Middle Tennessee came so, so close to the Conference USA championship game last season.
If it wasn’t for a botched possession on the final play of the game, Middle Tennessee could have tied the semifinals matchup against Jacksonville State or even won it.
Now, as is the reality at the mid-major level, coach Nick McDevitt found himself retooling the roster yet again. First-team All-CUSA member Essam Mostafa and second-team honoree Jestin Porter are no longer with the program.
However, McDevitt is taking a different approach than most of the teams in the conference. He’s largely choosing to develop his own players as opposed to looking towards the portal. Most of the projected starting five for the Blue Raiders are players who were on the roster in 2024-25. Continuity is a massive plus in a world where it’s becoming less common.
Two players will spearhead this effort: Kamari Lands and Torey Alston. Lands came to MTSU from Arizona State and immediately made an impact. His 8.1 points per game ranked fifth on the team despite missing a good chunk of the conference slate. This year, he’s expected to be the main man after being named to the All-CUSA preseason team. Alston was an all-freshman team performer with 6.2 points on 57% shooting, along with 5.3 rebounds per game.
Also expected to contribute from the returners are Chris Loofe (4.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg), Alec Oglesby (1.5 ppg) and Tre Green (5.1 ppg, 40.1% 3-PT). Five impact returners are more than a lot of teams in this conference will see this season.
However, that’s not to say that McDevitt is completely neglecting the portal. The Blue Raiders went out and got a mix of JUCO players and Division I talent.
James Dent Jr. is the prize of this group after averaging 14.2 points per game at Northern Illinois. The Huskies were not great in 2024-25, going just 6-25, but Dent was one of the bright spots. In the final game of the season against Central Michigan, he exploded for 36 points in a double-overtime win.
Sean Smith averaged 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game at Western Illinois, shooting 43.6% from the field.
The most intriguing pickup out of the portal was point guard Jahvin Carter. Carter initially committed to Penn State out of high school, but only posted 2.0 points per game in limited time at Penn State. He bet on himself and transferred out of the Power Five level in hopes of reaching the potential most projected out of high school.
The best part of this team, if it all translates, could be the lower-division transfers. Guard Marcus Whitlock Jr. was an NJCAA All-American after scoring 16 points per game at Cowley, forward Charvez Ambrose scored 7.2 points per contest at Walters State, and Savon Wykle tallied 11.7 points per game at Missouri-Saint Louis.
It should be another exciting year for McDevitt and the Blue Raiders. Ranked No. 159 in the preseason KenPom rankings, the Blue Raiders placed fourth in the conference in the media poll.
