The New Mexico Lobos are coming off a successful first year with Eric Olen as head coach. They finished the season 26-11 overall, 13-7 in the Mountain West, and went on a run to the NIT Semifinals before falling to Tulsa 74-69. Now, they enter year two with a strong roster, but different opponents.
Over the last year, it’s been known that the PAC-12 would be returning, and with it are many teams from the Mountain West. Utah State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and Boise State have all departed the formerly strong non-power conference to join the PAC-12, leaving Air Force, Nevada, UNLV, San Jose State, Wyoming, and the Lobos as the last remaining members. With them, Grand Canyon, UC Davis, Hawaii, and UTEP have joined the ranks.
Conference alignment aside, the Lobos have also had quite a bit of turnover on their roster. However, unlike many other programs we’ve written about of the last few months, they were able to return a star and multiple key players for their rotation. Their roster is shaping up to be one that can not only compete at the top of the Mountain West, but maybe one that can become a threat in the Big Dance.
Let’s take a look at how their roster has come together!
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Roster Turnover
Luke Haupt (Ineligible)
7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals
Dayton Albury (Ineligible)
11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals
Tajavis Miller (Ineligible)
5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1 assist
Milos Vicentic (Ineligible)
3.1 points, 1.1 rebounds
Antonio Chol (Senior) ~ UC Santa Barbara
7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds
Kevin Patton, Jr. (Senior) ~ Bethune-Cookman
2.6 points, 2.2 rebounds
JT Rock (Junior) ~ Kansas State
6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds
Tomislav Buljan (Sophomore) ~ Maryland
13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals
Timeo Pons (Sophomore) ~ Abilene Christian
2.6 points, 1 rebound
Sir Marius Jones (Sophomore) ~ Weber State
DNP
Kallai Patton (Sophomore) ~ TBD
DNP
While losing four of their players due to lack of eligibility, in the grand scheme of the rest of the roster they came out in a reasonable place. Tomislav Buljan is a star in the making, so it’s easy to see why he made the jump to the power conferences at Maryland. JT Rock also jumped up by heading to Kansas State, but that’s a team that Casey Alexander is going to have to dig in and rebuild after the recent disaster of performance.
The remaining players had to lower mid-majors, but one to keep an eye on is Antonio Chol. UC Santa Barbara is looking like they are going to be competing towards the top of the Big West once again, and they’ll be extra hungry as it’s their last season before jumping to the WCC.
Returning Players
Jake Hall (Sophomore)
16.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Uriah Tenette (Sophomore)
10.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals
Chris Howell (Senior)
5.5 points, 3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.7 steals
Jake Hall (6’4)
Jake Hall not only put up one of the best seasons from a freshman last season, but one of the better overall seasons in the country. The 6’4 guard is a blossoming star that has next-level potential. In 37 games, he averaged 16.4 points with 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 47.9% overall from the floor and 43.8% from three-point.
From the beginning of the season he showed strong potential, putting up 20 points against Nebraska, 24 points against VCU, and 18 points in his Mountain West debut. However, he turned into a monster over the back half of the season. Over the last 19 games of the regular season, he averaged 18.1 points with 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He shot a ridiculous 50.9% overall during that stretch, and 49.6% from three-point. Across four games in the NIT, he averaged 19.3 points with 2.5 rebounds.
Hall is a walking bucket. He finished the season with a 125.5 offensive rating (136th overall), 63.2% true shooting percentage (96th overall), and 46th overall in three-point shooting percentage at 43.2% against Division I talent. As alluded to earlier, his stats got even better in the Mountain West as he finished in the top five of five different metric categories.
Retaining Hall for another season was one of the best stories after he initially entered the transfer portal. He isn’t alone in returning to the Lobos either…
Uriah Tenette (5’11)
The Lobos had one of the best freshmen duos in the country last season, with Uriah Tenette being the complementary guard to Jake Hall. The freshman averaged 10.6 points with 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He shot 40.5% overall and 32.4% from beyond the arc. He isn’t as flashy on offense as Hall, but he makes up for it with his defense. He finished with three or more steals in six games and with a 2.9% steal percentage which was 279th best in the nation.
Diving deeper into his metrics, he finished with a 118.2 offensive rating, 53.7% true shooting percentage, 18.2 assist rate, 10.1 turnover rate, and a 37.7 free throw rate which led to a remarkable 81.8% clip from the free throw line. He stepped into a larger role as a facilitator towards the end of the season, finishing with seven assists against Utah State and nine against San Jose State while averaging 4.3 across four games in the NIT.
Returning both Hall and Tenette is a dream come true for Lobos fans. Tenette will continue to develop into a solid offensive player with the ability to be a facilitator and strong defender.
Chris Howell (6’6)
Howell spent his first two seasons at Saint Mary’s before transferring to UC San Diego where he started in all 35 games with that legendary team just two seasons ago. He followed head coach Eric Olen to New Mexico where he started in eleven games, but was limited to just eleven due to an injury. Through those first eleven games of the season, he was averaging 5.5 points with three rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. The year prior, he averaged 2.2 steals, so he’s a huge asset that can both distribute the ball and force turnovers, making up the fact that he isn’t going to drop ten points or more per game.
His metrics tell the story as across his eleven games, he finished with a 107 offensive rating, 10.3% defensive rebounding percentage, 3.9% steal percentage, and a 22.2 assist rate. Keep in mind, the year prior he finished with a 117.7 offensive rating which was 357th overall, and a remarkable 4.3% steal percentage which was 29th best in the country. While he might not light up the box score on offense, he is efficient.
Following his injury, he was able to retain a year of eligibility and he’ll provide a huge role for the Lobos. Hall is a star on offense, while Tenette stepped up in Howell’s absence from a distribution perspective. Howell is a perfect complementary player among the three returners.
Roster Additions
Rytis Petraitis (Senior) ~ California
5.3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (Senior) ~ William & Mary
11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals
A.J. Pierre-Jerome (Junior)
6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds
Hudson Mayes (Sophomore) ~ UC San Diego
11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1 steal
Imran Suljanovic (Redshirt Freshman) ~ St. John’s
Redshirted (Injury)
Benjamin Schuch (Freshman)
Federico Grani (Freshman)
Fynn Lastring (Freshman)
Dax Hall (Freshman)
Nate Muriithi (Freshman)
Guards
Hudson Mayes (6’5)
There is no doubt that Hudson Mayes was on Eric Olen’s radar when he was at UC San Diego. He had committed to the Tritons on April 13th, 2025, just one month after Olen was named the head coach of New Mexico. Mayes will now join Olen after a strong freshman campaign on a solid UC San Diego team. He finished the season averaging 11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 54.5% overall and 35.5% from three-point.
Mayes started off the season averaging 15-20 minutes, but he finished with 30+ minutes in nine of their last twelve games. His metrics show why this is the case as he was in the top of the Big West in 14 different key metric categories. He finished 7th in the conference with a 118.1 offensive rating, 10th in true shooting percentage at 58.9%, 6th in defensive rebounding percentage at 20.5%, 18th in assist rate at 15.8, 13th in steal percentage at 2.4%, and 3rd in free throw shooting percentage at 88.9% which was coupled with a 43.4 free throw rate which was 15th best.
All of this is saying, Mayes is going to become a monster college basketball player. He has a strong frame, he’s physical, he’s electric inside the arc, and a force on the boards. Don’t be surprised if you see him in the starting lineup on opening day.
Dax Hall (6’1)
Yes, Dax is the younger brother of star Lobo Jake Hall. He committed just one day after Jake announced that he would be returning to New Mexico this season. He finished his senior season averaging 27 points with 7.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game at Santa Fe Christian.
He originally received an offer from UC San Diego back in 2024 when Eric Olen was head coach. He might not quite live up to Jake’s ceiling, but he’s an electric scorer. At his size, he fits more as a point guard that will provide some depth this season. He might not play a ton this season, but he’ll turn himself into a solid collegiate player.
Forwards
Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (6’7)
After starting his career off at La Salle for the first two seasons, he transferred to William & Mary where he took a huge step forward. At La Salle, he started in 18 of the 33 games he appeared in as a freshman while averaging 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. His playing time took a step back his sophomore season, but he turned himself into a solid starter for the Tribe. He averaged 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 46.1% overall and 35% from three-point.
He took off once he reached conference play last year. He ranked towards the top of the conference in 12 different key metric categories, including: 13th in offensive rating at 121.0, 9th in true shooting percentage at 60.4%, 25th in defensive rebounding percentage at 15%, 23rd in assist rate at 16.5, 6th in block percentage at 3.5%, 24th in steal percentage at 2%, 7th in free throw shooting percentage at 83.3%, and 14th in two-point shooting percentage at 58.8%.
Fasasi is the definition of a “glue guy”. He’s the type of player that’s going to fill up the box score on any given night, whether that’s through offense, play making, or on the defensive end. He should slot into the rotation with ease this season with the Lobos.
Imran Suljanovic (6’8)
Just a couple of weeks before the season started, Suljanovic dislocated his patella at a practice with St. John’s which forced him to undergo a surgery and miss the entire season with the Red Storm to recover. While it wasn’t the start he was looking for in his journey to college basketball in the US, the Austrian forward has a tremendous amount of potential.
As a member of the U18 Austria team in the 2024-2025 season, he averaged a massive 22.4 points with 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 steals while shooting 45.9% across seven games. He had a late growth spurt that pushed him to 6’8, which makes him invaluable. He has the ability to move like a guard, but has the height to make him a difference maker on the defensive end as well. There’s no doubt he’ll probably ease into a role in the rotation, but you’ll be seeing plenty of him this season and Lobos fans should look forward to watching him develop.
AJ Pierre-Jerome (6’9)
AJ Pierre-Jerome has been one of the more interesting transfers that I’ve written about over the last few months. The Florida native spent the last two seasons at Butler Community College where he appeared in 68 games and started 21. Last year, he averaged 6.9 points with 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7% overall. He isn’t a three point threat either as he knocked down five of his 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Minutes-wise, he averaged 17.8 per game last year.
Butler wasn’t one of the JUCOs that won 30+ games, but they did finish 25-10 overall and reached the NJCAA DI Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals where they fell to Howard College by a whopping score of 134-128. Pierre-Jerome finished with just four points, one rebound, and one assist in 18 minutes before he fouled out of the game. For comparison, the star of the team, Tristan Hankins, committed to UT Arlington after averaging 18.5 points with 5.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for Butler CC.
All of this being said, Pierre-Jerome just doesn’t pop out to me as someone that’s going to make an immediate impact this season. He definitely has potential as a defender with his height and the fact that he averaged nearly one block per game in his limited playing time. I’m not convinced he’ll have a huge role this season.
Rytis Petraitis (6’7)
The 6’7 senior started his career out at Air Force where he had two successful seasons. In his sophomore campaign, he finished the season averaging 15.7 points with 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He made the jump to California where he started in 29 of the 33 games he appeared in while finishing the season with a stat line of 8.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Notably, his three-point shooting diminished from 34.9% in his last season at Air Force to just 25.8%. Last year, he unfortunately appeared in just seven games before missing the rest of the season with an injury.
Looking at his metrics, he’s put together some strong numbers over the years. In his full season at California in 2024-2025, he finished with a 115.4 offensive rating, 52.7% true shooting percentage, 13.1% defensive rebounding percentage, 10.3% offensive rebounding percentage (228th in the country), 2.8% steal percentage (352nd in the country), and a 55.9 free throw rate (85th in the country).
If Petraitis has been able to fully recover from his injury, he’ll provide a tremendous amount of experience and energy on this team.
Benjamin Schuch (6’9)
Suljanovic isn’t the only Austrian joining New Mexico as Schuch has already put together some tremendous games in Europe. He played for Zentro Basket last year where he averaged 9.8 points with 4.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, one block, and 1.3 steals per game. He also appeared in the World Cup, averaged 7.5 points with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in two games.
With Zentro Basket, he put up some massive stat lines. Against Mensajero, he finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and three steals. He had three double-doubles with several narrow misses. On the season, he shot 62.5% from inside the arc, 27.5% from outside, and 43.9% overall. At 6’9, you wouldn’t think he’d take more shots from outside than inside, but he attempts 109 shots from beyond the arc and just 96 inside the arc.
I have no doubt that you’ll see Schuch on the floor this season as a freshman. He won’t play 20 minutes a game, but the Lobos don’t have a ton of height. He can fit in well as a stretch four and will become a strong prospect for the long-term.
Federico Grani (6’9)
We have another European on the team! Federico Grani hails from Italy where he played for Agrigento last season. Across 37 games, he averaged 7.9 points with 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He shot 61.1% from inside the arc and knocked down just one of his eight attempts from three-point.
He finished the season with six double-doubles and some massive games on the defensive end including five blocks against Orlandina. Similar to Schuch, the Lobos don’t have a ton of experience with height. However, Grani is more of a traditional big man, while Schuch is a stretch four. Given that New Mexico has a lack of depth at this position, you should expect to see Grani on the court this season in the regular rotation.
Nate Muriithi (6’6)
Muriithi is arguably the most raw talent of the incoming freshman class for the Lobos. The Oklahoma City native is a defensive-first player that averaged just 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a senior. There is no doubt that his defensive capabilities are going to make him a solid Division I player, however, he lacks on the offensive end. He’s not a three-point threat and he needs some work at the free-throw line. At 6’6, he is going to have to become a stronger shooter to solidify himself as a small forward in a conference as strong as the Mountain West.
He’ll most likely play a depth role this season as he aligns as a longer-term prospect for the Lobos.
Centers
Fynn Lastring (6’10)
Lastring is another incoming international freshman for Eric Olen this season. The big man played on a few teams last season in Germany, including Artland, Vechta 2, and RASTA. For Artland, this is in Germany’s ProA league. He appeared in 31 games while averaging 5.3 points with 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot 54.7% from inside the arc, 41.8% from outside on 55 attempts, and 49.2% overall.
With Vechta, this is Germany’s ProB league. He appeared in 13 games while averaging 11.7 points with 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 61.7% from inside the arc, 45.1% from three-point on 51 attempts, and 54% overall. While he is 6’10, he has the ability to flex outside and knock down a three pointer. This will complement Schuch and Grani well as Grani can serve as a traditional big, while Lastring serves as a flex on the court that can be a force down low or focus on offense which Schuch sits in the paint.
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Expectations
Unlike many teams that have to rebuild their starting lineups while retaining bench players, Eric Olen was the opposite. In retaining Hall, Tenette, and Howell, he’s bringing back three players that will be starters this season. Throw in the roster additions, it was evident that Olen wanted to address the front court. Let’s look at how that lineup is probably going to shape up:
Uriah Tenette
Jake Hall
Chris Howell / Hudson Mayes
Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi
A.J. Pierre-Jerome / Federico Grani / Fynn Lastring
They are simply loaded at the guard position. Uriah Tenette showed a lot of potential when he had to step up into a larger role at point guard. He finished averaging 2.9 assists to just 0.9 turnovers while his turnover rate was the 175th best in the country. Remember the nine assist game I mentioned earlier? He had zero turnovers and racked up three steals to go with it. Over the final six games of the season, he averaged 4.7 assists to just 0.8 turnovers. If you take out the San Diego State game, those increase to 5.4 assists to 0.8 turnovers. All this being said, they have a blossoming point guard to go with their offensive star Jake Hall.
Looking at the small forward position, I can see them going with either Chris Howell or Hudson Mayes. Howell has history with Eric Olen and he’s started in every game he’s played underneath him. Mayes is coming off a stellar freshman season and provides more of an offensive upside than Howell. However, Howell is going to give you much more playmaking than Mayes. I can truly see this going either way, but I feel like Olen will lean towards Howell just based off experience. It might make sense to bring Mayes off the bench because he can help on offense when Jake Hall isn’t on the court, then vice versa with Tenette and Howell’s playmaking.
Looking at the front court, it gets a little more shaky in terms of obvious starters. They have a ton of freshmen here, and you never really know what you are going to get out of them in year one. Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi makes the most sense to me to start at the four spot. He brings in three years of experience at the Division I level, and he’s coming off a strong season at William & Mary. He’s not going to rack up six or eight rebounds a game, but he has strong on-ball defense, and he’s versatile with his ability to both score and dabble in some playmaking. As a reminder, he featured a 3.5% blocking percentage with a 2.4% steal percentage, and 12.5% defensive rebounding percentage all while being very efficient on the offensive end.
The center position is a toss-up to me. I really don’t know what direction Olen is going to go here because he has a ton of options. Ultimately, it’ll come down to who is looking the best in practice, and what does the rest of the lineup look like. Among their options, A.J. Pierre-Jerome, Federico Grani, and Fynn Lastring are the most likely candidates. Pierre-Jerome wasn’t a star JUCO player, but he’s strong on defense and he does have experience. Grani is a freshman, but a true traditional big-man. Lastring can be a flex-five with his ability to shoot from beyond the arc and his efficiency from inside the paint. With no knowledge about how the players are looking in practice thus far, I’d lean Grani because they are going to need someone that can lock down the paint, but someone like Lastring can lead to there being five players on the court that can knock down a shot from deep.
Coming off the bench, you are going to have Ben Schuch, whoever is the odd man out from the center battle, Imran Suljanovic, and Rytis Petraitis. Honestly, don’t be surprised if Petraitis gets the nod in the starting lineup at the four spot or even the three because he brings in a ton of experience, both in the Mountain West where he already proved himself and at Cal. This team is so deep that the secondary unit isn’t really a drop-off from the starting lineup. Suljanovic had a rough start to his collegiate career with the injury, so I see him getting eased into things, but he could easily solidify himself in the rotation by the end of the season as a back-up.
I love the makeup of this team. They are deep at all positions, even with several freshmen on the roster. The freshmen bring in important experience from the international ranks that gives them an edge over other newcomers we’ve written about this offseason. Looking at Jake Hall and Tenette, these are two sophomores that are going to be on true breakout watch this season. The pickup of Hudson Mayes, Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi, and Rytis Petraitis are all going to pay dividends. This is a team that could win the Mountain West this season and even potentially do damage in the early days of the NCAA Tournament.