Syracuse’s 2026-27 men’s basketball season will start with a fresh face on the sideline and a first-time opponent in the building.
The Orange are set to open against New Haven on Monday, Nov. 2 at the JMA Wireless Dome, the program announced Thursday. It will be Gerry McNamara’s first game as Syracuse’s head coach.
The meeting also gives Syracuse a brand-new matchup to kick off the year. The Orange and Chargers have never played before. New Haven’s first season at the Division I level last year ended at 14-17 overall and 9-9 in the Northeast Conference, and the Chargers did pick up a win over eventual conference champion Long Island University.
Syracuse is once again facing a major roster reset. Donnie Freeman transferred to St. John’s, William Kyle III signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted free agent and Naithan George transferred to Pitt, leaving the Orange with a long list of new pieces to sort through.
The additions include six transfers, among them former Siena standouts Gavin Doty and Francis Folefac and Temple guard Aiden Tobiason.
Freshmen Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White Jr. are the only returners from last season’s team, marking the second straight year Syracuse has kept just two players from the previous roster.
The full 2026 schedule is still not out, but the nonconference picture is starting to come into focus. Syracuse’s second game will be at home against Central Connecticut State on Nov. 5, and it has also been reported the Orange will face Power 5 opponents St. John’s, Indiana, Rutgers, Providence and Oklahoma.
In Other News...
Kiyan Anthony Opened Up About His Emotional Adrian Autry Goodbye
Syracuses frustrating 2025-26 season ended with a 15-17 record and six straight losses, and the final blow came in the ACC tournament against SMU. The next morning, the university moved on from Adrian Autry, closing out a tenure that had plenty of pressure attached to it long before the last game was over. For Kiyan Anthony, the change landed with the kind of emotion that usually follows a season spent around a coach every day, not just the kind of news cycle that follows a bad finish.
Anthony said he had a real relationship with Autry and spent the season getting a closer look at what the job demanded, even through the rough patches. He also addressed the benching at Virginia, saying Autry framed it as a basketball decision rather than a punishment, which gives a little more context to how the year unfolded behind the scenes. With Syracuse now heading into a new era, Anthonys perspective is one more reminder that the end of a coachs run is never only about wins and losses. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Browns Biggest Syracuse Fix Is About To Be Tested
Syracuse spent last season getting shoved around on defense, and the numbers told the story. Opponents averaged 5.27 yards per carry and 6.5 yards per play, a rough backdrop for a program trying to reset its identity, which is why Fran Brown and his staff spent the offseason reworking that side of the ball with several new faces on the defensive staff.
One of the most important additions is Vince Kehres, brought in from Toledo to help reshape the unit with an emphasis on effort, tackling and teamwork. His previous defense was far sturdier than Syracuses was a year ago, and now the real test is how much of that can carry over once the Orange start sorting out the details in camp, from the corners role in supporting the run to whether the pass rush can be rebuilt with help from the transfer market. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Adds Another Overseas Guard As Backcourt Questions Keep Growing
Syracuses backcourt continues to take shape with another overseas addition, as the womens basketball program has signed French point guard Claine Ricco for the upcoming season. Ricco arrives with a steady international rsum and is in the middle of representing France at the under-20 EuroBasket Tournament, where she has remained part of the national team pipeline after previous runs with Frances under-18 and under-19 squads.
For Syracuse, the move fits an offseason that has leaned heavily on players with international ties while the roster still has room to grow. The Orange currently list 13 players, and with SMU transfer Tyi Skinner expected to be the lead option at point guard, Ricco looks like another piece in a backcourt picture that is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]