elmer and Mekhi Cooper. Elmer is Miami's leading returning scorer from 2023-24, as he averaged seven points a game last year.
Head coach Travis Steele enters his third season at the helm of the RedHawks, posting his best record in his short stint with Miami last season. Before his time at Miami, Steele was the head man at Xavier, where he posted a 70-50 record in four seasons.
Series History
The meeting between the Mountaineers and RedHawks on Monday will be the first matchup between the two squads. It will also mark the first meeting between Kerns and Steele.
App State is 4-10 against current MAC opponents all time, but Kerns is 2-2 against the MAC in his career. Monday's contest marks the first installment of the MAC-SBC Challenge's second year. App State went 1-1 in the challenge in 2023-24, losing to Northern Illinois in November before besting the MAC's regular-season champion Toledo 109-104 in a thrilling double-overtime contest.
No player on the active roster has seen the floor against Miami.
Next Up
Following Monday's game, the Mountaineers will have 48 hours to prepare for the St. Andrews Knights at the Holmes Center on Wednesday. Wednesday's game will be a part of a doubleheader with the women's team, which starts its game at 5 p.m. The men will tip off approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game, and that game can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
