New Season Begins For Coastal Men’s Basketball
9/21/2026 8:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CONWAY, S.C. – As the sun sets on the final day of summer, a new season is beginning for the Coastal Carolina men's basketball team.
The Chanticleers held their first official practice of the 2026-27 season Monday afternoon inside the HTC Center as head coach Justin Gray and his team began preparations for the Nov. 2 season opener against Eastern Michigan.
Coastal is coming off a 19-win season and a tie for second place in the Sun Belt Conference, but with a roster featuring plenty of new faces, Gray's focus has already shifted to the season ahead.
"It's not what they did last year at their own individual institutions. It's not what the guys did last year," Gray said. "We're trying to be the best possible team that we can. And if we try to do that every single day, then I can live with the results."
Coastal returns just three players from last year's 19-win team in DaJohn Craig, Derrick Green and Tristan Thompson. Thompson played in all 32 games as a freshman, averaging 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, while Craig also appeared in all 32 contests and connected on 35 3-pointers at a 37.2 percent clip.
Green played in 31 games and shot 65.7 percent from the field while providing a physical presence inside. His putback with one second remaining at Georgia Southern forced overtime in an eventual Coastal victory.
The trio gives Coastal three players with experience in Gray's system on a roster that features 12 newcomers.
Coastal added transfers Trey Perry (Miami [Ohio]), Jaevian Alston (Mount Olive), Darius Washington III (Kennesaw State), Jaylen Cross (Wake Forest), Caleb Middleton (Elon), Ashton Hardaway (Memphis), Drew Fuquay (Marshall) and Fletcher Bigham (Sewanee), along with freshmen Q Williams IV, Jordan Buzzard, Bryson Sams and JT Kelsheimer.
The additions also give Coastal added size on the perimeter, an area Gray and his staff targeted during the offseason. Washington is a 6-foot-5 guard, while Alston stands 6-foot-6 and can play multiple positions. Middleton, a 6-foot-11 forward, adds size inside.
"We're a little bit bigger at the wing positions, which we wanted to get," Gray said.
Gray pointed to Perry and Washington, both of whom have experienced the NCAA Tournament, as two players who have already emerged as leaders.
Thompson has also taken on a larger role entering his second season at Coastal. After being one of the younger players on last year's team, the Florence, S.C., native has become more comfortable using his voice with his teammates.
"I knew I would have to be more of a leader going into the second year because I know more stuff than the new players," Thompson said. "I'll just help them out with whatever they need help with, just be a leader and use my voice to help them get a better understanding."
Gray has also seen the group develop a better understanding of what he and his staff expect. He said that has carried over beyond practice and into pickup games, individual workouts and the weight room.
"We're all speaking the same language, and that's something that I think the guys have done a good job at," Gray said. "The conversation is starting to look like teal talk, as we call it."
Monday was the first official step.
Coastal will host Columbia International in an exhibition game on Oct. 28 before opening the regular season against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 2 at the HTC Center.
The Chanticleers held their first official practice of the 2026-27 season Monday afternoon inside the HTC Center as head coach Justin Gray and his team began preparations for the Nov. 2 season opener against Eastern Michigan.
Coastal is coming off a 19-win season and a tie for second place in the Sun Belt Conference, but with a roster featuring plenty of new faces, Gray's focus has already shifted to the season ahead.
"It's not what they did last year at their own individual institutions. It's not what the guys did last year," Gray said. "We're trying to be the best possible team that we can. And if we try to do that every single day, then I can live with the results."
Coastal returns just three players from last year's 19-win team in DaJohn Craig, Derrick Green and Tristan Thompson. Thompson played in all 32 games as a freshman, averaging 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, while Craig also appeared in all 32 contests and connected on 35 3-pointers at a 37.2 percent clip.
Green played in 31 games and shot 65.7 percent from the field while providing a physical presence inside. His putback with one second remaining at Georgia Southern forced overtime in an eventual Coastal victory.
The trio gives Coastal three players with experience in Gray's system on a roster that features 12 newcomers.
Coastal added transfers Trey Perry (Miami [Ohio]), Jaevian Alston (Mount Olive), Darius Washington III (Kennesaw State), Jaylen Cross (Wake Forest), Caleb Middleton (Elon), Ashton Hardaway (Memphis), Drew Fuquay (Marshall) and Fletcher Bigham (Sewanee), along with freshmen Q Williams IV, Jordan Buzzard, Bryson Sams and JT Kelsheimer.
The additions also give Coastal added size on the perimeter, an area Gray and his staff targeted during the offseason. Washington is a 6-foot-5 guard, while Alston stands 6-foot-6 and can play multiple positions. Middleton, a 6-foot-11 forward, adds size inside.
"We're a little bit bigger at the wing positions, which we wanted to get," Gray said.
Gray pointed to Perry and Washington, both of whom have experienced the NCAA Tournament, as two players who have already emerged as leaders.
Thompson has also taken on a larger role entering his second season at Coastal. After being one of the younger players on last year's team, the Florence, S.C., native has become more comfortable using his voice with his teammates.
"I knew I would have to be more of a leader going into the second year because I know more stuff than the new players," Thompson said. "I'll just help them out with whatever they need help with, just be a leader and use my voice to help them get a better understanding."
Gray has also seen the group develop a better understanding of what he and his staff expect. He said that has carried over beyond practice and into pickup games, individual workouts and the weight room.
"We're all speaking the same language, and that's something that I think the guys have done a good job at," Gray said. "The conversation is starting to look like teal talk, as we call it."
Monday was the first official step.
Coastal will host Columbia International in an exhibition game on Oct. 28 before opening the regular season against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 2 at the HTC Center.
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