Men's Basketball | 10/30/2025 11:56:00 AM

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team was picked ninth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday morning.
 
West Chester placed atop the Eastern Division Poll, receiving the maximum possible first-places votes with eight. East Stroudsburg collected the sole remaining first place tally and rankings second in the preseason poll. Millersville claimed third in the poll while Shepherd and Shippensburg round out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.  
 
Bloomsburg enters the 2025-26 season under fourth-year head coach Chris Bess, who helped guide the maroon and gold to a 6-22 record and 5-16 record in conference play in 2024-25.
 
The 2025-26 Huskies are the first team comprised entirely of Bess's recruits. Among the returnees on the roster is Danny Bruce (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane), who enters his redshirt-junior season. Bruce finished third on the team in scoring last season with 234 points and averaged 8.4 points per game. The 6-foot-8 forward has shown versatility on the court while at Bloomsburg, hauling in 90 rebounds across 25 games while also shooting 34.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Sophomores Xion Nichols (Woodland, Ca./State College Area) and George Sabatini (Mountain Top, Pa./Holy Redeemer) impressed in their brief showings last season and while be joined by other returners like Camden Glass (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) and Naeem Purnell-Northern (Darby, Pa./Penn Wood).
 
Several new faces join the Huskies squad for the upcoming season, with five freshman and two transfers on the roster. Gabe Springer () comes to Bloomsburg from Lock Haven where he started 16 games and appeared in all 28 for the Bald Eagles. The forward tallied 137 points, 91 rebounds and 17 blocks.
 
The incoming class will look to improve the Huskies defensive presence on the court. "This recruiting class has some physical traits that are going to make our roster look a lot different," said Bess. "They're big, they're strong, they're athletic, they're defensive-minded and a lot of them are used to winning."
 
The Huskies open the 2025-26 season on Friday, November 14 in West Virginia as they compete in the Atlantic Region Challenge hosted by Fairmont State. Georgian Court comes to town on Wednesday, November 19 for Bloomsburg's home opener. The maroon and gold open PSAC play on Saturday, December 6 as they host California (Pa.) inside the Nelson Field House.  
 
2025-26 PSAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll (# of first-place votes in parentheses)
East 
1. West Chester (8)
2. East Stroudsburg (1)
3. Millersville
4. Shepherd
5. Shippensburg
6. Lock Haven
7. Mansfield
8. Kutztown
9. Bloomsburg
 
West
 1. Gannon (6)
2. IUP (1)
3. California (1)
4. Slippery Rock
5. Seton Hill
6. Edinboro
7. Pitt-Johnstown
8. Clarion