In 2019, Carsen Edwards authored arguably the most memorable NCAA Tournament scoring runs in recent memory as Purdue reached the Elite Eight. Yet the team that held Edwards to his lowest point total of the tournament wasn’t coached by Jay Wright, Tony Bennett or Rick Barnes, all of whom the Boilermakers faced. It was Old Dominion. The Monarchs haven’t returned to the NCAA Tournament since, but in his third season with the program, head coach Mike Jones is ready to change that.
To an outsider, Old Dominion seems a ways away from putting on its dancing shoes. In Jones’ first two seasons, the Monarchs went 15-20 and 12-21, with a combined 15-21 record in conference play. Still, Jones is confident the program is closer to competing for Sun Belt titles than most realize.
“If you count the Sun Belt tournament loss, we had 12 losses in the league last year, and nine of them were one possession or two possession games,” Jones told Mid-Major Madness. “We were right there in almost every game we played, and honestly, probably should have won four or five more if we got a stop or made our free throws at the end of the game.”
This offseason was a critical one for Jones and his staff, as they needed to rebuild a roster that lost its top-five scorers from 2025-26. Four exhausted their eligibility, and one transferred.
Rebuilding a unit that lost that much production is a major challenge, but Jones has a clear vision of what he wants his team to become come November, and more importantly, in March. He’s not looking to overcomplicate things and feels that if his team can take on two traits, it will compete for a spot on the national stage in the NCAA Tournament.
“Connected and unbreakable. Those will be the two terms that we use,” Jones said. “Connected, meaning that we’re all on the same page, we’re all pulling in the same direction. And unbreakable because everybody knows when you go through a college basketball season, things are going to go wrong, and being unbreakable in those situations, not flinching, snap your fingers and move on to the next play.”
Jones emphasized offensive talent in the portal last offseason because he felt his first team at Old Dominion was “handcuffed” offensively. The struggles were especially apparent from 3-point range in his first season, as the Monarchs ranked No. 360 nationally in 3-point percentage.
Behind a portal class headlined by multiple players who were all-conference honorees at their previous schools, the Monarchs took major strides offensively last season, finishing the year ranked No. 61 in 3-point percentage.
The Monarchs have proved capable on both ends of the floor in Jones’ first two seasons, but to take the next step, it will come down to being strong on both ends in tandem.
“I think we’re right on the cusp again, just trying not to lose any of the momentum we had last year and ensure, especially defensively, what we need to do,” Jones said. I think we can make a huge jump.
Despite the loss of so much offensive production, Jones knows it was the failure to get stops late that cost his team a handful of games in 2025-26, which is why he attacked the portal with a different priority this offseason.
“It wasn’t necessarily about replacing the scoring so much as it was getting the type of players that we know will be able to flourish offensively and trying to get bigger pretty much at every position so we can be a better defensive team,” Jones said.
Four of the incoming six transfers will play in the frontcourt, headlined by George Washington transfer Bubu Benjamin. It wasn’t the season Benjamin hoped for in the Atlantic 10, but his production two seasons ago at Tarleton State stood out to Jones.
In 2024-25, Benjamin averaged just under 14 points per game but flashed abilities as a playmaker, even running the point at times. His ability to orchestrate offense for himself and others at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds is exactly what Jones is looking for: offensive production, positional size, and defensive upside.
North Carolina A&T transfer Zamoku Weluche-Ume had the best 2025-26 season of the newcomers up front, averaging 11.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Kylan Howze and Jotham Nweke, who join the program from Louisiana Tech and Division II Wayne State, respectively, are less proven but provide additional size and defensive upside.
Summer workouts are officially underway for the Monarchs, and Jones has been thrilled with the energy in the building, but knows it’s premature to form any concrete conclusions about his group. One takeaway he is comfortable making, however, is how content he is with what he sees from a purely physical standpoint.
“We’re bigger. It’s good to look out there and see your two, three, and four men all be interchangeable, because they’re all 6-foot-7, long or taller,” Jones said. “It really is a good thing to be able to see the positional size.”
Positional size and defensive ability was Jones’ emphasis in the portal, but he didn’t forget about the losses in the backcourt, bringing in two guards to ease that transition.
Khoi Thurman joins the program after a season at Oakland, where he played limited minutes. Prior to his second stint in the Horizon League, he was a Division I Juco All-American in 2024-25, showcasing his upside in a potentially expanded role.
The major backcourt addition was Adante’ Holiman, who possesses lead-guard experience in the Sun Belt. He averaged 16.9 points per game on 38.6% shooting from deep for Georgia Southern in 2024-25, and was named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team. Following his breakout season, he transferred to Arizona State, but did not make an appearance for the Sun Devils in 2025-26.
Going an entire season without appearing in a game can take a toll on a player, so a fresh start in a familiar environment for Holiman could be exactly what he needs to return to the level of production the league has seen in the past.
As he transitions back to the Sun Belt, he’ll be relied upon to not only fill some of the hole left offensively by Old Dominion’s departures, but also show his teammates what it takes to succeed in the Sun Belt.
“It’s huge. He knows the league, he’s been successful in the league and I don’t think you can put a value on it. He’s ready to go,” Jones said.
For mid-majors in this era of college basketball, retaining major contributors is extraordinarily difficult, but retention still plays a role for most teams that win their leagues. Often, that means retaining players who filled smaller roles and helping them take the next step.
The new faces via the portal are the talk of the offseason in most cases, but Jones did not take lightly bringing back players with familiarity in his system. Four scholarship players from the 2025-26 season will return for Old Dominion, three of them have experience starting games.
Zach Wiggins is the most-likely breakout candidate. He had a typical up-and-down freshman season, but closed the year as a starter, averaging 6.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. An expanded role in 2026-27 could very well lead to a major uptick in every statistical category for Wiggins.
In a similar role in the frontcourt, Jared Turner was a regular contributor, averaging 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game. Amidst an offseason roster overhaul, he’ll provide much needed stability up front.
As nearly every team in the country is at this stage, Old Dominion is a work in progress, but it knows where it wants to be. Behind multiple returners poised to take major strides, and a group of newcomers that provides significant upside on both sides of the ball, Jones has a group that he thinks can help the program take the next step and get back to the NCAA Tournament.
The record hasn’t said as much in Jones’ first two seasons, but don’t count out the Monarchs in 2026-27.
“I think we have enough talent,” Jones said. “We play in a great league that’ll be extremely competitive, but I’d put our roster up against anybody.”
