Men's Basketball 10/21/2026 11:00:00 AM Matthew Minton

Men’s Basketball Polled Fourth by MAC Commonwealth Coaches; Lions to Open against Dutchmen at Home

The Lions will begin a new era under Head Coach Matt Chalupa.

READING, Pa. – The Middle Atlantic Conference released their annual MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll with the Lions coming in at the number four spot. Hood would go on to be the top polled team receiving eight of nine first place votes.

Head Coach Matt Chalupa will embark on his first season as the team's head coach after serving as the program's lead assistant for the previous eight seasons. Longtime assistant Casey Ayers '16 will be back with Chalupa on the sidelines. The Lions are coming off a 16-win season that included a program best 12 game win streak which catapulted Albright into the conference tournament for the second straight season.

The team will be welcoming 12 new players this season: Semaj Robinson, Justus Stanton, Isaiah Fowler, Kaden Brown, Dominic Awahmukalah, Nick DeGrado, Josh Boruch, Marcel Ramirez, Emmanuel Chukwurah, Dawit Abraham, O'Malley King, and Joe Bueno-Blyden.

Additional new faces include Assistant Coaches Ben Ruemenapp and Jeremiah Stanton '26. Ruemenapp joins the Albright staff following a pair of seasons at Division II's Goldy Beacom College while Stanton was a four-year player for the Lions and ranks fifth all time in program assists (336) along with being named an All-Conference Honorable Mention last season.

The Lions' season will begin at home on Saturday (11/7) against the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen at 6:00 pm before traveling to play Penn State Berks the following Wednesday (11/11) for their first road game.

Conference play will begin early this season with the Lions traveling to take on Eastern (11/24) before hosting their first MAC Commonwealth game against York (12/2).

The annual Double Tree Holiday Tournament will take place between Tuesday (12/29) and Wednesday (12/30) featuring the Lions along with Mount Aloysius, Arcadia, and Salisbury.

Saturday (1/23) against Neumann will serve as the alumni game with Senior Day being held prior to the team's last home game against Widener (2/13).

"I'm really excited for our guys this year. They have been working their tails off in the preseason and are eager to show what they can do. We have a lot of guys in new roles, so there will be a feeling-out period early. But we just want to keep getting better every day with the goal of peaking by the time conference play starts. We have a great group of guys that are very bought in to playing hard and unselfishly, so I'm optimistic about our growth throughout the entire year." Said Coach Matt Chalupa.

Key returners for the Lions include four-year seniors Miles Smith, Joey Callahan, and Akhir Keys. Callahan and Keys will look to step into roles as top offensive options while Smith has proven himself to be a versatile guard and has logged over 800 minutes for the Lions across 61 games.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Joey Callahan: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#4 Akhir Keys: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#3 Miles Smith: G; 5' 11"; Senior

#10 Justus Stanton: G; 5' 10"; First Year

#22 Joe Bueno-Blyden: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#12 O'Malley King: F; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#0 Semaj Robinson: G; 5' 11"; First Year

#32 Nick DeGrado: G; 5' 10"; First Year

#15 Kaden Brown: G; 5' 11"; First Year

#34 Marcel Ramirez: G; 6' 1"; First Year

Players Mentioned

#2 Joey Callahan
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#4 Akhir Keys
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#3 Miles Smith
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

#10 Justus Stanton
: 5' 10"; First Year
: G

#22 Joe Bueno-Blyden
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#12 O'Malley King
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: F

#0 Semaj Robinson
: 5' 11"; First Year
: G

#32 Nick DeGrado
: 5' 10"; First Year
: G

#15 Kaden Brown
: 5' 11"; First Year
: G

#34 Marcel Ramirez
: 6' 1"; First Year
: G