CONWAY, S.C. — Coastal Carolina men's basketball officially opens its 52nd season as a four-year institution and 41st as a Division I program on Monday, Nov. 3, when the Chanticleers travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face Western Michigan in the MAC-SBC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, marking the first of eight non-conference true road games this season.

The game is a rematch of last season's season opener, when Coastal Carolina posted a 60-56 win over the Broncos, giving head coach Justin Gray a victory in his first game leading the program.

LAST MEETING: 2024-25 SEASON OPENER
In last year's lid-lifting contest, Coastal Carolina built a 10-point halftime lead and held on for a four-point win. The Chanticleers shot 46.8 percent from the field while limiting WMU to 34.6 percent shooting. Coastal connected on six threes compared to Western Michigan's three, but were outscored at the foul line 17-10. The Chants also claimed a narrow 35-34 rebounding advantage and outscored the Broncos in the paint 32-20.

Rasheed Jones led the team with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Henry Abraham's clutch free throw with three seconds left sealed the victory, giving Coastal a two-possession margin.

STORYLINES TO WATCH
• Coastal Carolina has a 32-19 record in season openers since becoming a four-year institution prior to the 1974-75 season, but is just 4-13 in true road openers over the past 50 years.
• A Coastal win Monday would extend its season-opening winning streak to five games and mark the first season-opening road win since 2003 at Marist (74-70).
• This marks the fourth time the Chants have opened the season against a MAC opponent, following games against Akron in 2012 (74-70 win at home) and 2013 (72-63 loss on the road) in addition to last year's win over the Broncos.
• Head coach Justin Gray is 3-1 in season openers, including 2-1 at Western Carolina and last season's win at Coastal. His lone road season-opener was a loss at Georgia in 2022.
• Coastal Carolina welcomes nine newcomers this season: four Division I transfers, two Division II transfers, one JUCO, and two freshmen.
• Western Michigan also adds 10 newcomers along with three returners.

CHANTS IN THE MAC-SBC CHALLENGE
• The MAC-SBC Challenge enters its third season, tipping off on Monday, Nov. 3.
• Coastal Carolina is 1-1 in the event, having earned a home win over Western Michigan before falling 67-53 at Bowling Green last season.
• The Chanticleers did not participate in the inaugural challenge in 2023-24.

RETURNING CORE
• Coastal Carolina returns just two scholarship players from last season: Rasheed Jones and Braeden MacVicar (redshirted last season).
• Walk-ons Charles Dunlap, Jackson Keil, and Connor Martin complete the returning roster.

TEAM CAPTAINS
• Coastal Carolina has named three captains: returner Rasheed Jones and newcomers Joshua Beadle and AJ Dancler.
• Jones, entering his third season under Gray, played his freshman year for Gray at Western Carolina before reuniting at CCU.
• Beadle joined the program after two years at Clemson and one at Boston College.
• Dancler spent the past two seasons at Le Moyne College, earning all-conference honors as a sophomore.

FROM THE HOOSIER STATE TO THE PALMETTO STATE
• The Chants added Indianapolis natives DaJohn Craig and AJ Dancler to join Marion, Ind., product Rasheed Jones.
• Craig attended Lawrence Central High School, Dancler played at Southport, and Jones prepped at Arsenal Tech.
• Associate head coach Ryne Lightfoot is also an Indiana native from Wakarusa, having played for and coached under his father, Mike Lightfoot, at Bethel University.

INTERNATIONAL CHANTS
• Newcomers Jerry Ngopot and Nadjrick Peat are the first players from their respective countries to suit up for CCU.
• Ngopot hails from Bangui, Central African Republic, while Peat, from Alexandria, Jamaica, becomes the first Jamaican in Chanticleer history.
• Braeden MacVicar is one of six Canadians to play for CCU and the only one from outside Ontario, hailing from Nova Scotia.

ROAD-HEAVY SCHEDULE
• Coastal Carolina will play nine non-conference games away from home and 18 total contests outside the HTC Center — 59% of its schedule.
• Notable road matchups include 2025 WAC champion Grand Canyon (Dec. 13), NIT participants Arkansas State (Feb. 4), Jacksonville State (Nov. 14), and Saint Joseph's (Dec. 22), plus CBI selection Illinois State (Nov. 23).
• The Chants open Sun Belt play with back-to-back road games at Appalachian State (Dec. 18) and Old Dominion (Dec. 20).
• After facing Alabama A&M on Nov. 30, Coastal will go 31 days without a home game, returning to the HTC Center on Jan. 1, 2026.

COACHING STAFF UPDATES
• Head coach Justin Gray retooled his staff during the offseason, adding five new members.
•Jason Allison joined after three seasons at Drexel; his resume includes stints at VMI and Appalachian State, where he served briefly as interim head coach.
• Mike Brown was named director of player development following four years at Lander University and a graduate assistant stint at Memphis.
• Kylen Butler joined after two seasons at Eastern Illinois, with additional experience at Grand Canyon, Cal State Fullerton, Clemson, and Indianapolis.
• Brian Graves reunited with Gray after coaching together at Western Carolina in 2021-22; his previous stops include Catawba, Hampton, Longwood, NC Central, and Virginia State.
• Josh Spainhour, Coastal's new director of sports performance, comes from East Tennessee State, with prior strength roles at Wake Forest, Kansas State, and Miami (Fla.).