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Rickey Mitchell Jr. vs. Northern New Mexico College
Kaitlyn Silva
Rickey Mitchell Jr. (0) elevates for a jumper in an exhibition against the Eagles in Whalen Gymnasium.

Season Preview: 2026-27 Men’s Basketball

11/8/2026 1:30:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement
DURANGO, Colo. – With back-to-back appearances in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championship semifinals and 37 wins in his first two seasons up on the rim, third-year head coach Jordan Mast and the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team are poised to take another step forward in 2026-27.
 
Solidifying the Foundation
In a short-handed season plagued by injuries, Fort Lewis still fought to an 18-11 overall record and tied for the second-best conference record at 15-5, but settled for the fourth overall seed in the Skyhawks' sixth-straight appearance at the RMAC Championships.
 
The Skyhawks handled Route 160 rival Adams State University, 88-72 in the quarterfinal round at home in Whalen Gymnasium, but fell 77-75 in a heartbreaker to No. 13-ranked top-seeded Black Hills State University.
 
Mast's squad thrived on its defensive pressure, and the Skyhawks finished the season ranked third in steals per game (12.3), sixth in turnovers forced per game (18.66), and 41st in rebounding (38.72) among all 289 NCAA Division II programs. In addition, FLC posted the nation's 25th-best 13.69 offensive rebounds per game.
 
Familiar Faces
Fort Lewis returns seven student-athletes from last season's roster, turning over just under half of its lineup from a season ago. Senior guard Yorgio Golesis looks to build on his strong start in a Skyhawks uniform, starting all 11 games last year before an injury ended his junior campaign. Senior guard Nathan Penney will look to settle back in after just three appearances, and fifth-year guard Jude Tapia also returns after missing out all of last season.
 
Fifth-year guard Muhammed Kora is hoping to make his mark on the program after transferring in a season ago from NCAA Division II Lane College. Junior guard Noah Hellem, the second-longest-tenured Skyhawk behind Penney, is poised to see additional minutes after 13 appearances last season. Sophomore Daniel Steverson will make his collegiate debut after a pre-season injury sidelined him for all of last season. Rounding out the group is sophomore Garrett Barger, who scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his eight appearances and limited minutes last year.
 
New to the Flock
Eight new faces will don a Fort Lewis uniform this year, highlighted by a freshman class of five student-athletes, including forwards Soren Ries and Antonije Ristic, and guards Callen Gebhardt, Carson Keplinger, and Jake Schutt.
 
Fort Lewis brought in three talented transfers, including Division I transfer Rickey Mitchell Jr. from Bethune-Cookman University, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) transfer Griffyn Doughty out of Dickinson State University, and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) talent Champ Powaukee from Neosho County Community College.
 
Standing at six-foot-four, Doughty was a three-year standout for the Blue Hawks at Dickinson State, averaging 15.1 points on 42.4 percent shooting, with a 35.9 percent clip from the three-point line and an 88 percent mark at the free-throw line, alongside 2.0 rebounds, 22 steals, and five blocks in 28 games. Doughty put up a team-high 423 points.
 
Out of Lapwai, Idaho, comes Powaukee, who racked up 52 starts in his 59 career games at Neosho. The six-foot-three guard averaged 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.8 steals per game for his career with the Panthers while firing at clips of 43.1 percent from the floor, 35.2 percent from deep, and 72.4 percent at the line.
 
Watch the Skies
Golesis, a six-foot-one guard out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and former SAC Freshman of the Year at Oklahoma City University, is one to watch as he returns to the hardwood to direct the Fort Lewis offense. Through 11 games last season, Golesis was averaging 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals on 27.9 minutes per game. Golesis put up a season-high 23 points against Western New Mexico (Nov. 15), finished in double figures thrice, and was averaging 5.8 assists per game in his last four games of the year.
 
Another Skyhawk to watch is Tapia, a shifty-shooter former Second-Team All-RMAC selection back in 2024-25 with Adams State. In his last full season, Tapia led the RMAC in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game while shooting an efficient 45.3 percent from the floor, a lethal 43.1 percent from beyond the arc, and steady 81.8 percent at the free-throw line. Tapia racked up 488 points, finished in double figures in 20 of his 28 games, went for 20+ points 12 times, and put up a pair of 30-point games, including a career-high 36 on the road at Midwestern State University.
 
To no surprise, Mitchell Jr. caps the trio of Skyhawks to watch this season, after making four starts in his 14 games played for the Wildcats at Bethune-Cookman. Mitchell Jr. scored 58 points, grabbed 25 rebounds, dished out 20 assists, made eight steals, and blocked three shots during his time in Daytona Beach, Fla. Previously, Mitchell Jr. played at California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) powerhouse City College of San Francisco, where he averaged 13.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.7 steals in his 28 starts and 31 career games.
 
RMAC Preseason Poll
Fort Lewis was picked fourth in the 2026-27 edition of the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, mirroring its 2025-26 finish. The Skyhawks captured 138 points, thanks to two second-place and one third-place vote, and sit behind third-place Colorado School of Mines (153 pts), second-place Colorado State University Pueblo (178 pts), and first-place Black Hills State University (192 pts).
 
Soaring on the Road
The Skyhawks will play 18 of its 29 scheduled regular-season games on the road, including eight straight from Nov. 13 to Dec. 5 to close out non-conference play and begin its conference schedule. Fort Lewis is set to face three nationally recognized opponents in that span, including No. 16-ranked Eastern New Mexico University on Nov. 14, No. 23 Lubbock Christian University on Nov. 27, and Colorado State University Pueblo, which received votes on the preseason National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll, on Dec. 3, the opening night of RMAC play.  
 
Welcome to Whalen
Fans can enjoy 10 games in Whalen Gymnasium, and another at the nearby Sun Ute Recreation Center in Ignacio, Colo., for Fort Lewis' first 'home' conference game against Regis University on Dec. 10. The Skyhawks will open the 2026-27 season tomorrow night, Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. against Justice University.
 
Metropolitan State University of Denver will be Fort Lewis' only Division II opponent to visit Whalen on Dec. 12 before we turn over to the new year. New Mexico Highlands University will be in town for a standalone game on Saturday, Jan. 9, before a four-game homestand that includes Black Hills State, South Dakota Mines, Colorado Christian University, and CSU Pueblo from Jan. 21-30. Adams State will visit for another standalone game on Feb. 9, and Colorado Mesa University and Westminster University will invade for the final two home games on Feb. 18 and 20.
 
First Test
The Justice University Lions storm into Whalen on Monday night to tip off the 2026-27 campaign. A member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), Justice boasts a 1-0 record this year after topping Ottawa University Arizona, 85-82 in its season opener.
 
Justice was 26-for-58 (44.8 percent) from the floor in its season-opener alongside a 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) clip from deep, and grabbed 11 steals on 22 forced turnovers to win the turnover margin while being out-rebounded, 40-34. Five Lions finished in double figures, led by Rayqwan King, who put up a team-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting with a 5-of-6 mark from deep. Moses Demalek and Trmale Tipler poured in seven and six rebounds each, and Devin Miller had four steals.
 
Last year, Justice put up a 15-8 overall record as the second-best scoring team in all of NCCAA, averaging 92.1 points on an association second-best 51.0 percent shooting mark from the field. The Lions also held opponents to an NCCAA third-best 67 points per game on a 14th-best 44.7 percent shooting percentage from the floor.
 
Looking Ahead
Fort Lewis will hit the road for historic Las Vegas, N.M., and a familiar conference challenge next weekend at John A. Wilson Center on the campus of New Mexico Highlands University. The Skyhawks will open the weekend against Western New Mexico University on Friday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m., before their first top-25 test of the season against preseason No. 16-ranked Eastern New Mexico University on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 3 p.m.
 
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