Can Loyola Chicago Return to March Madness in 2026?

Loyola Chicago looks to reclaim its March Madness magic. We break down the roster, strengths, and keys for a big 2025–26 season.

The Loyola Chicago Ramblers were one of the most consistent teams outside of the power conference ranks for the last decade. After scuffling in their transition to the Atlantic 10 conference, Drew Valentine has the Ramblers rolling yet again. They’ve finished 23-10 (15-3 in conference) and 25-12 (12-6 in conference) over the last two seasons while finishing in the NIT Semifinals last year.

Now, they have their eyes set on returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since leaving the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022. On paper, Valentine has assembled a team that appears to be up for the challenge. Let’s take a look at who’s returning and who’s new for the Ramblers in the upcoming 2025-2026 season.

Photo: Loyola Chicago Athletics

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Roster Turnover

The Ramblers have lost the following players from last season:

• Desmond Watson (Ineligible)

  • 12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals

• Sheldon Edwards Jr. (Ineligible)

  • 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2 assists

• Francis Nwaokorie (Ineligible)

  • 5.4 points, 4.9 rebounds

• Jalen DeLoach (Ineligible)

  • 6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists

• Jalen Quinn (Senior) - Drake

  • 7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists

• Jayden Dawson (Senior) - Kansas

  • 13.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1 steal

• Jack Turner (Sophomore) - Oral Roberts

  • 1 points (11 games/2.8 minutes)

• Seifeldin Hendawy (Sophomore) - Winthrop

  • 0.9 points (16 games/4.4 minutes)

The Loyola Chicago Ramblers have lost their top three scorers from last season in Desmon Watson, Jayden Dawson, and Sheldon Edwards Jr. Watson and Edwards Jr. both ran out of eligibility after being key pieces underneath Drew Valentine’s journey to build the Ramblers up underneath this new era. Jayden Dawson is transferring into Kansas after spending his first three seasons with the Ramblers. Dawson shot 41% from the floor last season and 36.3% from beyond the arc on 7.4 attempts per game.

Jalen Quinn is headed to Drake underneath the Bulldogs new head coach Eric Henderson. Quinn spent his first three seasons with Loyola Chicago where he took a huge step forward last year. He averaged career highs across the board, but most notably shot 47.7% from the floor while starting in 13 of their 37 games.

The Ramblers were fortunate overall to not lose any more key players to the transfer portal.

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Returning Players

Loyola Chicago has retained the following players:

• Kymany Houinsou (Senior)

  • 5.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists

• Caleb Reese (Senior)

  • 1.3 points, 0.4 assists (14 games/3.4 miuntes)

• Zachary Royster (Senior)

  • 0.4 points, 0.7 rebounds (10 games/1.9 minutes)

• Miles Rubin (Junior)

  • 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.3 blocks

• Justin Moore (Junior)

  • 7.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists

• Sam Yurasek (Junior)

  • 0.7 rebounds (3 games/2 minutes)

• Daniil Glazkov (Sophomore)

  • 1.4 points, 0.7 rebounds (33 games/6.5 minutes)

• Brayden Young (Redshirt Freshman)

  • DNP

Kymany Houinsou (6’7)

After transferring in from Washington State, Houinsou started in 24 of his 28 games. He shot 52.9% overall which was a career high, but just 18.8% from beyond the arc on 16 attempts. He isn’t a three-point threat as he is shooting just 23.2% in three seasons on 56 attempts. On the flip side, he is strong inside the arc as his 58.3% shot rate was 336th in the country. However, Houinsou provides some important defensive skills. He finished with a 15.8 defensive rebounding percentage and an 8.7 offensive rebounding percentage which was 372nd in the nation.

It may be surprising, but he’s a strong passer as well for 6’7. He finished with a 26.7% assist rate up from 17.4% the season prior. With Justin Moore going out with a season-ending injury, Houinsou and others stepped up. In conference, his assist rate jumped to a remarkable 29.6 which was 3rd in the A-10. He is a stat-stuffer kind of player. For example, he finished with four points, ten assists, and ten rebounds against UMass and eight points, five assists, and four rebounds against George Washington.

He’ll be providing the Ramblers with some important experience inside Valentine’s system that can serve as a do-it-all type player.

Miles Rubin (6’10)

I’m so glad that the Ramblers were able to retain Miles Rubin because he’s one of the most prolific shot blockers in the country. His 11.4 blocking percentage was 12th best in the country and his 12.9 blocking percentage in conference play was second best. He’s virtually unstoppable while scoring in the paint as well as he finished shooting 71.8% from the floor which was 15th nest in all of college basketball. On the boards, he had an 18.8 defensive rebounding percentage which was 311th in the NCAA. Needless to say, Rubin is about as good as it gets as a traditional center in the modern era of basketball.

Justin Moore (6’3)

Before going down with a season ending injury, Moore was absolutely cooking as a point guard for the Ramblers. In nine games, he finished averaging 5.3 assists with a ridiculous 41.5% assist rate and 5.3 to 1.4 assist to turnover rate. Offensively, he’s a strong scorer in the paint, but he’s not an incredible three point shooter. However, he doesn’t have to be. Valentine has brought in some elite scorers to build around Moore, so once Moore gets a fully healthy season under his belt on this team…watch out.

Daniil Glazkov (6’6)

As a freshman, Glazkov appeared in 33 games off the bench while averaging 6.5 minutes per game. He shot 34.1% from the floor and 25% from 3pt on 18 attempts. Most of his production came from a non-division one matchup, however, he has a high ceiling. Per 247 sports, he was a three-star recruit coming out of the IMG Academy and On3 had him listed as the 211th best recruit out of his class. This is a pretty deep roster, but I’d be shocked if we don’t see some more contributions from him this season.

Brayden Young (6’9)

Young redshirt last season after coming to Loyola Chicago with other offers from Texas-Rio Grande Valley and Northeastern. I think he’ll still have a tough time breaking into the rotation this season, but he provides a nice level of depth with some height on the roster. As a senior in high school, he averaged 12 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.6 blocks per game. I’m excited to see what he looks like on the collegiate floor this season.

Walk-ons: Sam Yurasek (6’3), Caleb Reese (5’11), Zachary Royster (6’7)

These three players are walk-ons with minimal playing time recorded last season. You should expect to see a similar production as well this season.

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Player Additions

Drew Valentine has added the following players to the Ramblers’ roster for this season:

• Dominick Harris (Senior) - UCLA

  • 1.1 points, 0.6 rebounds (11 games/7.3 minutes)

• Joshua Ola-Joseph (Senior) - California

  • 7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds

• Xavier Amos (Senior) - Wisconsin

  • 3.5 points, 1.8 rebounds

• Alexander Richardson (Senior)

  • DNP - Euro Pro

• Deywilk Tavarez (Junior) - Charleston

  • 12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals

• Kayde Dotson (Sophomore) - New Mexico

  • 2.3 points, 0.8 assists

• Nic Anderson (Freshman)

• Chuck Love III (Freshman)

Guards

Dominick Harris (6’3)

Looking at last season’s stats won’t blow your mind, but Dominick Harris is an incredible pickup for the Ramblers. Harris spent his first two seasons at Gonzaga, then he transferred to Loyola Marymount where he took off. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and one assist while shooting 42.9% overall and 44.8% from beyond on the arc on six attempts per game as a junior.

Coming out of high school, he was listed as a four-star and it’s easy to see why. He is a lights out shooter from outside as he finished 33rd in the nation in 2024. On catch-and-shoot threes, he’s pretty much automatic as he shot nearly 70%. However, he’s not afraid to take a shot with his hand in his face either. He’s also a strong rebounder for his size as he finished his junior year with a 10.9 defensive rebounding percentage and a 2.5 offensive rebounding percentage.

He’s not much of a playmaker, so I don’t foresee him running point outside of a back-up role, but he’s certainly going to help make up for the gap that is left in the offense from the roster turnover.

Deywilk Tavarez (6’2)

Tavarez is a huge pickup for Drew Valentine out of the College of Charleston. Last season, he shot 41.3% overall and 41.5% from beyond the arc on 5.9 attempts per game. At 6’2, he wasn’t the primary point guard for the Cougars, but he finished the season with an 18% assist rate. He does turn the ball over a decent amount as he finished with a 19.2% turnover rate and a 2.5 to 2.4 assist to turnover rate. If he can cut down on the turnovers, he’ll be an elite combo guard for the Ramblers.

Tavarez dropped 30+ points twice last year, including in the Cougars 77-68 win over Loyola Chicago. In conference, he was lights out from deep as he shot 45.6%. The Ramblers are getting an elite scorer, which paired with some strong play makers will be a recipe for success.

Kayde Dotson (6’2)

Dotson spent his freshman year at New Mexico where he appeared in 32 games off the bench and averaged 6.7 minutes. He finished shooting 41.7% overall and 41.7% from 3pt on 36 attempts. Two games stacked his averages on the season as he finished with 18 points against Texas A&M Corpus Christi and 10 points against Texas Southern both when the team was up by a large score. However, he showed signs against Boise State and Colorado State as well knocking down some big shots in the Lobos’ two wins.

Coming out of high school, Dotson had offers from Grand Canyon, App State, St. Bonaventure, SMU, and more. This team has a lot of scoring options, but I’m excited to see Dotson break through the rotation and provide some solid minutes in the rotation.

Nic Anderson (6’4)

Anderson is a 6’4 incoming freshman out of Kansas. Per 247 points, he was a 3-star recruit, second best in Kansas, and 158th overall in the country. He held offers from Merrimack, Montana State, Robert Morris, and others. He was a prolific scorer in high school with a strong ability to rebound. I think he’ll have a hard time breaking the rotation his freshman season outside of minimal time, but I could be surprised here.

Forwards

Joshua Ola-Joseph (6’8)

After spending his first two seasons at Minnesota, Ola-Joseph transferred to California where he appeared in 24 games and started ten. He shot 45.2% overall and 36.5% from beyond the arc on 2.6 attempts per game. From inside the arc, he shot 52.8% on the season and in conference his three-point shooting jumped to 40.6% on 32 attempts in the ACC. The 6’7 wing is a strong rebounder as he finished with a 19 defensive rebounding percentage and a 6.6 offensive rebounding percentage.

It was a bit up-and-down at times for him last season, as he’d go from ten points to six to one to 14, but the potential is there. Against NC State, he finished with 13 points on 5-5 shooting and 2-2 from deep in just 16 minutes. With an expanded opportunity, he should be able to find his footing and gain consistency.

Chuck Love III (6’7)

Coming out of La Porte, Indiana, Chuck Love III was listed as a four-star recruit and the 129th best in his class. You can check out some of his highlights here. Before committing to Loyola Chicago, he held offers from West Virginia, Xavier, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, and many more high profile programs. He can pop shots from outside, flex as a wing by racking up boards, and he is strong on defense. He’s hyper athletic and he’s going to be a blast to watch develop. As a freshman, I believe that Rambler fans will be seeing some action from him early.

Centers

Xavier Amos (6’8)

Amos spent last season at Wisconsin after his first two seasons at Northern Illinois. During his sophomore season, he averaged 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.6% overall and 38.5% from beyond the arc. Last season for Wisconsin, he took a smaller role as he appeared in 37 games off the bench while averaged 9.7 minutes. He shot 37.4% from the field and 29.4% from three-point.

In his last season at NIU, he finished with a 4.4 block percentage and even in his limited playing time he finished with a 3.7 block percentage. He’s already a strong rebounder as he finished with a 16% defensive rebounding percentage. While Miles Rubin is the lockdown force in the paint for the Ramblers, Amos is going to provide some important assistance.

Alexander Richardson (6’9)

Who doesn’t love a 22 year old first year in college basketball? Richard has spent the last two seasons playing for ART Giants Dusseldorf and prior to that he spent three years with the Skyliners Frankfurt in German. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, five rebounds, 1.1 assists while shooting 58.8% overall. He is a menace on the court as he finished with nine double-doubles. Over his last ten games he averaged 13.2 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists with five double-doubles.

The Ramblers are going to have a set of towers down low with Richardson and Rubin. Rubin is a prolific shot blocker, while Richardson will be able to clean up the glass and serve as a highly skilled offensive player in the paint. The Ramblers might have one of the best frontcourts in the A10.

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Expectations

There is no question about it, this is a very deep roster. You can never project injuries, but as long as the Ramblers stay healthy I believe they will finish in the top four at a minimum in the Atlantic 10 with a ceiling of returning to the NCAA Tournament. Let’s take a look at what a potential starting lineup looks like:

• Justin Moore

• Deywilk Tavarez

• Kymany Houinsou/Joshua Ola-Joseph

• Alexander Richardson/Xavier Amos

• Miles Rubin

Drew Valentine has some flexibility here. As long as Justin Moore is 100% healthy following his injury last season, he’ll be your starting point guard. Then you can’t afford to not start Deywilk Taverez or Miles Rubin. For the traditional small forward and power forward positions, Valentine could go a couple of different ways.

If Valentine wanted to roll with two 6’10 centers in the four and five considering that Rubin and Richardson play slightly different ways as Richardson focuses on offense while Rubin locks it down on defense, he could. He can also bring Richardson off the bench and move Xavier Amos who falls more into a power forward position physique-wise into the starting lineup, but he’s a prolific shot blocker as well. If you run Amos and Rubin together, the other team will not be scoring in the paint.

At small forward, Houinsou was a valuable player last season and at 6’7 he has great size. Similarly Ola-Joseph is 6’7 and you could argue that he’s more skilled offensively than Housinsou, however, Houinsou is a do-it-all type player. I think this position in the starting lineup could come down to the wire coming out of practices and exhibitions as the Ramblers head into the regular season.

Coming off the bench, you can have Dominick Harris coming in as the primary back-up for Justin Moore. He’s not a traditional point guard, so the Ramblers will have to do what they did without Moore last year and share the playmaking responsibilities. The two odd men out of the starting lineup at the small and power forward positions, then Kayde Dotson and Chuck Love III. Even the Ramblers bench is a solid team that should give them an advantage over their opponents.

Looking beyond the starting lineup, this team has a lot of experience. Last season they ranked 57th in the country in division one experience. Despite losing several veteran players, Valentine replaced them with four more seniors and one junior. In this new era of college basketball, veteran experience is one of the most valuable pieces of roster construction.

Last season, once Justin Moore went down it became a committee to facilitate playmaking. Despite their point guard who was averaging six assists per game going into his last game of the season, they still finished 25-12 and a 60.3% assist rate. Now, with Moore coming back and adding in additional secondary ball handlers like Dominick Harris and Deywilk Tavarez, Valentine has bolstered his playmaking capabilities.

In the paint, the Ramblers will have one of the best array of big men outside of the power conference ranks with Miles Rubin, Xavier Amos, and Alexander Richardson. You could argue that you don’t know what you are you going to get out of Richardson, which is true, however he is already 22 and he’s been dominating in the pro-leagues of Europe. I firmly believe that he’ll be able to adjust easily to college basketball, all while Miles Rubin remains as one of the best defensive players in the country.

From beyond the arc, they are shaping up much better than last season. The Ramblers finished 172nd in the nation while shooting 34% from three-point as a team. The top shooter was technically Jack Turner who shot 42.9% across 11 games while averaging 2.8 minutes. Among the regular rotation, Sheldon Edwards Jr. led the team while shooting 37.6%. Now, with Deywilk Harris, Kayde Dotson, and Dominick Harris, they will have three players who had all shot over 40% at one point in their careers.

While this is a well-rounded team overall, the primary concern I have this on-ball defenders from the guard position. Obviously, they have plenty of help on the defensive-end down low. However, last season the Ramblers only averaged 6.4 steals per game with Des Watson averaging 1.4 of those. Out of the returnees, Houinsou had the highest steal rate with 1.9%. Dominick Harris finished with a 3.1% steal rate at UCLA in his minimal role, but at Loyola Marymount the year prior it was just 1.0%. Kayde Dotson finished with a 3.5% rate at New Mexico last year in his minimal role. I don’t believe that the lack of activity on defense from the guards to generate steals and fast-break opportunities will be an albatross for the Ramblers, but it is something to watch.

I love this roster. It’s deep at each position and Drew Valentine was able to retain enough talent from last season’s solid squad while bringing in high profile players from the portal and overseas. They’ve improved their depth at point guard, they’ve improved their three-point shooting capabilities, and they’ve solidified their height to join Miles Rubin. As long as they stay healthy this season, I genuinely believe the Ramblers can return to the NCAA Tournament this season which would mark their first trip since joining the Atlantic 10.