SALEM, Ore. – For the first time in six seasons, the Corban University Men's Basketball program will kick off a new competitive slate with a brand new face leading them into combat, as newly appointed head coach Wayne Mendezona will take his coaching post later this afternoon for the first time as a Warrior against an immediate nationally-ranked opponent, but no national accolades or hostile road environments will back Mendezona and the Warriors down from the hardnose NAIA bouts they're anticipating as they begin the 2025-26 regular season.
"This team is hungry and determined with purpose every single day," began Mendezona when asked to summarize his thoughts on the upcoming season. "Warrior Nation can expect a group that plays with energy, toughness, and a deep belief in each other. We talk a lot about being pressure players, which is essentially pressure performing with poise when the moments get hard. At the same time, our foundation is built on faith, unity, and desire to serve God through the way we play and lead. We're not just chasing wins; we're chasing growth and consistency in purpose. When we compete with faith and a collective mindset, great things happen."
Season Schedule/Key Matchups
The 2025-26 regular season begins with an absolute gauntlet of matchups for the Warrior men's basketball squad, as they'll kick off action later today against the No. 2-ranked team in the NAIA coaches' preseason poll in Arizona Christian University before meeting with No. 9-ranked The Master's University both tomorrow afternoon and the following Friday in Santa Clarita, California. From there, they'll slowly make their way back to Tim Hills Court with non-conference matchups scheduled against Life Pacific University, California State University-Maritime, and Simpson University before finally arriving at their home opener on November 29th against Northwest Indian College at 6pm.
Corban's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) opener will be represented by their I-5 rivalry matchup the following Tuesday back at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center, which will begin their pursuit of a 12th-consecutive postseason appearance, having qualified for each of the last eleven CCC Tournaments. The lone remaining non-conference matchup will ironically come against a conference opponent, as the Warriors have agreed to a home-and-home series with Eastern Oregon University that begins this season on December 12th atop Corban's campus, and will be returned sometime in 2026-27 back in La Grande.
The 2025-26 conference slate features a heavy road trip dosage to end 2025 but provides Warrior Nation members with plenty of opportunities to see the Navy and Gold back at home in early 2026, with a pair of back-to-back home weekends to start both January and February as the team hopes to be deep in the CCC title and playoff picture during both four-game homestands.
The Warriors' 2026 Senior Night will take place on February 14th against a Mountaineer squad they will be facing for a rare third matchup in a single season, with pregame festivities expected to begin shortly after the conclusion of the women's contest. Should the Navy and Gold earn one of the coveted top eight spots in the CCC standings come season's end, they will battle for a conference championship in the CCC Tournament, which will begin with the quarterfinal knockout stage on Wednesday, February 25th at select campus sites.
Conference Outlook
The CCC men's basketball scene expects to be as competitive as ever entering the upcoming fall season, as the Warriors are predicted to finish nearly right in the middle of a deep NAIA conference as foretold by the 2025-26 CCC Coaches' Preseason Poll results. The Pacific Northwest conference already features multiple teams either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, with two of the previous three national champions originating within the confines of the CCC.
The aforementioned reigning national champion Yotes of The College of Idaho entered the 2025-26 season as the clear favorites to repeat as conference champions once again, yet have already reached the halfway point of losses they had all of last season after splitting their opening weekend of matchups in Montana. Southern Oregon University, who was predicted as the CCC runner-up, has yet to earn a win thus far during their 0-3 start, while Oregon Tech is the only lossless team to date with both the Warriors and Northwest University still to play their season openers later today.
Despite the slow start for a majority of the CCC, history has continued to repeat itself year after year, with the conference sending multiple teams to the national tournament every season and watching with anticipation as the programs survive challenge after challenge thrown at them by the remainder of the NAIA. The CCC will once again represent one of the most difficult conferences within the national scope, and until another program other than Corban men's basketball steps up to hand C of I a conference loss, with the Yotes' only CCC loss in the past three seasons coming at the hands of the Warriors in a 59-56 home loss in Caldwell, this is The College of Idaho's fifth-straight conference title to lose.
Key Returners/Newcomers
Mendezona is starting his tenure as the Warriors' head coach with a fresh new starting lineup filled with endless possibilities, as all five starters from the final season of previous head coach Taylor Kelly's fifth year as the program head coach all either walked the commencement stage last spring or found new homes among the everchanging transfer climate that collegiate athletics has evolved into, including both All-Conference award winners in guards Luc Krystkowiak and Spivey Word. Nonetheless, the program still returned eight student-athletes, while welcoming seven newcomers to campus that will all contend for playing time among Mendezona's 15-man roster.
Among the key returners from the 2024-25 roster is redshirt senior guard Nikola Milosevic, who only started three games last season yet was almost always the first man off the bench for the Navy and Gold. He logged over 500 minutes of floor time and was steady from the field with an even 50% field goal percentage. Additionally, senior guards Payton Meyers and Bennet Boss saw limited court time last season as first-year transfers from local junior colleges but will step up to represent both vocal and on-court leaders entering the 2025-26 schedule.
The seven-man recruiting class that Mendezona and his staff welcomed are near split of Kelly's final recruits and his own inaugural recruits for the Corban men's basketball program, with any of the seven additions completely capable of stepping up and into the starting rotation. Among the key newcomers listed in Mendo's 2025-26 program preview includes redshirt junior center Tj Zimmerman, graduate student forward Oreon Courtney, redshirt senior guard Anjay Cortez, freshman guard Landon Knox, and junior guard Joe Gould.
Zimmerman is a local Oregonian and is one of few student-athletes that can bolster both NWCA men's basketball First Team All-League accolades as well as tight end experience for NCAA DI and DII football programs while at Oregon State University and San Francisco City College. His 6-foot 5-inch frame with all 250lbs of bulk will likely represent the focal point of the Warriors' defensive presence.
Joining Zimmerman in the post is a name familiar to CCC men's basketball enthusiasts in Courtney, as the Corvallis native spent three of his previous four seasons of collegiate competition aboard the Lewis-Clark State College program where he earned First Team All-Conference accolades and was the CCC Newcomer of the Year in his true freshman campaign.
Finally, a trio of guards ranging in height, experience, and capabilities finish up Mendezona's early preseason team composition, with Cortez bringing a 6-8 lengthy build to the wing, Knox preparing to manage the offensive gameplan as a true freshman point guard, and Gould's tenacious defensive pressure capable of forcing opposing offenses out of system. The three incoming guards complement Mendezona's returning core well, as the program prepares to reload in both the guard and forward positions this year from a depth chart perspective.
Warrior Whims (Final Thoughts)
The coaching prowess Mendezona brings to the Corban men's basketball program is among one of the best across the NAIA, with his experience at numerous levels of competition representing one of the most unique resumes across the entire globe as a well-respected men's basketball authority figure. What Mendezona has accomplished in his years of dedication to the sport are what some only dream of living out on a limited basis.
That being said, the CCC and NAIA landscapes offer a diverse and difficult spin that the majority of collegiate basketball minds struggle with on an annual basis, especially with the constant "ebb and flow" that men's basketball provides with the game changing and adapting with each passing season. "Trusting the process" isn't just an overplayed mindset for the Warrior men's basketball squad, but rather an obligation to eliminate outside noise and turn inwards to the guiding force that brought each one of them to Corban University.
Both the floor and ceiling for the Navy and Gold entering the first year under Mendo and his coaching staff's direction are that of disproportionate levels that can either sink in an instance or rise in a heartbeat, purely dependent on the nearly brand-new roster's ability to sync together, and to do so in a rapid fashion. Falling behind in the NAIA/CCC early, both from a seasonal and game-by-game basis, reliably spells trouble for squads with higher ambitions. The Warriors' hunt of a 12th-straight postseason appearance lies not only on their own physical capabilities, but in their mental and spiritual commitment to their teammates, their mentors, and in His plan.
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