Owensboro, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball program and head coach Drew Cooper have released their schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season, highlighted by 17 home games for the Panther faithful to enjoy.
The Panthers will begin the campaign with an exhibition against the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky on October 22 at 6:30 PM.
Following that, Wesleyan will host an open practice on October 24 from 5-7 inside Jones Gym at the Woodward Health and Recreation Center. Season tickets already purchased will be printed and available for pickup, and all remaining seats will be on sale. Fans can also purchase tickets at any time at owensborotickets.com.
KWC will then host two non-conference games as part of the Midwest Region Crossover, facing off against Indianapolis on November 14 in their season opener before battling Missouri S&T on November 16.
"This will be the second consecutive year we will play the top seed and host of the Midwest Region from the prior year in the opening crossover," Cooper said. "It will certainly help us gauge where we will stand going into the season."
Four more non-conference games will follow, with the first three being at home before Wesleyan caps off November with a road tilt against Missouri – St. Louis on November 26.
"We had great road wins last season versus Delta State and Illinois Springfield and hope to validate those at home this year," Cooper said. "Going on the road to USML gives us an opportunity at getting a strong road win against a team that was in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Out-of-conference games can make or break a team's strength of schedule. Nobody ever knows for sure, but I think we've done well to have a strong SOS in 2025-26."
The Panthers will have six games in December. The first four will be the beginning of G-MAC action, starting with Ohio Dominican and Findlay on the road before closing with Ashland and Tiffin at home. Then, KWC will host Illinois Springfield and IU Southeast to finalize non-conference action and the final month of 2025.
Wesleyan jumps fully into conference play to start the new year. In January, the Panthers will host five games: Hillsdale on January 8, Northwood on January 10, Cedarville on January 24, Findlay on January 29, and Ohio Dominican on January 31.
February, the final month of the regular season, holds just six games total for Wesleyan, highlighted by home battles against Malone on February 12, Walsh on February 14, and the season finale versus Thomas More on February 28.
"This is such a new team," Cooper said. "We'll be thrown into the fire early and despite how that portion of the season turns out, we have the opportunity to maximize a world of potential and hopefully see that shine through in March."
The G-MAC Tournament is set to run from March 3-7 this season. The higher seeded team within each matchup will host the first round, and the highest seed remaining thereafter will host both the semifinals and championship.
The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament will begin the following weekend, taking place from March 14 – April 5.
To view the full schedule and download or print the schedule poster, click here.
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