NKU’s 2025-26 season was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.
The Norse opened the year with a fun win over Cincy Clermont before dropping two games down in Tennessee. They quickly found their footing, however, reeling off the longest winning streak of their season — seven straight — with victories over Cumberlands, Central Michigan, Eastern Kentucky, Wofford, Boston University, and Cleveland State. A loss to Purdue Fort Wayne briefly interrupted the momentum, but NKU bounced back with wins over Brescia (Non-DI) and a road victory at Bellarmine.
Returning home, the Norse dropped back-to-back games to Oakland and Charleston before heading to Pittsburgh, where a win over Robert Morris ignited a four-game winning streak. Green Bay snapped that run, but NKU regrouped with a home win over Detroit Mercy — a bright spot before the bottom fell out.
What followed was the most difficult stretch of the season. The Norse dropped five consecutive games — against Robert Morris, at Wright State, at Detroit Mercy, at Oakland, and at home versus Green Bay — a skid defined as much by a rash of injuries to key starters as by the losses themselves. Once NKU got healthy, they looked like a different team, rattling off wins over Milwaukee, IU Indy, and Purdue Fort Wayne. But a pivotal matchup with Youngstown State in Cleveland slipped away, and after rebounding with a win over Cleveland State, the regular season ended on a heartbreaking loss to Wright State.
Seeded seventh heading into the Horizon League Tournament, the Norse traveled to Oakland and, despite nearly letting it slip, held on to advance. From there, it was on to Indianapolis, where the new play-in format set up a third meeting with Green Bay — one NKU handled emphatically, winning by 20 to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals. That set the stage for another showdown with rival Wright State on Monday night. The Norse fought hard, but ultimately fell to the eventual tournament champions, 103-90, bringing their season — and a genuinely memorable ride — to a close.
Player Grades:
Donovan Oday (A+) – DO was everything the Norse needed this year, and then some! His explosive athleticism and dynamic playmaking helped keep the Norse in games they had no business being in. He had 11 twenty point games, and 3 games with more than 30. His top scoring output was the 38 points in a matchup with RMU in January. When I asked him postseason about what NKU will mean to him, he said “It changed my life”. His impact shows just how well the coaching staff has done identifying and procuring talent in the portal era for an instant impact.
LJ Wells (A) – LJ may be the last of his kind at NKU. Unfortunately, most of the time, players will look to the transfer portal to either see a large role or a bigger paycheck. However, LJ Wells stuck through the hard times, and stayed here to see his career through in Highland Heights. His 15/7 this year was critical for the Norse as they competed this year. The highlight of his season was a 35 point performance where he just took over and willed the Norse to a 96-71 victory over Detroit Mercy.
Dan Gherezgher Jr. (A) – Dan spent 2 years with the Norse and after the end of last year, he came in with high expectations for his final year. He had a couple of extremely impressive performances throughout the season, however, his 26/5/5 against Youngstown State is one that really stood out to me. His balanced, cohesive play helped will the Norse to victory throughout the season. His minutes were a bit up and down to end the year, however, he was able to steady the Norse when they needed it. His ability to take over a game down the stretch will be missed.
Kael Robinson (A-) – I did not know what to think of Kael when he came into the program this year, however, he quickly became a vital player for NKU’s success. He missed a couple of weeks in February with an ankle injury and when he came back, he was a completely different player, including putting up 22/6 against Green Bay to help lead the Norse to victory in Indy. The highlight of the year for Kael was the 29 point performance in Milwaukee. Kael hit 9 3’s in that one, leading the Norse to an impressive victory! This performance made its way to the record books for NKU, tying Tyler Sharpe’s performance from 2020. Kael’s veteran presence and effort will be remembered fondly from Norse fans moving forward.
Tae Dozier (B+) – Tae was clearly the 2nd most important piece that was brought into Highland Heights this season. He averaged just 9/5/2, however, he rounded out the starting 5 exceptionally well. Despite being just 6’5″, he led the Norse in blocks, and was 2nd on the roster with 1.6 steals per game. He did all of that while averaging just under 1 turnover per night. His defensive presence was vital to the success of this year’s squad. He struggled a bit from the FT line (67%), and shot just 33% from deep. I am working to confirm further details, but there is a possibility Tae could get a waiver for an additional year of eligibility. I will have more as we learn details of this case.
Ethan Elliott (B) – Ethan arrived from Perth this year and was a bit of an unknown coming in. However, he immediately became a massive impact player for NKU. No, he didn’t score much, however, he averaged 4.6 assists to just 1.4 turnovers per game. The reason Ethan is a B overall is solely because of his struggles scoring the ball. However, he was one of the best ball handlers in the Horizon League and was able to get the ball to guys consistently throughout the year. He scored in double figures a total of 5 times this year, however, he had 7 or more assists in 10 different games on the year, including a 10 assist performance vs. Purdue Fort Wayne in December. Ethan is expected to return for his final year of eligibility. A key focus will be his development as a scorer this summer.
Donovan Rakotonanahary (C) – Donnie’s freshman season was a bit up and down! He did not score in double figures in a game this year. The highlight of the year is the dunk he pulled off mid-game vs.IU Indy. If there’s one thing about Donnie R, he oozes potential and athleticism. This offseason is critical for him as he’ll look to grab a significant role on next year’s team.
Bryce Darbyshire (C) – Bryce was always destined to be a role player this year, and he filled that in very well this year. The highlight for his season was a 6 point performance during a matchup with Milwaukee where he hit 2 three’s in clutch scenarios to help keep NKU ahead. Assuming he stays with the Norse this offseason, he should be able to carve out a consistent role within the squad next year.
Shawn Nelson (D) – Shawn struggled to find his footing this year at the D1 level, and never really being able to carve out a role within the Norse. When injuries struck the Norse heavily though, Shawn was able to step in, starting a game, and helping stabilize the Norse when needed. He was always a 3 and D type of player, and while the “three’ part of that never took off, his defense was solid when he was on the court.
Ryan Tolliver (D) – To be very clear, Ryan’s role in high school was that of a guard. However, at NKU he was asked to transition to more of a wing/stretch 4. He was never able to carve out a true role on the team. Making the jump from freshman to sophomore is typically the biggest chance for growth on court for players, and Ryan will look to capitalize on that and make a splash this offseason. His 6’7″ frame gives him serious upside, but he needs to develop his shot and get a bit stronger this summer.
Addison Archer (D) – Addison spent a month of the year injured, and was never really able to get a consistent role on the team outside of that. His best performance was the first night of the year vs. Cincy Clermont, but in D1 competition this year, he had just one game with more than 5 points, and that was the game at Oakland where NKU was injury riddled. That game does, however, show potential, and there could be a role for him on the team next year.
Overall, I don’t want to speculate, which makes it extremely difficult to predict the roster for next year. However, I do want to confirm that NKU will have to bring in multiple guys this year, and if you look at the portal additions this year, Coach Horn and staff have done an excellent job at evaluating guys and bringing in players to complement the roster. This offseason is even more important, as the Horizon League is getting better with the likes of Green Bay and Detroit stepping up. This roster is also practically a blank canvas this season and will require a full rebuild.
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NIL
From what I understand from last season, NKU was operating with roughly 400-500K in NIL resources, which is a respectable amount for a program in the Horizon. If they’re getting similar amounts this year, I think it’s safe to assume the staff will work to bring in some top end talent to help ensure this year’s team is competeting at the top of the league.
Early projection at what the roster will look like:
- G: Ethan Elliott
- G: Transfer (shooter)
- G/Wing: Tae or transfer
- F/wing: Donnie R
- C: Transfer
- 6th man: Transfer
- Bryce
- Ryan
- Addison
- Transfer
I’ve mentioned a couple of times now that Tae could potentially get a waiver. I do not know at this time if that will come to fruition, however, it is something being investigated.
As a reminder, the transfer portal does not officially open until April 7th, so we will not hear anything about any sort of commitments until then.
