Coming off a historic 22-win season culminating in a Patriot League Championship and American’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2014, the Eagles aim to continue building on last year’s success in their third year under head coach Duane Simpkins.
After losing four of six consistent starters to graduation, American has been selected to finish fourth in the Patriot League this season.
Before their conference matchups, the Eagles will play a competitive con-conference slate, as well as face local rivals. Road games include ACC foes Wake Forest (Nov. 3) and Virginia (Dec. 22) as well as Big Ten opponent Rutgers (Nov. 18) and Atlantic 10 foe VCU (Dec. 17). The Eagles will host a modern-era record 17 home games this season, including their season opener against Penn (Nov. 9) and a multi-team event Capital Thanksgiving Classic with Maine (Nov. 28), Siena (Nov. 29) and Longwood (Nov. 30).
Along with bringing in a wealth of talent in its freshman class, American returns four of its eight leading scorers from last season — including junior Greg Jones, who was named the 2025-26 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Continuing Excellence
In his second season with the Eagles, head coach Duane Simpkins led the program to its first 22-win season since 2010-11, tying for first in the Patriot League in the regular season before clinching the conference tournament title. He hopes to build off last year’s success in the 2025-26 season.
Joining Simpkins on the bench are associate head coaches Nate Bollinger and Jackie Manuel and assistant coach Isaiah Tate, all in their third season with the Eagles. Bollinger and Manuel were promoted from assistant coaches to associate head coaches in the summer following the Eagles’ conference title and NCAA berth in March.
PreSeason Honors
After helping the Eagles lead the PL in scoring defense and earning All-Defensive Team honors, junior Greg Jones was named the 2025-26 Patriot League Men’s Basketball Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named to the five-member Patriot League All-Tournament Team in March.
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Among the Eagles’ top returners this season are junior forward Greg Jones, junior forward Matt Mayock, and senior guard Geoff Sprouse.
Jones is the Eagles’ highest returning point scorer, with 340 points (10.3 ppg) in the 2024-25 season. He averaged 11 points per game in the Patriot League Tournament while helping to hold American’s three opponents under 70 points. He averaged 3.9 rebounds and recorded 28 steals in 33 games last season.
Mayock notched 254 points (7.3 ppg) in the 2024-25 season, playing in all 35 games. He matched Jones and Sprouse in a tie for third with 42 three-pointers made, and tied for the team lead in blocks with 15.
Sprouse scored 138 points (6.9 ppg) in 20 games last season, matching Jones and Mayock with 42 three-pointers despite many fewer games played. He ranks eighth in program history for career three-point field goals with 142.
New Talent
The Eagles have welcomed nine freshmen, including six scholarship players, to the squad for the 2025-26 season: guards Jack Anderson (Calif.), Matthew Casey (Fla.), Madden Collins (S.C.), Dean Hogans (N.Y.), Kamran Prince (N.C.), and Kade Sebastian (Va.); and forwards Luke Brown (Del.), Chris Eagan (N.C.), and Carson McDonald (Colo.).
With the freshman class making up nearly half the team, some of these talented newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact. Collins was a three-time state champion and All-State selection at Christ School in South Carolina. Prince was a two-time All-State selection for Trinity Academy in Raleigh, N.C. Eagan scored 1,001 points and was Conference Player of the Year for Charlotte Catholic. Sebastian won a state title with DeMatha Catholic in 2024, and Hogans was League Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 20 points per game. Carson McDonald helped lead his team at The Newman School to its first National Prep Championship as a senior, going 31-9 and ranking #2 in the country.