KENOSHA
— The Carthage College men's basketball team has earned the No. 8 spot in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25 poll ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
The Firebirds are coming off a historic 2024-25 season that featured a 21-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play. Carthage captured its first outright CCIW regular-season title since 2010 and set a program record for conference victories. Under seventh-year head coach
Steve Djurickovic, the Firebirds also earned their first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 15 years — the program's fifth all-time trip. Djurickovic was named CCIW Coach of the Year following the memorable season.
Carthage returns all five starters from last year's squad, including standout
Ryan Johnson, who was named the CCIW Fred Young Most Outstanding Student-Athlete and earned First Team All-CCIW honors. Johnson averaged 15.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game with 10 double-doubles, including a 16-rebound performance against Spalding and 14-rebound efforts against North Central (Ill.) and Augustana (Ill.).
AJ Johnson also earned First Team All-CCIW recognition after averaging 15.9 points per game. He posted a career-best 32 points at IIT (Nov. 12), going 6-for-6 from three-point range, and delivered perfect free-throw performances at IIT (12-for-12) and Elmhurst (10-for-10).
Both Ryan and
AJ Johnson collected NABC All-District and D3hoops.com All-Region honors, with Ryan earning a spot on the D3hoops.com All-America Fourth Team.
Riley Brooks (CCIW Second Team) returns after averaging 15.8 points per game last season. Brooks notched a season-best 29 points at Illinois Wesleyan (Dec. 4) and 26 against Carroll (Wis.) (Jan. 22), connecting on a season-high 12 field goals in the latter contest.
AJ Williams started all 28 games a season ago, averaging 9.1 points and 30 minutes per game. His top performances included 17 points against Ripon (Nov. 26), eight rebounds versus Elmhurst (Feb. 2), and three blocks against Illinois Wesleyan (Mar. 1).
Griffin Daun averaged 10.3 points per game while shooting efficiently throughout the season. Daun posted a season-high 25 points against North Park (Feb. 1), 12 rebounds versus Carroll (Jan. 22), and five assists against North Park (Feb. 1).
The Firebirds also welcome back veteran guard
Antuan Nesbitt, a two-time All-CCIW honoree. Nesbit averaged 14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game during the 2023-24 season.
The CCIW Preseason Coaches Poll will be released later this week as Carthage prepares for its season opener on Saturday, November 8, at St. Mary's (Minn.) in Winona, Minnesota. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
