2023-24 Hillsdale College Men's Basketball Schedule
It's a new era for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team as the program enters the 2023-24 season, but the foundation of success remains the same.
First-year head coach Keven Bradley takes the reins from the program's all-time winningest coach, John Tharp, who stepped aside after a 16-year tenure at the end of the 2022-23 season to become Hillsdale College's new Director of Athletics.
While Bradley is entering his first season as a head coach, he has a deep familiarity with the program and an extensive record of success as an assistant at the NCAA DII level. He'll be looking to returning leaders to help Hillsdale continue an unprecedented run of success on the basketball court with a young but talented squad this winter.
The Chargers will take on a 27 game schedule in 2023-24 that includes 14 home contests in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The Chargers have seven non-conference games, including its home opener against Saginaw Valley State on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 3 p.m., and also including intriguing matchups against in-region foes Grand Valley State at home on Nov. 25, as well as a Nov. 10 contest to kick off the season at Wayne State and a rematch of last season's first round NCAA DII Tournament contest at Northern Michigan on Nov. 21.
Hillsdale opens Great Midwest Athletic Conference play on Nov. 30 with a home game against Lake Erie starting at 7 p.m. The Chargers also host first-year G-MAC program Thomas More (KY) on January 4 at 7:30 p.m., as well as exciting home G-MAC contests against defending G-MAC regular season champion Walsh on Jan. 18, defending G-MAC Tournament champion Ashland on Feb. 17 for both senior day and alumni day, and arch-rival Findlay to close out the regular season on Leap Day, Feb. 29.
The Chargers will have a new look in Bradley's first season, as Hillsdale graduates four starters and three All-G-MAC honorees from last year's 23-win squad. Yet, despite those losses, plenty of talent remains, headlined by returning All-G-MAC forward Joe Reuter, who was Hillsdale's third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder as a sophomore in 2023-24. The Chargers also bring back one of the G-MAC's top sixth men in 2022-23, junior Charles Woodhams, who had several big games off the bench, as well as promising junior big man Eric Radisevic and sophomore point guard Ashton Janowski, who carved out a role as a reserve for Hillsdale as a true freshman last season.
The departure of so many high-minutes players from last year's team will create many opportunities to compete for playing time for a young and hungry class of second-year players and incoming freshmen, who will have a golden opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation with strong play in the months of practice leading up to the season.
After a history-making last six seasons for the Hillsdale College men's basketball program, the 2023-24 team will have a shot at adding to the run this year. The Chargers are looking for their fourth-straight season of 20 or more wins, something that hasn't been accomplished since a four-year run from 1977-81, as well as potentially earning a fourth consecutive NCAA DII Tournament berth -- a feat that's never been done in the history of the program.
Tickets for the 2023-24 campaign will go on sale in late September.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan