Guilford College

Men's Basketball 11/5/2025 2:00:00 PM Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications

Men’s Basketball Ushers In DeLoof Era, Ranked T-Seventh In ODAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Reigning ODAC Champions eying statement campaign in first season under new bench boss

FOREST, Va. – With a new bench boss at the helm for the first time in over two decades, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll selected the Guilford College men's basketball team tied for seventh ahead of the 2025-26 season, as announced by the conference offices on Wednesday.

"As a coaching staff we have been pleased with the guys understanding of what we are trying to do schematically," first-year Men's Basketball Head Coach, Jesse DeLoof said. "Our schedule will push us to improve each and every day but ultimately consistent improvements and controlling our controllables, of effort, pace, and conviction will be the focus for this program."

The coaches around the league seemed to err on the side of caution when projecting the defending ODAC Champion Quakers, and it is understandable why. While GC returns several upperclassmen from last season, just two of the eight members of their 2024-25 rotation that played in at-least 75% of their games are back this winter, among the departed being All-Region forward Nick Farrar '25. That is not to say there are not good basketball players who remain in Greensboro, quite the opposite, in fact, more so it is likely a question of how the group will mesh and adapt to Coach DeLoof's system. One question that does not need answering, is will Guilford have shooting touch thanks to senior guard Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.). The only full-time starter back in the fold, Proctor flourished in his first season in the Quakers opening five, netting 11.6 points per game while maintaining his three-point efficiency at significantly increased volume on his way to an All-ODAC Second Team honor. The ODAC's most-prolific shooter by a good margin made 67 triples, just one fewer that the league-leader, on just 154 attempts, fifth-most in the conference resulting in an ODAC-best .435 three-point percentage. Somehow, he was almost too efficient, too, as he actually fell just-short of the NCAA qualifier for three-point percentage, a statistic that he would have ranked 15^th in if he did qualify. Dawson Edwards (Durham, N.C.) is Guilford's other retained rotation player. With an energy more similar to the Energizer Bunny than a basketball player, Edwards was one of the leagues toughest on-ball defenders a year ago. More of a passive offensive player, he did record solid shooting marks of .435 from the field and .349 from range. The Quaker faithful can also expect to see a lot more of the senior collection of Rival Axselle (Mechanicsville, Va.), Kody Clayton (Cary, N.C.), and Ryan Jaworski (Cary, N.C.), in addition to juniors Enzo Geremski (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Magnus Swinger (Concord, N.C.). Clayton got the most run of that group, appearing in 21 games, albeit only an average of just over seven minutes per contest. Nonetheless, he showed great passing vision and a high-effort style that should fit well in DeLoof's scheme. Axselle could also be an impact contributor after flashing last winter with some pop plays, but lacking consistency game-to-game.

Guilford also brought in reinforcements through the transfer portal. Most-notably, Braylen Salters (Cleveland, Ohio) who follows DeLoof down after a strong freshman season in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), earning Third Team All-AMCC honors for Pitt-Bradford. He showed scoring ability with efficiency, racking up 16.0 points on .472/.406/.709 shooting, while also being among the national leaders in steals. His overall familiarity with DeLoof's system will be a big boost. Ke Edwards (Hickory, N.C.) could also play a role after transferring across the state from Methodist where he was among the nations most-efficient scorers, shooting .570 from the field on his way to 13.8 points for the Monarchs. Division-II transfer, Dimitris Olympios (Athens, Greece) and Christian Bacon (Lithia Springs, Ga.) from the JuCo ranks should also help, as could freshmen guards Tripp McMillen (Dobson, N.C.) and Reynolds Escher (Atlanta, Ga.). McMillen was last winter's North Carolina Northwest 3A/4A Conference Player of the Year after pouring in 18 points with 8.3 rebounds and 3.5 steals for the Golden Eagles while Escher shot over 50% from the field all-four years of high school at St. Francis, scoring 17 points with 7.4 boards and 5.3 assists last season.

With a tough slate to open the season, Guilford will first head north to battle Preseason No. 15 nationally ranked University of Mary Washington on Friday, November 7^th at 7:00 PM before trips to North Carolina Wesleyan and the Frankie Allen Tip-Off Tournament in Salem, Virginia. They finally come home on Saturday, November 22^nd, drawing preseason No. 3 Emory University at 2:00 PM. Their annual First Horizon Coliseum matchup with Greensboro College is on December 1^st at 7:30 PM before starting ODAC action with a conference-opening doubleheader and odac Championship rematch opposite Roanoke College here in Greensboro on December 3^rd starting at 5:30 PM.

Rk.	School (First-Place Votes)	Pts.
1.	Randolph-Macon College (11)	121 pts.
2.	Virginia Wesleyan University	104 pts.
3.	Roanoke College (1)	103 pts.
4.	Hampden-Sydney College	96 pts.
5.	University of Lynchburg	81 pts.
6.	Shenandoah University	64 pts.
T-7.	*Guilford College*	58 pts.
T-7.	Washington & Lee University	58 pts.
9.	Averett University	34 pts.
10.	Bridgewater College	33 pts.
11.	Randolph College	26 pts.
12.	Eastern Mennonite University	14 pts.