With the 2024-2025 men’s basketball regular season tipping off in less than one week, head coach Roger Powell Jr. is excited about his team – both on and off the court.
“Our staff and players formed a really strong bond early, and the summer was great for that,” Powell said. “We formed not just bonds with each other, but our players have done a great job bonding with the community as well. Our guys have mentored kids, and they light up getting to spend time with them in Gary, Hammond, Portage and Valpo. Our players really embrace the University and the community, and they’re going to be a fun group to coach and a fun group for the community to support.”
The first opportunity for the community to support the group will be on Wednesday as the Beacons host Saint Mary-of-the-Woods for a 7 p.m. exhibition game at the Athletics-Recreation Center. That will serve as a final tune-up for the regular season, which begins on Monday, Nov. 4 vs. Liberty as part of the Total Athlete Tipoff hosted by Athletes in Action in Xenia, Ohio.
Returners
Entering the second year under Powell, Valpo brings back its top three scorers from last season – senior Isaiah Stafford (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Crispus Attucks [John A. Logan / Southern Indiana]) at 16.9 ppg, sophomore Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) at 13.2 ppg and senior Darius DeAveiro (Kanata / Ottawa, Canada / Orangeville Prep) at 7.9 ppg. Stafford will be sidelined with an injury for at least the beginning of the season.
In an era where player retention is a nation-wide challenge, Valpo brought back its top players from last season.
“A big thing that we talk about in our program is that we’re transformational and not transactional,” Powell said. “That’s something that my players are really embracing. Cooper, Isaiah Stafford and Darius are guys who could have gone to other schools, but they’re not transactional either. They value being a part of our program and they love the vision that we have for them. They really want to get Valpo back to a winning program. That’s been pretty cool.”
Schwieger is the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, as he became just the fourth freshman in program history to win a league’s Freshman or Newcomer of the Year Award, joining Lubos Barton (1998-99), Bryce Drew (1994-95) and Lance Barker (1991-92). Schwieger was the fourth MVC freshman since 1992-93 to average at least 13.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game, joining three other Freshmen of the Year – Southern Illinois’ Marcus Domask (2019-20), Creighton’s Doug McDermott (2010-11) and Tulsa’s Shea Seals (1993-94).
DeAveiro, a point guard, made a significant scoring jump during his junior season, averaging 7.9 ppg overall and 9.3 ppg in league play after averaging 1.8 ppg overall and 1.4 ppg in league play as a sophomore. Sophomore Kaspar Sepp (Tartu, Estonia / Fairmont Academy) is also back after playing in 28 games and making 15 starts last season.
“Our returning players have improved,” Powell said. “Having returners who have played for you is helpful. These guys know the drills that we’re doing in practice, they know the way that we want to play and they’re teaching the new guys and helping them get comfortable in our system. It’s been pretty cool and has helped the news guys improve quickly.”
In addition to bringing back his top players, Powell retained his entire staff – assistant coaches Pat Baldwin, Matt Gordon and A.J. Moye are all back as well as Recruiting & Player Development Coach Lubos Barton, Special Assistant to the Head Coach Quinton Garrison, Assistant Player Development Coach Sean Taylor and graduate assistants Jacob Lindsey and Colin Walls.
Transfers
Over the course of the 2023-24 season, Powell was open about the fact that he would be active in the transfer portal at season’s end.
He delivered, as transfers into the program include Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (LaSalle, Quebec, Canada / Orangeville Prep [Western Michigan]), Devon Ellis (Schaumburg, Ill. / Conant [Maryland Eastern Shore]), Cooper’s twin brother Carson Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Wright State / Link Year]), Isaiah Shaw (Phoenix, Ariz. / Davidson Academy [GCU]), Louth-M Coulibaly (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada / Canada Topflight Academy [Holy Cross]) and Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian Academy [Olivet Nazarene]).
Shaw, the grandson of Homer Drew, the son of Dana Drew and the nephew of Bryce and Scott, played for a GCU team that reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last season. De La Cruz Monegro played in 63 games and made 61 starts over two seasons at Western Michigan. Ellis played in 25 games and made 23 starts last season for Maryland Eastern Shore. Coulibaly appeared in 62 games and made 11 starts over his four years at Holy Cross. Schmidt is a two-time NAIA All-American who averaged 23.9 ppg last season.
“With all of the factors that you’re facing in this college basketball environment, we had to find the right guys,” Powell said. “We found them. We’ve been really fortunate to mesh together a good variety of transfers who still embody our program. They love what playing for the Beacons means and they’re motivated to be great team players.”
Freshmen
Redshirt freshman Lucas Scroggins (Woodbridge, Va. / Hylton / Bosco Institute) spent last year preparing for the opportunity to make his collegiate debut, which is right around the corner.
“Lucas put on some weight this season,” Powell said. “He’s continued to improve, and I’m excited to get him some game experience because I believe he has so much potential, and we’re seeing more of it now as he gets closer to playing in real games.”
The Beacons have added a trio of scholarship true freshmen to the mix – All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year), Justus McNair (Joliet, Ill. / Joliet West) and Jayden Watson (Chicago Heights, Ill. / Bloom / Bosco Institute).
“Justus is from Joliet and was one of my first commits,” Powell said. “I grew up with his family, so that was one of those recruits who we had to get because we’re so connected. He’s a dynamic guard who can shoot it; I’m excited for him to have a great freshman year. All Wright came from Link, and we have a great connection there. We’ve gotten some of our best players from Link. He has the confidence, leadership and moxie that you want from your freshman guards. Jayden came to us from Bosco Institute with great length, long arms and plays hard. Those three guys have a chance to really develop and grow within our culture. Fans will have an awesome time watching them.”
Exhibition Game Preview
Valpo will take on Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in the preseason exhibition for the second consecutive year. The contest tips off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the ARC with ticket information available at tickets.valpoathletics.com. The Beacons defeated SMWC 82-71 last season. The Pomeroys are an NAIA program from Terre Haute, Ind. that plays in the River States Conference. The team is under the direction of second-year head coach Jesse McClung and will play two more times in Northwest Indiana this week, taking on Trinity Christian on Friday and IU Northwest on Saturday as part of the Redhawk Classic hosted by IU Northwest in Gary. As in years past, the exhibition game will not be streamed on ESPN+, but fans can tune into the radio broadcast featuring Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Eli Conklin (analyst) on 95.1 FM Valparaiso, ValpoAthletics.com and the TuneIn Radio App. Live stats will also be available via StatBroadcast.