Men’s Basketball Holds First Official Practice of 2026-27 Season
9/21/2026 4:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State men's basketball program started the 2026-27 season with its first official practice on Monday at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins filled the focus-driven two-hours covering defensive concepts and installing offensive actions while competing at game-like intensity.
Under the direction of third-year Head Coach Ethan Faulkner, the Penguins have challenged themselves early in the season with a daunting non-conference schedule.
Youngstown State loaded up its non-conference schedule with teams from the Atlantic-10, Big Ten, Big XII, Mid-American, Southeastern, and Sun Belt conferences.
For the first time in program history, the Penguins will play four games against teams from the Power 4 Conference, including the Ohio State, Cincinnati, Ole Miss and South Carolina. It marks the first time Youngstown State will play two teams from the SEC in the same season.
Over the last five seasons, Youngstown State has won 101 games overall and 62 conference victories. The Penguins won 19 games in 2021-22, 24 during the 2022-23 season, 22 in 2023-24, and 21 in 2024-25. In league play, the Penguins won 12, 15, 14 and 13 games, respectively.
Sophomore guard Jaiden Haines is the lone returner from last season's squad. He appeared in 21 games and made two starts and averaged 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
The Penguins will rely heavily on several transfer portal players, including Dom Aekins, Kelvin Amoako, Jermaine Coleman, Linus Holmstrom, Jamar Livingston, Japhet Moupadele, Jeff Nwankwo, and Jayden Tyler. Youngstown State also added true freshmen Kaelin Destin, Elijah Summers-Livingston, Jacob Spurlock, and Andrew Adcock-Vidouria.
Senior center Kelvin Amoako spent the last two seasons at UIndy, and he scored 300 points with 225 rebounds and 31 blocks. Amoako averaged 10 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and shot 61.1 percent from the field. He scored in double figures 13 times and posted five double-doubles and recorded at least 10 rebounds eight times.
Junior guard Linus Holmstrom, who transferred from VMI where he scored 578 career points the last two season, scored 352 points with 77 rebounds, 33 steals and 78 3-pointers in 2025-26. He averaged 11.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game and shot 43.8 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from 3-point range.
Fifth-year guard Jeff Nwankwo, an Oklahoma transfer, appeared in 24 games for the Sooners in 2025-26 after missing 2024-25 due to injury. At Cowley College, Nwankwo was named the 2023-24 Kansas Jayhawk Community College conference (KJCCC) Player of the Year and earned a spot on the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I All-America first team. He led Cowley to a 28-6 mark and an appearance in the NJCAA DI Sweet Sixteen, and he averaged 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals per outing. He also shot 48.9 percent (218-446) from the field, 37.0 percent (68-184) from behind the arc and 73.8 percent (127-172) from the line.
Youngstown State opens the campaign at St. Bonaventure, Monday, Nov. 2 in St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
