ROCK HILL, S.C. - McNeese will tip-off its 2026-27 basketball season on Monday when it takes on UAB in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT and the game will broadcast live on YouTube.
This marks the second time in the last three seasons for McNeese to be invited to take part in the Field of 68 showcase.
The Cowboys are coming off a 28-6 season last year and a third straight Southland Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. McNeese will be looking to win its fourth straight tourney title, marking just the second time to be done in Southland Conference history (ULM 1990-93).
Leading McNeese into the season will be sophomore Larry Johnson who has been named a Top 30 Sophomore in Division I basketball by College Basketball Report. As a freshman last season, Johnson broke Joe Dumars' 44-year-old freshman scoring record with 597 points and averaged 17.4 ppg. He was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, earned First Team All-SLC honors, the Louisiana Player and Freshman of the Year, and Second Team NABC All-District honors.
Second year head coach Bill Armstrong added six high-major transfers to this year's roster, the most in school history.
In his first season as head coach at McNeese, Armstrong won more games as a first-year head coach in school history than any other coach before him in their first season. The Cowboys posted a 28-6 record which included a third-straight Southland Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
As a result, he was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award which is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I basketball. He was also named the LSWA and LABC Coach of the Year in Louisiana.
Projected Starting Lineup
Jaylon Dean-Vines, G
Larry Johnson, G
Choppa Moore, G
Christian Nitu, F
Alier Maluk, F
LOOKING AT THE NEWCOMERS
Corey Chest (6-8, 220) played at Ole Miss last season, appearing in 34 games while making four starts. He finished second on the team in shooting with a 59.4 percent aim. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and was ranked as high as No. 75 in the nation by 247Sports. He was the No. 2 player in Missouri in his class while as a junior at McMain HS in New Orleans, was the No. 1 player in Louisiana.
Dellquan Warren (6-2, 185) comes to McNeese from Mississippi State where he appeared in 45 games over the last two seasons, all coming off the bench. He collected 37 points, 50 assists, 29 rebound and 19 steals during his time at MSU. Warren was a four-star prospect out of Our Savior Lutheran HS in The Bronx and was ranked No. 81 in the nation in ESPN.com's Top 100.
Alier Maluk (6-11, 220) played 21 games making three starts as a sophomore at Florida State last season, pulling down 37 rebounds and scoring 33 points. His freshman season, Maluk played in 31 games and made two starts. He graduated early from high school in order to begin his college basketball career with the Seminoles in the 2024-25 season.
A teammate of Maluk at Florida State in the 2024-25 season, Christian Nitu (6-11, 220) was at Washington last season but did not appear in any game action. While at Florida State, Nitu appeared in 22 games and scored 42 points with 28 rebounds. In 2025, he played on the Romanian U20 National Team at the FIBA U20 Eurobasket Pre-Qualifier Tournament. Rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports, Nitu was selected to play in the 2023 BioSteel All-Canadian All-Star game.
Elijah "Choppa" Moore (6-4, 180) is a transfer from Utah where he played in one game last season before stepping away for personal reasons. In 2024-25, Moore played at Syracuse where he appeared in 26 games, making 16 starts. He averaged 5.2 points per game and connected on 32 percent from three-point range. In high school, he was ranked 55th overall and ninth among shooting guards in the country by 247Sports. Rivals rated him the 67th-best player in the nation.
As a freshman at Vanderbilt last season, Jaylon Dean-Vines (6-4, 182) appeared in 10 games and scored nine points. In high school, Dean-Vines helped lead his team to the 2025 Texas 4A state championship while earning All-State honors and named the District MVP and was a three-star prospect.
A couple of freshmen are expected to make an impact as well and bring depth to the squad. MJ Madison (6-9, 215) is a forward from Atlanta who played at Prolific Prep in Florida. Madison had a three-star rating from 247Sports and rated as the 43rd-best forward in the nation. He was offered by Georgia, Penn State, and West Virginia among others.
Tyrease Hunter (6-2, 170) is a guard from Virginia and rated as a four-star combo guard by 247Sports. He was recruited by high-major teams such as Auburn, Illinois, Missouri, and Ole Miss.
