New Era Begins: Pannone, Red Wolves Open 2025-26 Season at Ohio

The Arkansas State men’s basketball team will officially usher in a new era Monday night, opening the 2025-26 season on the road against Ohio in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge — the first game under new head coach Ryan Pannone.

Pannone, hired in March as the 18th head coach in program history, leads a completely rebuilt Red Wolves roster into the new campaign. The 2025-26 squad features 15 newcomers and no returning players, marking the first time since the 1944-45 season that A-State has fielded an entirely new team.

The game also marked Pannone’s debut as a collegiate head coach after more than two decades in basketball, including stops in the NBA, G-League, and international leagues. Prior to arriving in Jonesboro, he served as an assistant under Nate Oats at Alabama, where he helped guide the Crimson Tide to consecutive deep NCAA Tournament runs and led one of the nation’s top offenses.

Arkansas State enters the contest looking to continue its momentum from a strong 2024-25 campaign that included a 25-11 record, a share of the Sun Belt regular-season championship, and an NIT appearance — the program’s first since 1991.

Among the Red Wolves’ newcomers are Chandler Jackson (Florida State), TJ Caldwell (Ole Miss), Matt Hayman (Stephen F. Austin), and Jaxon Ellingsworth (UT Arlington) — all bringing Division I experience to the young squad. Fans will also recognize freshman guard Weston Honeycutt, a Westside High School standout who averaged 24 points per game last season.

Standing 7-foot-3, sophomore Aly Tounkara adds an imposing presence in the paint, ranking among the tallest players in NCAA basketball.

The Red Wolves will continue their five-game road stretch to start the season with trips to Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 7) and Missouri State (Nov. 11) before returning home for their first game at First National Bank Arena on Nov. 15 vs. Christian Brothers.

Tipoff for Monday’s opener at Ohio was set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+, with radio coverage on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network.