BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Point Park men's basketball opens the 2026-27 season on Monday in a matchup with D'Youville. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Saints Center.

TOP OF MIND

Point Park begins its 60th season as a program on Monday, which will be the first under the direction of Head Coach Joe Long. Long, who served as an assistant coach for the Pioneers in 2025-26, will coach a team that features six returners and 13 newcomers, including five freshmen. Point Park was picked 11th in the MEC Preseason Poll.

Point Park finished the 2025-26 campaign with an 8-19 record, including a 5-15 MEC record. The Pioneers fell to Davis & Elkins in the first round of the MEC Tournament 75-73 last season. Point Park will be without the services of Aidan Anderson, who was named All-MEC First Team last year.

RUNNING IT BACK

Point Park's six returners are highlighted by Grant Welch, a junior winger from Molline, Ill. Welch tied for third on the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.3 points per game and draining a team-best 72 3-pointers. He finished third among qualified Pioneers in 3-point percentage (.393) and fifth on the team with 38 assists. 

Welch started 26 of Point Park's 27 games, and led the team in minutes per game, averaging 32.1. 

Jayden Davis finished fourth on the team with 42 assists last year. A Pittsburgh native, Davis averaged 12.3 minutes per game off the bench and posted 4.3 points per game in 2025-26. 

Davis and Welch were the lone Pioneers to play over 30 minutes in the team's exhibition game at St. Bonaventure. Davis scored 15 points and Welch dropped 17 in the game.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS

D'Youville finished 2025-26 with a record of 8-18 and a 7-9 record in ECC play. The Saints picked up a win in the first round of the East Coast Conference Tournament before being eliminated by top-seeded Daemen in the semifinals.

Sean Reynolds, D'Youville's second-leading scorer last year, returns for another season of action with the Saints. Reynolds averaged 11.5 points per game and finished third on the team with 53 assists. 

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Point Park's roster includes eight transfer players, highlighted by the arrival of fifth-year player Obi Okafor from Virginia Commonwealth of the Atlantic 10 Conference. In addition to Okafor, Nicco DiGuilio (Cansisus), Caleb Whitaker (Seton Hill), Jordan Lucas-Johnson (Saint Vincent), Jackson Rhodes (Waynesboro), Vasilijie Serafimoski (Robert Morris), Jordan Reed (Northern Oklahoma College) and David Popson (Lackawanna College) are set for their first season as Pioneers.