DUBUQUE, Iowa - The 2026-27 season for the University of Dubuque men's basketball team starts in eight days as the Spartans gear up for another run in a highly competitive American Rivers Conference. The Spartans were picked to finish in second place by the league's head coaches with two first-place votes.

The Spartans return four-year player Grady Thompson (Princeton, Ill. / Princeton HS), coming off a season in which he was named second-team NABC all-district 9 and first-team all-conference in the A-R-C. Thompson averaged a career-high 18.3 ppg last season, along with leading the team in three-pointers made (52) and second on the team in both rebounds (154) and steals (30). The Spartans also return two other all-conference performers in junior Jacob Williams and sophomore Ethan Henderson. Williams was the second-leading scorer for the Spartans last season, averaging 15.8 ppg to go along with a team-high 182 rebounds and blocked shots with 37. Henderson heads into his sophomore season after averaging 8.1 ppg in 27 games played, while getting 12 starts in the later part of the 2025-26 season.

Other names to keep an eye out for this season include: Joey Coppola IV, Josh Senica, Drew Apiagyei, Spencer Roeder, and Nick Kennedy to help lead the Spartans on another quest to win the American Rivers Conference title.

The Spartans will open their season on Friday, November 6, when they head to Aurora, Ill., to compete in the Mickey Johnson Tip-Off Classic. They will play Millikin University at 6:00 p.m. to kick off the classic and then play Adrian College the following day at 12:00 p.m. The Spartans have three home games prior to the start of the new year, starting with Cornell College on November 18 at 7:30. They will then play Benedictine University on December 1, before (RV) UW-Platteville comes to town on December 30. During the month of December, the Spartans will have the opportunity to play two games in Puerto Rico in the D3 Puerto Rico Classic from December 19-20.

Conference play begins on January 6 when the Spartans host Wartburg College. Alumni Day will be on January 23 as the Spartans host Simpson College, and Coaches v. Cancer will take place on January 30 against Buena Vista University. The Spartans will host the second of two meetings against the Loras College Duhawks on February 10 at 7:30 p.m., before closing out the regular season with two straight home games with Coe College (Feb. 17) and Nebraska Wesleyan University (Feb. 20) for senior day.

The 2027 American Rivers Conference Men's Basketball Tournament will begin on Tuesday, February 23, with the first round and will be followed by the semifinals on February 25 and the championship game on February 27. The winner of the tournament will earn the AQ to the 2027 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament in March.

Check out all the latest news, information, and updates from men's basketball via the University of Dubuque Athletics website at https://udspartans.com/sports/mens-basketball.


A-R-C Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Nebraska Wesleyan University - 44 (3)
2. University of Dubuque - 41 (2)
3. Loras College - 37 (1)
4. Coe College - 34 (1)
5. Central College - 22
6. Buena Vista University - 21
7. Wartburg College - 16
8. Simpson College - 9