INA, Ill. (March 13, 2026) — A historic run came to an end for the Warriors basketball team at Tuesday night's selection show for the NJCAA D2 National Tournament. The Warriors were knocked off in the Region 24 Tournament by the eventual champions, Parkland College, and had to await their fate in the at-large bid process. Unfortunately, the Warriors were not selected, and their 22-9 season came to an abrupt end.
“My heart hurts for these guys,” said Head Coach Tim Wills. “Our players gave everything they had. We thought we produced a good enough resume to be selected, but once that last game is over, it is out of our hands.”
As for their resume, it was just as strong as Coach Wills claimed. The team boasted a 22-9 overall record, an 11-3 conference record, and a 6-2 mark in ranked games. With 4 NJCAA wins—securing the most victories in a season since the 2013 championship team—they knocked off 15 of the 16 opponents they faced during the regular season. The historic 2025-26 campaign also included a #14 national ranking in the final poll of the year, peaking as high as #12. The Wills regime has now enjoyed its second consecutive year with statistical improvements across the board, including wins, points per game (PPG), rebounds per game (RPG), assists per game (APG), blocks per game (BPG), and opponent PPG.
“It’s all about the players. Our players are high-character people who love to wear the Warrior uniform and be integrated in the college. It's no surprise that they had so much success this year,” Wills added.
Success came in bunches for the Warriors squad, led by:
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Elijah Edosa: (18.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg; 1st Team All-Conference and All-Region)
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Navontae Nesbit Jr.: (11.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.8 apg; 2nd Team All-Conference and All-Region)
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Opeyemi "Zeke" Wilson: (8.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 bpg [6th in the country]; HM All-Conference)
Other sophomores who contributed to the team's 40 wins over the past two years include:
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Owen Treat: (4.8 ppg, 1.2 spg [led the team], and 92 career 3FGM)
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Gavin Bigham: (3.6 ppg on 46/39/78% shooting splits; his 39% from beyond the arc was the team’s best over the last two years)
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Equinton Millsap: (3.5 ppg, 2.6 apg [2nd on the team])
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Aiden Hinton: (2.5 ppg over 45 games, including a 20-point performance in last year's Region 24 Tournament)
The Warriors also got major contributions from their freshmen class, three of whom started multiple games this year:
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Will Paulson: (10.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg [3rd on the team]; led the team with a 34% 3FG percentage)
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Donovan Coates: (11.1 ppg [2nd on the team] and 42 3FGM [led the team])
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Isaac Billington: (8.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, and 26 3FGM)
Additionally, the team saw impactful performances throughout the season from freshmen Riley Bauersachs, AJ Keith, Aidan Anderson, Alex Keizer, and Owen Raneberg.
Looking ahead, the Warriors will aim to sustain their back-to-back winning seasons by returning 40.2 points per game and 114.3 of their 200 minutes per game. Another exciting recruiting class will be announced in the coming months to add to this roster. #TheLakeShow will be back!
2025-26 Warriors Basketball Team