With the 2026-2027 college basketball season kicking off on Monday, Oct. 12, with an exhibition game, it’s time to look into what is about to go down. Southern Utah University has had a busy summer in the athletics department, so let’s preview the SUU men’s basketball team.
A Shift in Conference
The T-Birds will be soaring out of the Western Athletic Conference and into the Big Sky Conference this year. This means that the competition will change.
There will be another familiar face, as Utah Tech University also joined the Big Sky, but the rest of the competitors will be new challenges for the T-Birds to take over. These include the University of Idaho, Montana State University and Northern Arizona University.
The Thunderbirds finished with a 10-22 record last year, ultimately ending their season on a three-game losing streak. Their final game took place in the WAC tournament against the University of Texas at Arlington.
New Conference, Same Coach
Rob Jeter, head coach of the Thunderbirds, will be leading the team into his fourth season here at SUU. With his tenure at SUU resulting in three straight losing seasons, only time will tell to see how this season goes for him among this new competition and with a revamped roster.
Coach Jeter has also held coaching positions at Western Illinois University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Faces Lost
The Thunderbirds of last season look drastically different from the new squad.
Star guard Elijah Duval has transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, looking to further his career at a larger school.
Some other notable losses include Isaiah Cottrell, Tanner Hayhurst, Lorenzo Abellar, Dylan Jones, Kai Burdick and Logan Stephens. Nearly every heavy hitter for the 2025-26 Thunderbirds has either graduated or moved to another program.
Returning Players
This year, the T-Birds have a total of five returning players.
The familiar faces include star forward Jayden Feroah and breakout candidate center Cale Barclay, along with 6-foot-8-inch forward Juok Riak, who didn’t see action due to injury, 6-foot-1-inch guard Brayden Johnson and 6-foot-7-inch sophomore guard Zeplin Kidd.
New Additions
The T-Birds have recruited a total of six guards, three forwards and one center this offseason.
Trying to add height to the team, the T-Birds will be featuring 7-foot-1-inch Mikhail Protsenko, coming from Belgorod, Russia.
Along with Protsenko, SUU recruited a pair of brothers, JaJuan and Jalik Nicholls. Both will be playing the forward position, while JaJuan is slightly taller, so it will be interesting to see each other compete for playing time.
The guard situation will be challenging for the coaching staff, but will nonetheless be an important competition between teammates to see who wins the starting job by the end of the year.
The full roster is as follows:
Returners
F Jayden Feroah (Gr.) – WAC All-Defensive Team, led WAC in blocks, led team in rebounding, second on team in scoring
F Cale Barclay (So.) – Played in all but one game as a freshman, including eight starts
G Zeplin Kidd (So.) – Played in 13 games as a freshman, averaging 1.1 points per game
G Brayden Johnson (Jr.) – Played in 13 games, averaging 0.8 points per game
F Juok Riak (Jr.) – Sidelined with injury last year
Additions
G DeZhon Hall (Fr.) – Averaged 27.7 points, a school record, along with six rebounds and 3.2 assists per game at Crispus Attacks High School
G Rashaad Davis (Fr.) – Named to All-State all four years of high school, all-time leading scorer at Nicolet High School
C Mikhail Protsenko (Fr.) – 7-foot-1-inch center from Russia, the tallest player on the team
F DJ Smith (Fr.) – 6-foot-10-inch forward from Dallas
G Chase Degraffenried (So.) – Grew up in Salem, Utah, and was named MVP of the Northwest Athletic Conference West Region at Green River Junior College
F Jalik Nicholls (So.) – Named one of the top 50 junior college freshman by JucoRecruiting.com during his time at Pensacola State Junior College
G Anthony Breland (So.) – First team All-Region in high school, named one of the top 50 junior college players by JucoRecruiting.com during his time at Miami Dade Junior College
G Jordan Brown (So.) – All-State honors in high school, didn’t see action last year at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
F JaJuan Nicholls (Jr.) – Averaged 11 points and five rebounds per game at Tennessee Tech University
G Dylan Sanders (Jr.) – First-Team All Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at Division II Colorado State University Pueblo
What’s Next
The men’s basketball team will be competing in their first match of the season against Ottawa University Arizona on Monday, Oct. 12. This will be the only exhibition match of the season, and will be played in Cedar City, Utah, in the America First Event Center at noon.
The true regular season will begin on Nov. 2 with a match against West Coast Baptist College.
Author: Mitch Wilson
Photo by SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
