FROM THE BEGINNING
The 2025-26 edition of Fairfield University Men's Basketball takes the stage for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 26 for an exhibition at VCU. Opening tip-off from the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. is set for 2 p.m.

STAGS AT AN EXHIBITION
Sunday's visit to VCU is Fairfield's first public preseason exhibition game since the Stags challenged Rutgers in Piscataway prior to the 2022-23 campaign.
 
I'M YOUR CAPTAIN
Head Coach Chris Casey has selected seniors Luke Davidson and Braden Sparks and graduate student Deuce Turner as team captains for the 2025-26 season.

Davidson enters his second season as a team captain. The senior has appeared in 12 games over the last two seasons, totaling points, one rebound and one assist. Off the court, Davidson is the co-president of Fairfield's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, secretary of MAAC SAAC, and the conference's representative on the NCAA Division I SAAC. He was also recently selected as a student-athlete representative on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee.
 
Sparks is Fairfield's top returning scorer from last season, when he averaged 9.5 points per game fueled by a team-leading 47 three-pointers. He reached double figures in 15 games, including 13 times in 21 outings against MAAC opponents. Appearing in all 32 games in his first season as a Stag, Sparks also averaged 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per outing.
 
A Preseason All-MAAC Third Team selection, Turner will enter his first season with the Stags as a tri-captain. The graduate student scored 9.6 points per game in 2024-25 at UC Santa Barbara, where he logged nearly 20 minutes per game as the sixth man for the Gauchos. He spent the two prior seasons at the University of San Diego, earning 2023-24 West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year and All-WCC Second Team honors. Turner played at Bucknell in a Covid-shortened 2020-21 season and competed for one season at South Plains College. He was a Second Team All-American at South Plains, leading the Texans to a Region 5 Championship and the Sweet Sixteen of the NJCAA National Tournament

In his career, Turner has scored 1,099 points (10.4 ppg) at the Division I level and 1,629 points (12.1 ppg) in 135 total collegiate games.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
Nine members of Fairfield's 18-man roster were also a part of the 2024-25 Stags. The Stags welcome back 34.9% of their scoring, 37.9% of their rebounding and 34.9% of the total minutes played by last season's club.

Five current Stags were also on the 2023-24 team that reached the MAAC Championship Game (Curtis, Davidson, Ganton, Rogan, Smith). Michael Rogan is the lone four-year member of the Stags dating back to his redshirt season as a true freshman in 2022-23.

NEW KIDS IN TOWN
The other half of Fairfield's roster is comprised of nine newcomers. Five of the new Stags are true freshmen (Rodriguez, Williams, Rawlins, Benjamin, Wucherpfennig), three played in the Division I ranks last season (Turner, Estevez, Zan), and Eric Mejia comes to Fairfield after an All-America season on the JUCO circuit.

REVVED UP LIKE A DEUCE
Graduate student tri-captain Deuce Turner was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team. Turner scored 9.6 points per game in 2024-25 at UC Santa Barbara, where he logged nearly 20 minutes per game as the sixth man for the Gauchos. He spent the two prior seasons at the University of San Diego, earning 2023-24 West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year and All-WCC Second Team honors. Turner played at Bucknell in a Covid-shortened 2020-21 season and competed for one season at South Plains College. He was a Second Team All-American at South Plains, leading the Texans to a Region 5 Championship and the Sweet Sixteen of the NJCAA National Tournament.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
In a partnership with Team IMPACT, Fairfield Men's Basketball has officially signed Jahson ("Juju") to be a part of the Stags family. The signing was held in the Walsh Athletic Center following a team practice on Sunday, Oct. 5. Juju, his parents, and his sister Jaiana will join the Stags at games, practices, and other team events.
 
Team IMPACT, a national non-profit organization, has developed a unique multiyear program that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience.

IT'S JUST A HOUSE PARTY
Fairfield is partnering with NIVEA MEN to present the Mahoney Classic – the first-ever "Multi-Team Event" (MTE) at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The event will be held from Nov. 14-16, 2025 and will feature the first home games of the season for the Stags against regional foes Stonehill College and Loyola University Maryland.
 
The Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN will mark the home debut for the 2025-26 Stags, hosting Stonehill on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. and Loyola on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. The two visiting teams will go head-to-head at Mahoney Arena on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.

HOME SWEET HOME
Fairfield's two games in the Mahoney Classic will be the first of 16 home contests on the 2024-25 slate. The Stags have not played 16 home games in the regular season since the 1993-94 campaign.

THE VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY RAMS
VCU ushers in a new era in 2025-26 as Phil Martelli Jr. takes the helm after two seasons leading the program at Bryant. The Rams will look to replace all five starters from former head man Ryan Odom's squad that won the Coastal Athletic Association to advance to the NCAA postseason.

VCU is playing its second exhibition of the season, falling at Villanova, 70-51, this past Sunday. The Rams were paced by 12 points from Oregon transfer Jadrian Tracey and 10 by Tyrell Ward, most recently of LSU. Both new Rams were named All-Atlantic 10 Second Team alongside teammate Barry Evans. Ahmad Nowell was tabbed for the Third Team, and Brandon Jennings was selected to the All-Defensive Team.

VCU was picked first by a razor-thin margin in the A10 Preseason Poll. The Rams garnered 342 points in the poll to 341 for second-place Saint Louis. Both squads claimed 11 first-place votes.

THE LAST TIME
The Stags and Rams have met once in the regular season, a 58-54 win for the Stags in overtime on Nov. 28, 1981. Hank Foster scored 23 points, including the only tallies by either team in overtime, to power Fairfield to its first win of the season and the first for Terry O'Connor as the Stags' head coach.

The contest was played on a neutral court in Charlottesville, one day after Fairfield was knocked off by Ralph Sampson and the national powerhouse Virginia Cavaliers.

WHO'S NEXT?
Fairfield opens the 2025-26 regular season on Monday, Nov. 3 at Penn State. The Stags will also play road games at NJIT on Nov. 8 and on-campus at Seton Hall on Nov. 10 before kicking off the home schedule with the inaugural Mahoney Classic presented by NIVEA MEN from Nov. 14-16.