CHENEY, Wash. — Hoops season is officially here. The 2023-24 EWU Men’s Basketball schedule tips off on Monday, Nov. 6 as the Eagles hit the road for a evening contest at Utah in the first of a grueling non-conference slate that will surely prepare them for Big Sky play later this year.
Head Coach David Riley‘s group looks to pick up where they left off after a highly successful 2022-23 campaign, during which they won the Big Sky Regular Season Championship and earned a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) win over Washington State on the road.
The Eagles were picked to finish 2nd and 3rd in the Big Sky Preseason Media and Coaches’ polls, respectively. The team looks to reload after the departure of 2022-23 Big Sky MVP Steele Venters and First Team All-Big Sky Angelo Allegri, among other veterans. They return a core of experienced players led by Preseason All-Conference forward Ethan Price.
Monday’s contest will be televised on Pac-12 Networks while the voice of the Eags Larry Weir returns for his 31st season on the men’s basketball radio call, broadcasting each and every game on 700 ESPN and The Varsity Network app.
2022-23 Season Review
The Eagles look to build off a sensational 2022-23 season that saw the team set new program and conference records with an 18-game winning streak starting in mid-December. The Eagles won their first 16 conference games on their way to a regular season conference championship, the 5th in EWU history. They upset Washington State on the road in the 1st round of the NIT, marking the 2nd postseason win of any kind in EWU history (the other came in the 2016 CBI) and 9th overall appearance in any postseason tournament. They lost at Oklahoma State in the second round (60-71). The midseason winning streak was the longest in the nation at the time, spanning 74 days.
The season marked the 5th time Eastern has reached 20 wins (since joining D-I).
Eastern led the Big Sky in scoring average (77.0), assists (15.4), FG% (49.1; 9th nationally), FG% against (42) and rebounding (36.2).
The Eagles earned several Big Sky Conference Awards, including Coach of the Year (David Riley), two First Team All-Conference (Steele Venters, Angelo Allegri), MVP (Venters) and an All-Conference Honorable Mention (Ethan Price).
Core Returners
The Eagles will lean on a handful of core returners from last year, notably regular starters Ethan Price and Casey Jones, in addition to key reserves Cedric Coward, Dane Erikstrup and Ellis Magnuson.
Price earned Big Sky Honorable Mention Honors after averaging 9.6 points and 4.2 rebounds, highlighted by 7 double-digit scoring performances in conference play. He shot 55.1% from the field (36.7% 3PT). Price was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year in 2021-22.
Jones was the team’s leading rebounder last season at 5.7 per game, adding 7.6 points on 49.4% shooting, punctuated by a 25-point outburst at Weber State in late February.
Coward technically came off the bench last season but the jack-of-all-trades Fresno native averaged 21.6 minutes per game, filling all corners of the stat sheet (7.3 pts, 5.6 reb, 1.8 ast, 0.6 blk, 0.8 stl). He earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors after recording the 2nd triple-double in program history in late December. After destroying D-III competition at Willamette University (Ore.) as a freshman, Coward didn’t skip a beat stepping up to the D-I ranks.
Erikstrup stands 6-foot-11 and is a threat to score from all areas of the court as he shot 35% from 3PT and 44.8% overall last season. He reached double-digits 6 times, including a team-leading 20 points in a 79-76 win at Northern Arizona in late January (6-9 FG, 3-3 3PT, 7 reb). He holds dual American & Danish passports and started for the Danish National Team at last summer’s 2025 FIBA Eurobasket Pre-Qualifiers.
Magnuson is a 5th-year veteran point guard, with 115 career games played as an Eag, good for 14th in EWU history. He has a chance at the all-time mark (138; Bogdan Bliznyuk, 2015-18). He’ll move into a tie for 13th at 116 (Brandon Moore, 2007-10). Last year, Magnuson came off the bench as a stabilizing presence, often getting the call after a string of turnovers to provide on-court leadership.
Athletic forward LaJuan Watts also returns after redshirting last year.
Departures
Eastern looks to fill the shoes of several key departures from last year’s team, including conference MVP G Steele Venters, who transferred to Gonzaga after earning his four-year degree at EWU. First Team All-Conference G Angelo Allegri graduated out and earned a tryout with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, most recently earning a spot on their G-League camp roster (Greensboro Swarm). G Tyreese Davis departed to pursue professional opportunities while reserves G Deon Stroud, F Jordan Veening, G Imhotep George, G Ty Harper also departed.
Transfer Arrivals
The Eagles will count on a handful of new faces to make an impact this season, especially in the backcourt with transfer guards Jake Kyman, Andre Mulibea and Nic McClain.
Kyman boasts elite pedigree as a transfer from Wyoming, formerly UCLA. The 5th-year senior has a microwave shot from outside, exemplified by a 21-point showcase at Washington as a true freshman with the Bruins, sinking a UCLA freshman record 7 threes.
Mulibea transferred from Salt Lake Community College and previously played at Utah Tech. Born in Tanzania and raised in Utah, he can score outside and down low, creating matchup nightmares with his versatility.
McClain is out of Daytona State College in Florida, where he earned all-conference honors. A gifted athlete and natural slasher, he shows great finish around the rim, shooting 48% from the field last season. Nic’s older brother Kevin was a standout at Belmont College, notably leading the Bruins to an NCAA Tournament win over Temple in 2019.
True Freshmen
The Eagles also welcome a talented class of true freshman to Cheney this year, including G Mason Williams, a prized recruit out of O’Dea High School in Seattle, where he was coached by Jason Kerr. He also played for the nationally-known club team Seattle Rotary. With a July 3, 2005 birthday, Willams will be one of the youngest players in the NCAA this year; 12th youngest, by the latest research (JT Rock of Iowa State is the youngest, born March 1, 2006).
Coaches are interested to see how European imports Sebastian Hartmann (Germany) and Vice Zanki (Croatia) adjust to the North American game, while big men Emmett Marquardt and Jackson Seale will likely redshirt this season.
Gauntlet Non-Conference
The Eagles are shying away from no one during the non-conference schedule this season, playing major conference opponents early and often. They’ll play five Pac-12 opponents (Utah, Stanford, WSU, USC, UW), one SEC (Ole Miss), one Big 12 (Cincinnati) and one Mountain West team (Air Force).
Eastern is a combined 18-129 all-time as a D-I program against those conferences: 0-16 vs. Big 12, 0-2 vs. SEC, 6-51 vs. Pac-12, 12-60 vs. MW. The Eags are 0-1 vs. Utah, 0-0 vs. Ole Miss, 0-0 vs. Cincinnati, 1-1 vs. Stanford, 3-16 vs. WSU, 0-1 vs. USC, 1-1 vs. Air Force and 1-16 vs. UW. They won two games vs. the Pac-12 last season (at Cal, at WSU).
Academic Excellence
Eastern Washington men’s basketball was honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award in July of 2023, marking the 11th-straight year in which the team has earned the distinction.
New Crew on the Bench
Eastern has new faces on the coaching staff this year as well, welcoming assistants Jerry Brown and Donald Brady. Brown comes to EWU by way of Denver University, where he was also an assistant. Brady jumped up to the D-I level after an excellent tenure at Bellevue College, where he reached the NWAC Championship Game twice. Both Brown and Brady will focus on the defnsive side of the ball with the Eagles. They replace outbound assistants Mark Darnall (head coach at Jessup University, Calif.) and Arturo Ormond (assistant at University of Portland). Blake Fernandez and Ben Beauchamp each moved into assistant coach titles after serving on the staff in support roles last year.
Season tickets for EWU men’s and women’s basketball are now available and start as low as $100! Tickets for basketball and all EWU Athletics events are available at goeags.com/tickets or via the EWU Athletics Ticket Office at 509-359-6059.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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