University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
New Look Golden Eagles Finish First Week of Practice
9/26/2025 3:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --Â Seventh-year head coach Jay Ladner and the Southern Miss men's basketball team finished its first week of practice on Friday at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Golden Eagles are coming off an 11-22 campaign, but Southern Miss has a new identity and a new look. Ladner has a new coaching staff alongside him and has brought in 14 new players. It's now #TheGoldenStandard.
Southern Miss officially opened the 2025-26 season on Tuesday with an early morning practice. The Golden Eagles continued that trend through the week as they took the floor Friday morning after a short film session. The 18-man roster began practice with a light stretching session and went into flow drills to get a feel for the ball. Later on, Southern Miss went through several offensive and defensive installs before ending practice with conditioning drills.
Who Built the Roster
Before the roster could come together, Ladner had to solidify his coaching staff. His first hire was associate head coach Win Case. Case brings over 30 years of coaching experience to the bench, as he was most recently at Ole Miss in a similar capacity. Before Ole Miss, Case spent a lengthy period of time at Middle Tennessee, helping the Blue Raiders capture seven conference titles and make three NCAA Tournament appearances. Middle Tennessee won 232 games during Case's decade in Murfreesboro, including six seasons with at least 24 victories. Luke Adams was then named to the staff and will handle the defense. Adams graduated from Texas Tech in 2014 after a four-year playing career with the Red Raiders. He broke into the coaching scene as a member of his father's staff at Texas Tech, led by Mark Adams.
Noah Croak was tabbed an assistant coach after spending the previous year as a head coach at Fulton City High School in Kentucky. He was previously the youngest assistant coach in Division I basketball during his time at Tarleton State. Scott Moses and Bryce Garris also joined the staff as assistant coaches. Moses was most recently at Southwest Mississippi in the same role and helped tutor current Golden Eagle Tylik Weeks to all-conference honors. Garris was a graduate assistant for Ladner during the 2019-20 season and then held a variety of roles in the basketball community before returning to Hattiesburg.
Shawn Spenard (athletic trainer), Michael Legre (graduate manager), Eli Brown (volunteer assistant), and George Brocato (volunteer assistant) were added to the staff late in the summer. Garland Wilson (director of basketball operations), Brian King (strength and conditioning), and Jeremy Tekulve (administrative assistant) are the only returners to Ladner's staff.
The '25-26 Golden Eagles
While Southern Miss ushered in 14 new players this season, four return to the Black and Gold — only three that saw game action last season. The returners include Jett Montgomery (Franklin, Tenn.), Brewer Carruth (Dixie Lake Springs, Miss.), Tegra Izay (Montreal, Canada), and Dalyn Brandon (Baltimore, Md.). Izay appeared in four games before going down with a season-ending injury in the South Dakota State game, and Brandon redshirted last season before suffering an injury in practice. Montgomery averaged 3.3 points per game last season as a freshman and drained 20 three-pointers — he is the top returning scorer for Southern Miss. Carruth appeared in 27 games and had one starting assignment. Â
The Golden Eagles added a plethora of transfers — Djahi Binet (Alcorn State), Dylan Brumfield (Hattiesburg, Miss.), Robert Cowherd (Ole Miss), Fallou Diagne (Western Kentucky), IJ Ezuma (South Plains), Israel "Izzy" Hart (Central Oklahoma), Blake Lander (Long Island), Curt Lewis (East Tennessee State), Felipe Patino (Eastern Florida State), EJ Paymon (Mississippi State), Isaac Taveras (South Plains), Chiante' Tramble (Independence), Chandler Watts (Eastern Florida State), and Tylik Weeks (Southwest Mississippi).
38 Days Away
Only 38 days remain until Southern Miss opens the season at Buffalo on Nov. 3. However, the Golden Eagles do play in a pair of exhibition games before the season opener. The first is against Houston Christian at Reed Green Coliseum on Oct. 20. The last tune-up is slated for Oct. 27 at Jackson State - they went to overtime in an exhibition game in Hattiesburg last season.
Season tickets can be purchased by going online at SouthernMiss.com/Tickets. Follow @SouthernMissMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook for the latest news regarding Southern Miss men's basketball.Â
The Golden Eagles are coming off an 11-22 campaign, but Southern Miss has a new identity and a new look. Ladner has a new coaching staff alongside him and has brought in 14 new players. It's now #TheGoldenStandard.
Southern Miss officially opened the 2025-26 season on Tuesday with an early morning practice. The Golden Eagles continued that trend through the week as they took the floor Friday morning after a short film session. The 18-man roster began practice with a light stretching session and went into flow drills to get a feel for the ball. Later on, Southern Miss went through several offensive and defensive installs before ending practice with conditioning drills.
Who Built the Roster
Before the roster could come together, Ladner had to solidify his coaching staff. His first hire was associate head coach Win Case. Case brings over 30 years of coaching experience to the bench, as he was most recently at Ole Miss in a similar capacity. Before Ole Miss, Case spent a lengthy period of time at Middle Tennessee, helping the Blue Raiders capture seven conference titles and make three NCAA Tournament appearances. Middle Tennessee won 232 games during Case's decade in Murfreesboro, including six seasons with at least 24 victories. Luke Adams was then named to the staff and will handle the defense. Adams graduated from Texas Tech in 2014 after a four-year playing career with the Red Raiders. He broke into the coaching scene as a member of his father's staff at Texas Tech, led by Mark Adams.
Noah Croak was tabbed an assistant coach after spending the previous year as a head coach at Fulton City High School in Kentucky. He was previously the youngest assistant coach in Division I basketball during his time at Tarleton State. Scott Moses and Bryce Garris also joined the staff as assistant coaches. Moses was most recently at Southwest Mississippi in the same role and helped tutor current Golden Eagle Tylik Weeks to all-conference honors. Garris was a graduate assistant for Ladner during the 2019-20 season and then held a variety of roles in the basketball community before returning to Hattiesburg.
Shawn Spenard (athletic trainer), Michael Legre (graduate manager), Eli Brown (volunteer assistant), and George Brocato (volunteer assistant) were added to the staff late in the summer. Garland Wilson (director of basketball operations), Brian King (strength and conditioning), and Jeremy Tekulve (administrative assistant) are the only returners to Ladner's staff.
The '25-26 Golden Eagles
While Southern Miss ushered in 14 new players this season, four return to the Black and Gold — only three that saw game action last season. The returners include Jett Montgomery (Franklin, Tenn.), Brewer Carruth (Dixie Lake Springs, Miss.), Tegra Izay (Montreal, Canada), and Dalyn Brandon (Baltimore, Md.). Izay appeared in four games before going down with a season-ending injury in the South Dakota State game, and Brandon redshirted last season before suffering an injury in practice. Montgomery averaged 3.3 points per game last season as a freshman and drained 20 three-pointers — he is the top returning scorer for Southern Miss. Carruth appeared in 27 games and had one starting assignment. Â
The Golden Eagles added a plethora of transfers — Djahi Binet (Alcorn State), Dylan Brumfield (Hattiesburg, Miss.), Robert Cowherd (Ole Miss), Fallou Diagne (Western Kentucky), IJ Ezuma (South Plains), Israel "Izzy" Hart (Central Oklahoma), Blake Lander (Long Island), Curt Lewis (East Tennessee State), Felipe Patino (Eastern Florida State), EJ Paymon (Mississippi State), Isaac Taveras (South Plains), Chiante' Tramble (Independence), Chandler Watts (Eastern Florida State), and Tylik Weeks (Southwest Mississippi).
38 Days Away
Only 38 days remain until Southern Miss opens the season at Buffalo on Nov. 3. However, the Golden Eagles do play in a pair of exhibition games before the season opener. The first is against Houston Christian at Reed Green Coliseum on Oct. 20. The last tune-up is slated for Oct. 27 at Jackson State - they went to overtime in an exhibition game in Hattiesburg last season.
Season tickets can be purchased by going online at SouthernMiss.com/Tickets. Follow @SouthernMissMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook for the latest news regarding Southern Miss men's basketball.Â
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