SEMO Redhawks 2026-27 Offseason Review: A New-Look Roster
Brad Korn is rebuilding SEMO with talent from every level. Here's a full breakdown of every addition and expectation for the 2026-2027 Redhawks roster.
Head Coach Brad Korn took over the helm of the SEMO Redhawks in 2020, but these past two seasons have been some of the best seasons the program has put together since it transitioned to Division I in 1991. They finished 21-12 and 15-5 two seasons ago and briefly cracked the top-200 of KenPom, then followed up with a 20-13 record while going 14-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference this past season.
The Ohio Valley is trending upward. After flailing a bit with the departures of Belmont and Murray State, the conference put together it’s best holistic year since 2022. The battle down the stretch for the top of the conference was a blast to watch and SEMO was right at the top the entire time. However, they ultimately fell to Morehead State in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament 66-61 after taking down Lindenwood the day prior.
Coming into last year, the Redhawks were a veteran team with the majority of their roster being upperclassmen. With that in mind, the coaching staff and fans knew that it was going to be an eventfully offseason, essentially building an entirely new roster from scratch. Let’s take a look at who the Redhawks have added for the 2026-2027 season.
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Roster Turnover
Blaize Sagna (Ineligible)
1.5 points, 1 rebound
Elliot Lowndes (Ineligible)
2.5 points, 1.3 rebounds
BJ Ward (Senior) → East Tennessee State
10.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists
Troy Cole Jr. (Senior) → TBD
4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds
Luke Almodovar (Senior) → Memphis
14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1 steal
Brendan Terry (Senior) → TBD
11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2 assists
David Idada (Senior) → TBD
1.8 points, 2.5 rebounds
Saxton Hoepker (Senior) → TBD
DNP (Walk-On)
Braxton Stacker (Senior) → TBD
11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists
It should have been no surprise for SEMO fans that they’d be facing nearly an entire new roster coming into the 2026-2027 season. Just two players technically transferred from SEMO to another program, with both making jumps to tougher conferences. Luke Almodovar has now gone from NAIA to Memphis just two two seasons, using his standout season at SEMO to jump him up to the AAC. On the other hand, BJ Ward who was in the top three of production for the Redhawks last season landed in the SoCon with East Tennessee State.
Several additional players that were seniors last season hit the transfer portal in search of additional eligibility, but none have broken through and landed on another roster thus far.
Returning Players
Marqueas Bell (Senior)
9.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Landren Blocker (Junior)
5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds
P.J. Farmer (Sophomore)
1.9 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1 assist
Trace Sadler (Sophomore)
0.9 points, 0.4 rebounds (13 games / 3.8 minutes)
Jay Reynolds (Sophomore)
1.2 points (10 games / 5.1 minutes)
SEMO was a very veteran heavy team last season, so the staff and fans knew that they’d be returning few players. However, they did bring back two rotational players in Marqueas Bell & Landren Blocker.
Bell averaged 9.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in just 22 minutes per game while shooting 52.5% overall and 30.8% from beyond the arc. The 6’3 guard finished with a 108.3 offensive rating, 12.1% defensive rebounding percentage which was 122nd overall, and a 15.0 assist rate. In conference player, his metrics skyrocketed as he finished 16th in offensive rating, third in defensive rebounding percentage, 19th in assist rate, 25th in two-point shooting percentage, and 7th in fouls drawn per game. He was streaky, with six out of 20 games in conference seeing him finish with just two points, but when he gets hot on offense he’s phenomenal. Against Lindenwood, he had 25 points with five rebounds, and he finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists against Tennessee State who would go on to win the OVC Tournament.
Blocker transferred in from Louisiana Tech last season and he jumped into SEMO’s lineup. He appeared in 33 games, started in 28, and averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 60.8% overall and 41.7% from beyond the arc on 24 attempts. He’s a 6’5 guard that is incredible on the defensive end. During the regular season, he had a 4.3% block percentage which was 241st overall and a 3% steal percentage which was 214th with a 10.4% offensive rebounding percentage which was 223rd. In the OVC, he jumped to 9th in offensive rebounding percentage, 5th in block percentage, and 6th in steal percentage. He’s the type of player that when he takes on a larger role this season, he could breakout.
PJ Farmer saw a little bit of playing time as a freshman, appearing in 32 games and averaging 9.3 minutes per game. The 6’2 guard averaged 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 41.4% from the floor. He struggled from three-point, completing just two of his 19 attempts, but he shot 56.4% from inside the arc. Farmer has a lot of potential, so you should look for him to take another step forward this season as his role expands.
Trace Sadler & Jay Reynolds both saw minimal time on the floor during their freshman seasons last year. Sadler is a 7’0 center in which most of his production came against two non-division one opponents. He did however, convert his one attempt against Iowa. Reynolds similarly saw most of his production come against SEMO’s non-division one opponents. Both will provide depth roles for the Redhawks this coming season.
Roster Additions
Fontaine Williams (West Texas A&M ~ DII)
20.5 points, 2.5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals
Clayton Jewell (Colorado Mesa ~ DII)
11.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1 steal
Marcus Eaves (John A Lohan ~ JUCO)
9.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Kycen Pruett (College of Coastal Georgia ~ NAIA)
8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Darrion Sutton (Missouri State)
4.6 points, 4.3 rebounds
Alonzo Clawson-Smith (IU - Kokomo ~ NAIA)
18.8 points, 6 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2 steals
Drew Cooper (Bossier Parish Community College ~ JUCO)
15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Curtis (Champ) Simpson (Freshman)
Axton Perry (Freshman)
Guards
Fontaine Williams (6’2)
Well will you look at that, another Barton CC product! I feel like I write about a player with some connection to Barton in nearly every review. Williams started his career at Seward County CC before jumping to Barton where he saw success, which led to him jumping to the Division II ranks at West Texas A&M last season. He took off in his junior season, averaging 20.5 points, 2.5 assists, two rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 45.7% overall and 41.5% from three-point.
He has a knack for getting to the free throw line as well. He attempted 200 shots from the line last season, with the next closest on the team being 99. Of those 200, he converted a whopping 173 for an 86.5% shooting clip.
We have seen plenty of talent from Division II, JUCO, and NAIA over the recent years take flight in the Ohio Valley Conference and I have no doubt that with his tremendous scoring abilities you’ll see the same from Williams this season.
Marcus Eaves (6’4)
John A Logan has produced a lot of strong basketball talent over the years and Eaves is looking to add his name to the list of successful alumni. He finished his freshman season while averaging 9.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a shade over one steal per game while shooting 48.5% overall and 34.3% from beyond the arc.
What I love about his game is his toughness. He can stretch you outside as he took 70 shots from three-point, but he can fight through track while finishing strong around the rim. He isn’t going to be a leading point guard, but he offers the much needed skillset of a secondary guard to compliment someone like Alonzo Clawson-Smith. Look for Eaves to play a lot of minutes off the bench this season and even potentially jump into the lineup later in the year if his development is successful.
Alonzo Clawson-Smith (6’0)
Clawson-Smith proved that he had Division I talent immediately as a freshman at IU Kokomo this past season. We’re seeing a lot of NAIA stars making their way to Division I and now he’ll be yet another to make waves in the Ohio Valley Conference next season. The 6’0 guard averaged 18.8 points with six assists and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56% overall and 36.1% from beyond the arc. He isn’t a volume three-point shooter as he took just 61 attempts, which came out to roughly 18.8% of his total shots. However, he also plays strong on-ball defense as he racked up a shade over two assists per game.
You probably haven’t heard of him before this post, but he’s a name that you need to put him on your radar. With his incredible offensive prowess and ability to serve as a floor general as he averaged 2.4 turnovers per game compared to his six assists, he’ll be making a name for himself at the Division I level. Look for him to potentially be on the All-OVC First Team in year one.
Kycen Pruett (6’4)
Pruett appeared in just 13 games before cutting his season short due to an injury at NAIA College of Coastal Georgia. He averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game during that stretch while shooting 37.3% overall and 39.7% from beyond the arc. 71.5% of his shot attempts came from three-point, marking his as truly a three-point specialist. Against FAU, he finished with 13 points in 20 minutes, and in total he averaged 10 points in their three games against Division I opponents while shooting 53% from three-point.
The 6’4 guard actually started his career at Marshall where he spent two seasons and appeared in 17 games. He didn’t see a ton of playing time, but served as a depth shooter on the bench.
I don’t expect him to jump to the starting lineup, but he can provide a spark off the bench when the right lineup fits to favor the three-point shot.
Curtis (Champ) Simpson (6’2)
Head Coach Brad Korn called Champ Simpson a bit of a diamond in the rough type player, and it’s easy to see why. He provides a ton of energy, and he had an electric career at Chattahoochee County High School where he averaged 26.5 points and 8.7 assists per game his senior season. That was good enough to earn Tennessee Player of the Year in Class A D-II. With the strong guards they have, I believe he’ll take a developmental year, but he can easily develop into a strong guard for SEMO in the coming years.
Simpson had one other offer from UCF.
Forwards
Clayton Jewell (6’9)
Jewell spent his sophomore season at Colorado Mesa where he averaged 11.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks, and one steal per game while shooting 49.8% overall from the floor. He isn’t a volume three-point shooter, but I do want to call out that he shot 30.4% on 23 attempts, so there’s some skill there. For a more traditional “big man”, he converts well at the free throw line as he shot 83.1% on his 89 attempts throughout the season.
With the Redhawks losing Brendan Terry from last season, Jewell is going to be able to slot right into his position as a replacement. While I don’t know if he’s a 1:1 replacement on the offensive end, he is a stronger rebounder and should present an improvement on the defensive end with a bit more height where he can fit well into the 5 spot.
Darrion Sutton (6’9)
The Redhawks have found themselves their defensive anchor for next season in Darrion Sutton. He spent his freshman season at Georgia Tech where he appeared in 18 games and started one while averaging 1.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. Coming out of high school, he held offers from Seton Hall, Providence, Florida State, Butler, and many other power conference programs.
After his freshman season, he transferred to Missouri State last year where he averaged 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 53.6% overall. He did knock down four of his 13 shot attempts from beyond the arc as well. He posted some strong stat lines, including 12 points with 5 rebounds against Xavier, seven points with 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals against Arkansas State, and seven points with 11 rebounds against FIU in just 16 minutes.
Looking at his metrics, he finished with a 111.1 offensive rating, 23.5% defensive rebound percentage, 12.7% offensive rebound percentage, and a remarkable 5.6% block percentage. This is the type of player that with his inevitable expanded opportunity this season, he’ll be able to take off and become a crucial player in the starting lineup for SEMO.
Drew Cooper (6’8)
Cooper put up a strong season in the JUCO ranks at Bossier Parish Community College last season. The 6’8 forward averaged 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, ad 1.3 assists per game while shooting 41.2% overall and 34.8% from three-point on 227 attempts.
He is going to fit into the forward position well for the Redhawks because he compliments both Jewell and Sutton well. He’ll be able to provide them with an additional shooter from outside, while still not forfeiting defense inside the paint. He won’t rack up the offensive boards as he had just 32 in 31 games, but he’ll be able to stretch the floor with his height and assist in disrupting defenses to force opposing big men to cover him outside.
Axton Perry (6’8)
Perry is a developmental big man who poses a lot of upside on both the offensive and defensive ends. He features a 6’11 wingspan. He has fantastic athleticism that is going to translate easily to the Division I level. During the TSSAA Class 4A state championship game, Perry finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 steals for Bartlett who defeated Walker Valley 69-47. I don’t believe he’ll take on a massive role his freshman season, but I’d be shocked if you don’t see him on the court earning minutes while he develops for the coming years.
Perry held offers from Miami Ohio, Murray State, UT Martin, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
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Expectations
The Ohio Valley Conference is going to continue to be a wide-open conference in this era of the transfer portal as most teams will see a plethora of players being one-and-done or staying just two seasons. This means that the head coaches of teams in this conference are going to have to get creative and they are doing just that. We’ve talked a lot about Jeremy Shulman’s international recruiting at UT Martin, while Brian Barone has done some tremendous recruiting in JUCO, and Brad Korn now has assembled a strong roster of talent from all levels outside of Division I (DII, JUCO, and NAIA).
Looking at the roster this far, I’d be stunned not to see Alonzo Clawson-Smith, Darius Sutton, and Fontaine Williams in the starting line up. Clawson-Smith put up prolific numbers as a point guard, then Williams can slot in as the two-guard and provide you with strong offense, and Sutton can hold down the paint with his defense and still pose a threat on offense. For the other two spots, I think it is more wide open, but look for Drew Cooper to slide in at the four given his outstanding offensive numbers in JUCO or Clayton Jewell if they want to go with more of a true “big man” given then he is a strong disrupter inside. For the final spot, it’ll probably be between Landren Blocker and Marqueas Bell. I’d lean Blocker because he provides a bit more height at 6’5 so he could slot into the three-spot. However, Bell is a strong rebounder at just 6’3, but neither are really strong three-point shooters so I could see that going either way. Don’t forget about Trace Sadler either. At 7’0, he is the tallest and only player with true “center height” on the roster, so you should be seeing plenty of him as a sophomore.
The beauty about this roster is, you really can mix-and-match the starting lineup and it’s reasonable to expect that there will be some changes during the non-conference as Brad Korn figures out exactly who he wants in the lineup every game.
The only concern I have on this roster is the overall lack of height. As I mentioned previously, Trace Sadler is the only true “center” on the roster at 7’0, but there are others like Jewell and Sutton that come in at 6’9. We didn’t see a ton of Sadler last season, so it’s hard to say on June 8th that he’s going to be the starting center, but regardless when he isn’t in the lineup you are going to have two 6’9 forwards to hold down the paint by themselves. While that won’t always be an issue at this level, it is something to watch out for once they get into Ohio Valley Conference play.
I’m going to continue to stay this until at the earliest August or September, but I’m not going to try and predict where this team might fall in their conference. When you are pulling in a ton of talent without Division I experience, it’s hard to predict. It becomes even more difficult when nearly every other team in the conference is doing the same thing. However, I will say that I would be thoroughly shocked if we don’t see a third consecutive 20+ win season from SEMO. The majority of these players dominated at their respective levels, and that will translate to this level. Keep at eye on the Redhawks next season!