ROCK HILL, SC – The UVA Wise men's basketball team will open their season (and the NCAA Division II season as well) Saturday morning at 11 a.m. when they face off against Lubbock Christian in the Small College Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. As part of the run-up to the season opener, the South Atlantic Conference has released their annual pre-season picks.
Evan Ramsey has been named to the Preseason All-SAC Team, while
Patrick Shelley was named a Player to Watch. In addition, the team was picked sixth in the Preseason Coaches Poll.
Lenoir-Rhyne, who are also playing in the Tip-Off Classic, were picked to finish first in the SAC with eight first place votes. Anderson and LMU tied for second, followed by Carson-Newman, Catawba, and the Highland Cavaliers. Wingate was seventh, followed by Newberry, Tusculum, Coker, Emory & Henry, and Mars Hill.
Ramsey, who was an All-SAC Second-Team performer last season, is the top scorer (14.5 ppg), rebounder (10.0 rpg), and blocker (1.9 bpg) returning from last season. The redshirt sophomore led the SAC in rebounds per game and field goal percentage (64.6), and was third in blocks (50).
Shelley averaged 12.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals last season, earning him a place on the SAC's Players to Watch list.
Anderson Cummins (8.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) returns after making the SAC All-Freshman Team last season, while other key returnees are
Calen Lightford (5.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg),
Max Lidman (3.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg), and
Hensley Ward (2.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg).
Kolier Pruett,
Filip Brkic', and
Gunner Garrett also saw significant playing time last season.
Ty Campbell redshirted last season after scoring more than 1,000 points at George Wythe High School.
New to the squad is Lees-McRae transfer
Brandon Brown, who averaged 7.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals for the Bobcats last year.
Yoro Diallo comes from Winthrop, where he had 1.9 points and 1.8 rebounds last season, while
Kam Roberts has transferred in from The Citadel, where he had 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 2024-25.
Caden Giles joins the team from Flight 22 Academy in Fort Mill, SC, where he was the team's defensive player of the year multiple times as well as an all-region performer. Other newcomers include
Cy Hardy,
Teshawn Ricks, and
Cole Caywood.
The team opens play on Nov. 1-2 in the prestigious Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Lakeland, Florida, where they will face Lubbock Christian on Saturday and Florida Southern Sunday afternoon. They will then face Lees-McRae and King in the SAC vs Conference Carolinas Challenge, which is at Carson-Newman this year.
They then will have a four-game home stand in Wise, where they host Young Harris (Nov. 19), Bluefield State (Nov. 24), and Virginia University of Lynchburg (Nov. 29) before opening SAC play against Wingate on Dec. 3. They will have a total of 14 home contests this season.
Also new to the team this season is
Andrew Sharpe, who joins the team as an Assistant Coach. Sharpe comes to Wise after a season on the sidelines at Emory & Henry.
You can keep up with the Highland Cavaliers all season on
www.uvawisecavs.com.
