PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will open the 2025-26 season this weekend (Nov. 1-2) by competing in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic at St. Joseph, Mo. The Gorillas will face West Texas A&M at 5 p.m. (CT) Saturday at Civic Arena in downtown St. Joseph; and Pitt State will wrap up the two-day, classic format tournament by taking on Minnesota State Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
  
Pittsburg State games can be heard on ESPN 100.7 FM radio, online at espn1007.com or through the ESPN 100.7 or KSHQ App for phones or mobile devices.

The Record
The D2CCA Tip-Off Classic will mark the Gorillas 2025-26 season debut under fourth-year head coach Jeff Boschee.
 
Pitt State returns one starter – senior center Tane Prictor – and four letterwinners from last year's squad that posted an 18-12 overall record. The Gorillas posted a 13-6 mark in MIAA play, advancing to the semifinals of the 2024-25 MIAA Postseason Tournament.

Boschee, and his staff, have supplemented the roster with four transfers and six freshmen.

Head Coach Jeff Boschee
Boschee begins his fourth year as head basketball coach at Pittsburg State. He guided the Gorillas to a 21-11 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II National Tournament two seasons ago. Pitt State posted a 15-7 mark in MIAA play and the squad reached the finals of the 2023-24 MIAA Postseason Tournament. Last year, the Gorillas posted an 18-12 overall record (13-6 MIAA) and reached the semifinals of the 2024-25 MIAA Postseason Tournament.

Prior to accepting the Pitt State position, Boschee served as head coach at MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University for eight seasons. He compiled a 151-86 (.637) overall record leading the Lions.

He has a 198-129 (.606) career record as a head coach.

Boschee directed MSSU to four 20-win seasons and three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament between the 2017-18 and the 2019-20 campaigns. He was selected the 2017-18 MIAA Coach of the Year and his 2018-19 squad reached the NCAA Sweet 16 while posting a 25-8 record.

As a collegiate player, Boschee was a four-year starter at the University of Kansas under former KU coach Roy Williams from the 1998-99 to 2001-02 seasons. While at KU he helped the Jayhawks win a Big 12 Conference Championship and a Big 12 Conference Tournament title, and he played in the 2002 NCAA Final Four.

Series Histories
Saturday's action will mark the ninth all-time meeting between Pitt State and West Texas A&M. The Buffaloes are 5-3 against the Gorillas, most recently beating PSU, 93-80, in the Las Vegas Hoopla on Dec. 18, 2018.

Pitt State and Minnesota State will meet for the fourth time Sunday. The Gorillas lead the all-time series, 2-1. PSU posted a 90-80 season-opening win over the Mavericks on Nov. 10, 2017.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas return one starter from a season ago – senior center Tane Prictor.
 
Prictor (Bend, Ore.) averaged 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and a block a game while shooting .620 from the field a year ago. Against Central Oklahoma (Mar. 8, 2025) in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals, Prictor recorded a 16-point, 17-rebounds double-double performance. The 6-11, 275-pound senior center has recorded 81 blocked shots in 72 career games, ranking sixth in Pitt State history heading into his final campaign. Against Nebraska – Kearney (Jan. 11, 2024) finished with a career-high six blocks.
 
Prictor joined the Pitt State program from Mountain View (Ore.) High School. An Oregon Class 6A All-State performer as a senior at MVHS, he averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game, lead the state in block shots that season.
 
Redshirt junior guard Hayden Shanks (Bentonville, Ark.) also enters his fourth season in the Pitt State program in 2025-26. Last year, Shanks (6-2, 185) played in 22 games in a reserve role. He scored a career best 15 points against McPherson College last year.
 
Shanks garnered Arkansas Class 6A All-State honors at Bentonville High School, averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game during his senior campaign.
 
Redshirt sophomore guard/forward Evan Jackson enters his third season in the Pitt State program. The Chicago native is looking to build on a breakthrough redshirt sophomore season in which he averaged 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Jackson (6-7, 200) started a pair of games last year and posted double-doubles against Central Oklahoma (Dec. 4) and Rogers State (Jan. 15). He finished with a season best 17 points against Newman (Feb. 8).
 
Jackson was a McDonald's All-American nominee as a senior at the De La Salle Institute before an injury cut short his season. He averaged 14.6 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots per game to earn All-State and All-Catholic League accolades.

Redshirt freshman forward/center Henry Cowles (Conway, Ark.) enters his third season in the Pitt State program. Cowles (6-11, 230) saw action in a pair of games as a true freshman in 2023-24 before being sidelined due to injury. He exercised a redshirt season last year. He came to Pitt State from the Scotland Campus Sports prep school; and Cowles competed in the prep ranks at Morrilton High School.

Redshirt junior center Darrell Washington (Lake Charles, La.) is back for his second full season in the Pitt State program. Washington averaged 9.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in nine games last year before being sidelined due to injury. He shot .538 from the field on the year and posted a season-best 18-point output against Colorado-Colorado Springs (Nov. 14). Washington came to Pitt State from Lee College in Texas.
 
Sophomore guard David Cobin Jr. (De Soto, Kan.) enters his second season in the Pitt State program. Cobin (5-11, 170) saw action in 23 games in a reserve role as a true freshman in 2024-25. He averaged 19.6 points, 5.3 rebound, 4.9 assists and 4.2 steals during his senior campaign at De Soto High School.
 
Redshirt junior guard Domonic Turner Jr. (Cushing, Okla.) and redshirt freshman guard Maddox Dow (Shawnee, Kan.) enter their second seasons in the Pitt State program. Both players exercised redshirt season sin 2024-25.
 
Turner (6-4, 200) came to Pitt State after playing single seasons at Eastern Oklahoma State College and Seminole State College. Dow (5-10, 175) was a stand-out prep performer at De Soto High School.
 
The Gorillas welcome four transfers into the program:  redshirt junior forward Donald Coats, junior guards Dale Griffin Jr. and Connor Rogers and sophomore forward/center Alijah Curry.
 
Coats (Chicago) began his collegiate career at MIAA rival Missouri Southern before spending two seasons at Parkland Community College. He spent the 2024-25 season at MIAA rival Emporia State, averaging 7.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game before an injury cut short his season. Coats (6-7, 218) contributed 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore at PCC in 2023-24.
 
Curry (Memphis, Tenn.) transferred to Pitt State from Manhattan University where he saw action in reserve role last year. Curry (6-9, 215) prepped at Camden High School in New Jersey where he averaged 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while helping the team to a 30-2 record and a state championship.
 
Griffin (Los Angeles) played the past two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho. Last year, he appeared in 32 games for the Golden Eagles, averaging 6.5 points and 2.1 rebounds. Griffin (6-6, 175) knocked down 36 3-point field goals on the season.
 
Rogers (Starkville, Miss.) comes to Pitt State from East Central (Miss.) Community College. He garnered second-team All-Conference honors a year ago after contributing 19 points, five rebounds and four assists a game. Rogers (5-11, 185) prepped at Starkville High School. His brother, Blake, is an assistant coach for the Gorillas.

Additionally, the Gorillas welcome six freshmen into the program for 2025-26 season:  guards EJ Breland (Chicago, Ill. / St. Patrick High School), Mason English (Pittsburg, Kan. / Link Year Prep Academy), Jack Perry (Galena, Kan. / Galena High School) and Landon Short (Austin, Texas / Stony Point High School), forward/guard Ethan Sage (Weatherford, Okla. / Weatherford High School) and guard/forward Maddox Teeter (Farmington, Ark. / Farmington High School).