Slippery Rock men’s basketball will return to the court this Friday when they take on West Virginia Wesleyan College at Morrow Field House.
Last season, Rock men’s basketball went 15-14 overall before falling to Indiana University (Pa.) in an opening round heartbreaker at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament, 69-67.
In the PSAC Preseason Poll, Slippery Rock fell in the middle of the pack of the West in fourth place, behind Gannon University, IUP and California University (Pa.). Seton Hill University, Edinboro University, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown and Clarion University rounded out the remainder.
At the helm of The Rock is head coach Ian Grady. Entering his eighth season as head coach and 17th overall at SRU, Grady has led The Rock to a 99-76 overall record (.566) during his tenure. Alongside Grady are assistant coaches Jon Valeriano and Brad Henry, both entering their fifth seasons.
Returners
Despite a handful of departures from the previous season, SRU returns 14 players to the court.
Among these are former Kennedy Catholic duo Maceo Austin and Ike Herster. Austin originally began his collegiate career at Division one Duquesne University, before transferring to Slippery Rock prior to the 2023-24 season. Since then, the graduate student has amassed 776 points during his time in green and white.
Herster, also entering his third season at SRU, has found similar success, accumulating 823 points. The 6-6 graduate student began his collegiate career at rival Gannon University, where he started in 27 of 29 games for the Golden Knights. Since then, Herster has appeared in all 58 games over the past two seasons for SRU, making 44 starts.
Bryon Ottrix, a redshirt senior from Cleveland, Ohio, appeared in 13 games last season, averaging 1.5 points per game.
Redshirt juniors Sheick Samoura, Mack Staunch and Enire Bowens will look to increase production in 2025.
Samoura, who began his collegiate career at the Air Force Academy, has appeared in 53 games at The Rock, averaging 6.6 points per game.
Staunch, a 2022 graduate of Sharpsville High School, saw a significant increase in playing minutes last season, including four starts.
Bowens, a redshirt junior from Ambridge, Pa., is listed as the tallest player on the roster, standing at 6 feet 10 inches.
Newcomers
During the offseason, Slippery Rock men’s basketball received considerable attention around western Pennsylvania for their recruiting successes.
The first domino to fall was forward RJ Sledge out of Imani Christian Academy. Sledge, who was named the 2024 TribLIVE High School Sports Network Class A Player of the Year, averaged 22.1 points per game as a senior.
During his high school career, Sledge won three Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championships, one of which at Bishop Canevin. In addition to Slippery Rock, Sledge held offers from several Division I schools, such as Fordham University, Canisius University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Bethune-Cookman University.
Joining him is his former high school teammate, Dame Givner. Givner, who was rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports in the class of 2025, played alongside Sledge at Imani Christian, where the duo won a PIAA title in 2023. Givner transferred to LA Premier Prep in Los Angeles, Calif. for his senior campaign, but will return to western Pennsylvania for his collegiate career.
Brady Mayo, a four-sport athlete out of Beaver Area High School, was previously committed to Bucknell University to play football, before a change of heart led him to choose coach Grady and Slippery Rock.
Mayo scored over 1,700 points during his time at Beaver, earning all-state honors as a senior. The 6-1 guard finished second in the WPIAL in scoring last season, finishing just behind Rowan Carmichael of Avonworth, who now plays for PSAC West foe Edinboro.
Kent Hairston, a 6-5 freshman from Columbus, Ohio, rounds out the remaining true freshman class. During his time at Franklin Heights High School, Hairston lettered four times and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee. The shooting guard chose Slippery Rock over Bryant and Kent State University.
Similar to Mayo, redshirt freshman Braylon Littlejohn has faced a similar path to Slippery Rock. Littlejohn, a product of nearby Butler High School, initially committed to Miami University (Oh.) to play football, before flipping to The Rock prior to last season. The 6-1 freshman racked up over 1,000 points during his time with the Golden Tornadoes.
Likewise, Elijah Hill, a 6-4 guard from South Fayette, will make his collegiate debut this season after redshirting last year as a freshman.
Slippery Rock also stayed busy in the transfer portal, picking up forwards Kerwin Prince and Issac James.
Prince, graduate student from Bronx, NY, most recently played at Division I University of New Orleans where he appeared in two games for the Privateers.
James, a senior from Baltimore, Md., began his collegiate career at Potomac State College, before transferring to John A. Logan College, Salem University and now Slippery Rock. Last season, James started in all 19 games for the Tigers, averaging 10.5 points per game.
Slippery Rock men’s basketball will kick off their 2025-2026 campaign this Friday when they host the Atlantic Region Challenge at Morrow Field House. The Rock will tip off against West Virginia Wesleyan College at 7 p.m., before facing off with Davis & Elkins College Saturday.
