LAKE CHARLES – The Bill Armstrong era of McNeese Bayou Bandit Basketball will officially get preparations underway for the 2025-26 season on Monday when the Cowboys hold their first practice of the fall.
 
Winners of the last two Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships, Armstrong is excited to get workouts underway in his first season as a Division I head coach.
 
"We're extremely excited to officially begin practice. Our guys have worked incredibly hard and have done everything we've asked of them throughout the preseason," said Armstrong. "The bond and connection within this group is strong, and now it's time to shift more of our focus to the basketball side of things.
 
"At this point, our players have a solid understanding of what's expected and how we approach things as a program. Now, we can really dig into refining how we plan to execute on both ends of the floor.
 
"I can't say enough about the way our guys have approached this process. I'm proud of the work they've put in and excited for the next step in our journey toward our goals."
 
McNeese made history a year ago when it defeated Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to post the first-ever March Madness win in school history and finishing with a 28-7 record. Following that game, then-head coach Will Wade exited to accept the head coaching job at North Carolina State while just a few days later, Wade's right-hand man during his LSU days, Armstrong, was hired to lead the McNeese program and continue to build on the success.
 
The Cowboys return two starters, one of those full-time in SLC Player of the Year Javohn Garcia along with part-time starter and three-point sharp-shooter DJ Richards Jr. Joining the two will be 11 newcomers, nine of those transfers and eight coming from major universities.
 
"We really like the team we've assembled," said Armstrong. "Their commitment over the past four months has us in a strong position to maintain the standard of McNeese Basketball. We've challenged them to embrace hard and we have to continue to do that each and every day."
 
Returners:
• Javohn Garcia – 6-3, 185 senior guard. The 2024-25 SLC Player of the Year.
• DJ Richards Jr – 6-4, 185 senior guard. SLC's top 3-point shooter last season.
• T'Johnn Brown – 5-11, 164 junior guard. Played in 22 games and made one start last season.
• Erik Villarreal – 6-3, 190 sophomore guard. Key scout player for the Cowboys.
 
New Faces:
• Garwey Dual – a 6-5, 205 junior guard transfer from Seton Hall who also played at Providence.
• Larry Johnson – 6-4, 200 freshman guard who spent last season at Creighton.
• Jerrell Colbert – 6-10, 235 senior forward who played at SMU last season. He began his college career at LSU then transferred to Kansas State before ending up at SMU.
• Tyshawn Archie – 6-1, 165 junior guard who is a transfer from Tulsa.
• JJ Rembert – 5-10, 155 freshman guard who played at Cincinnati last season.
• Jacolb Fredson-Cole – 6-7, 220 sophomore guard/forward who is coming from Oklahoma and played for Armstrong at LINK Academy where he won a national championship.
• Yanis Ndjonga – 6-8, 220 junior forward who is transferring from Baylor and played for Armstrong.
• Carl Cherenfant – 6-5, 195 junior guard who started his college career at Memphis then transferred to New Mexico State.
• Peitok Machar – 6-10, 215 sophomore transfer from Triton College. Machar is a Sydney, Australia native.
• Kaleb Brewer – 6-1, 180 freshman guard from the prestigious LINK Academy.
• Abdou Akim Mazou-Tahirou – 6-10, 180 freshman from New York's Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning.