2025-26 UNC Asheville Preview
The 2025-26 Big South Hoops Hub Preview of UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville:
Background and 24-25 Recap:
Despite not playing a home game until Dec 7th, due in part to Hurricane Helene. UNC Asheville did not let Helene define their season as they ended the season 2nd in the Big South standings behind High Point and before losing to a flaming hot Winthrop team in the Big South semifinals.
Now after losing Jordan Marsh, but brought back maybe the best returner in the conference with Toyaz Solomon along with one of the better freshmen from last season in Kameron Taylor among others. Now with 7 new players and 1 transfer from last year who got injured, Mike Morrell is on the chase to bring his 2nd Big South title back to Asheville.
Returning Players:
G: Justin Wright
Justin Wright’s UNC Asheville debut was put on hold last season due to injury, but Wright is now ready to be the WRIGHT player to take Asheville far. Wright began his career at NC Central, where he played 3 seasons for the Eagles. The latter two being the most fruitful in which he averaged 14.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.1 APG across his sophomore and junior seasons.
Wright moved cross country to Loyola Marymount after those two successful seasons at NC Central, slightly less playing time but similar success at LMU. As in his lone season for Loyola Marymount, Wright averaged 11.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG and just shy of 2 APG as a fringe starter having started 12 of 29 games for LMU, including 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists at Gonzaga.
Awards/Notable Facts:
2021-22 All MEAC First Team (Youngest Player in NC Central to receive the honor)
2022-23 All MEAC Second Team
2022-23 All MEAC Tournament Team
G: Julian Clarke
Mostly stuck behind Jordan Marsh last season, Julian Clarke still saw decent playing time across his true freshman season. In 7 games of the 24 games Clarke appeared in he saw 10 or more minutes including having his career high of 8 points twice both vs VUL and Bluefield. Over the span of the 2024-25 season, Clarke averaged 1.3 PPG and 0.7 RPG.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Held offers from Kennesaw State and Stetson before committing to UNC Asheville.
G: Connor Dubsky
After coming over from Rhode Island last season, Dubsky made his promise shown early in the season with 2 20+ point games against Bluefield and St Andrews, most of which coming from behind the arc having shot 5-11 and 5-10 from 3 in those games. Dubsky spent most of conference play stuck behind Fletcher Abee, but did see anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes per game for most of conference play. Dubsky finished the season averaging 4.5 PPG and 0.5 RPG across 28 games.
During Dubsky’s freshman season at Rhode Island in which he appeared in 14 games for the Rams, he averaged 2.1 PPG and 0.4 RPG with almost all of his shots coming from behind the arc, only taking 4 shots that weren’t from 3PT land. He did show strong promise with an at the time career high of 9 points coming off the bench vs VCU.
Awards/Notable Facts:
3 Star Recruit according to 247Sports, held offers from Maryland, Kansas State and George Washington before committing to Rhode Island
Has only taken 13 2PT FG attempts in his college career so far, compared to his 97 3PT FG attempts
G/F: Kameron Taylor
Likely one of the best budding stars for this Asheville roster, Kam Taylor had a very valid case to win Big South Freshmen of the Year over Mister Dean last season. Taylor averaged 8.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG across 32 games, including 2 starts vs Ohio and Radford, as one of the mains stars for a 21 win Asheville roster with most of his best action coming down the stretch with 8 of his double digit performances coming during conference play or the conference tournament.
Awards/Notable Facts:
2 Time Big South Freshman of the Week
2024-25 Big South All Freshman Team Member
F: Toyaz Solomon
Toyaz Solomon is THE only returning member from ANY of the Big South All Conference Teams from the 24-25 season. Coming off a season where he was the only Bulldog to start all 32 games, Solomon is another one of the great big men that Mike Morrell has been able to get everything and even more out of. Last season, Toyaz averaged 15.7 PPG and 7.2 RPG, a massive jump over the 6 PPG and 3 RPG from the season prior in 2023-24.
Before coming to UNC Asheville, Solomon played at Caldwell Community College in which both seasons he was a pivotal piece for Caldwell averaging well over 10 PPG and 7 RPG across both seasons. During his 2022-23 season, Solomon averaged 14.9 PPG and 9.6 RPG which had him 27th in the country for JUCO players.
Awards/Notable Facts:
2024-25 Big South All Conference Second Team
2022-23 Region X Player of the Year
F: Sage Tolentino
The lone 7 footer for UNC Asheville this season, Sage Tolentino is poised to likely be one of the starting big men for Asheville this season. Last season Sage played in 14 games for UNC Asheville, including 24 minutes in the season opener vs Alabama. Across those 14 games, Sage averaged 2.6 PPG and 2.3 RPG as the only big man off the bench.
Before coming to Asheville, Tolentino was a highly rated recruit who happened to go to Cincinnati. Sage only played 7 games across two seasons for the Bearcats in which he averaged 0.7 PPG and 0.4 RPG.
Awards/Notable Facts:
250th ranked recruit in the Class of 2022 according to 247Sports, held offers from Auburn, Kansas and Tennessee State before committing to Cincinnati.
Incoming Transfers:
G: Mitchell Taylor - South Carolina State
Coming over from South Carolina State after two pretty successful seasons is Mitchell Taylor. During both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Taylor saw multiple starts 17 in his freshman season and 20 in his sophomore season. In his freshman season at SC State, Taylor averaged 8.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 2 APG including 9 double digit performances out of his 14 conference games. During Taylor’s sophomore season, Taylor averaged 8.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 2.5 APG but raised his 3PT shooting up to 42.9% compared to 27.5% during his freshman season.
Awards/Notable Facts:
2023-24 MEAC All Rookie Team
2 Time MEAC Rookie of the Week
G: Jakel Powell - Florida Atlantic
Coming to UNC Asheville after redshirting the past two seasons at FAU, Powell is coming back to the state of North Carolina where he was a star in HS at Raleigh Christian. During his senior season at Raleigh Christian, Powell led the team with 16.9 PPG, while also averaging 4.5 RPG, 2.2 APG and a pretty impressive 2.1 SPG.
Awards/Notable Facts:
3 Star Recruit in the Class of 2023, #15 Player in NC.
Held offers from UNC Asheville, High Point, ECU and App State before committing to FAU out of HS.
G: DJ Patrick - Charleston Southern
One of the four in conference transfers, and one of the two to come from Charleston Southern. After spending 2 seasons in Blue and Gold, DJ is trading it in for Blue and White to play for UNC Asheville. Patrick whom missed most of last season due to injury, only playing in a total of 3 games. In those 3 games, Patrick averaged 11.3 PPG and 5 RPG including a 19 point game vs Gardner Webb to mark his return for Charleston Southern. The season before Patrick averaged 10.2 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 25 games starting all but one game for the Buccaneers.
Before coming to the Big South, DJ Patrick played at USF for two seasons, one being cut short only 4 games in due to injury. Across the two seasons at USF, Patrick averaged 3.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 34 games, 3 of which being starts. Patrick began his career at Triton Junior College where he averaged 14.6 PPG and 4.3 RPG across 18 games as a freshman.
Awards/Notable Facts:
2024-25 Charleston Southern Team Captain
F: Daniel Thomas - New Mexico
Daniel Thomas is ready for his first Division 1 action as he transfers in after redshirting last season at New Mexico. During his HS career at Dallas Carter HS in Dallas, Texas, Thomas helped lead his team to 3 straight 30+ win seasons including a 31-8 record and Final 4 Appearance in his senior season. Thomas earned All State Honors during his senior season along with District 13-4A Defensive Player of the Year.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Committed to New Mexico over Troy and other local Texas schools
McDonalds All-American nominee
F: David Hermes - UTSA
The last of UNC Asheville’s transfers came in from UTSA in David Hermes. Hermes was at UTSA last season where he started 18 of his 26 games but only played around 11.8 MPG. In those 26 games, Hermes averaged 1.9 PPG and 1.8 RPG including a season high of 11 points vs Southwestern Adventist.
Before coming to UTSA, Hermes played at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. Across his two seasons there at Indian Hills, Hermes averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG mostly coming off the bench having only started 8 of his 43 games. Hermes did have some very good shooting stats at Indian Hills including shooting 39.3% from 3 on 61 attempts during his final season at Indian Hills.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Played for the Syrian National Team in the 2023 World Cup Asia Qualifiers.
Hermes also played overseas in Spain for Ciudad de Huelva Baloncesto.
Incoming Freshman:
F: Brayden Rivers - Huntsville HS
Coming from a Top 25 High School team in which he was the star, Brayden Rivers is moving from Huntsville to another “ville” in Asheville. Rivers actually enters as Asheville’s 2nd highest ever recruit according to 247 behind 2020 recruit Silas Mason. Last season Rivers helped lead Huntsville to a 32-2 record before falling to eventual 7A champions and #6 Team in the nation, Hoover.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Won 2024-25 Al.com Fans Player of the Year
381st Ranked Recruit according to 247 Composite, held offers from Jacksonville State, South Alabama and Murray State before committing to Asheville.
F: Myles Mayfield - Edgewater HS
The 208th ranked recruit according to PrepHoops and 3 Star Recruit if you ask ESPN, Myles Mayfield is headed to UNC Asheville. Last season en route to a state title appearance, Mayfield averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds and helped Edgewater get 20+ wins for the first time in the 2018-19 season.
Awards/Notable Facts:
Preseason Finalist and Finalist for Florida 6A Player of the Year
Held offers from FIU, Rhode Island, Chattanooga and others before committing to UNC Asheville
Roster Prediction:
Roster Thoughts/Analysis:
Guards: B+
Justin Wright: Last year, many believed Justin Wright was going to be one of the best guards in the conference but missed the season due to injury. This year, and VERY (un)shockingly, I believe Wright will be one of the best players. Wright is still an insane talent in the Big South.
DJ Patrick: Another player coming off injury, DJ Patrick only played 3 games for CSU last season, but in those 3 games Patrick showed he still has it with a 19 point game vs Gardner Webb and 12 points against Longwood. I think Patrick will live up his first season at CSU and be an integral piece of UNC Asheville’s success this year.
Mitchell Taylor: Mitchell Taylor is an interesting player, he seemed to play his best ball in MEAC play last season. If you get MEAC Mitchell Taylor, you might have a Jordan Marsh level season where Taylor competes for Big South POY, if you get Non Con Taylor, it’s no biggie, still a very solid guard with really good pick and roll ability.
Forwards: B-
Toyaz Solomon: The lone returning Big South All Conference Player, and likely a Preseason All Conference Player this season. The job Toyaz Solomon has done to develop as a player shouldn’t go unnoticed, and his willingness to stay at Asheville is rare in this area of college basketball. Solomon should be the typical UNC Asheville big man this season.
Sage Tolentino: Tolentino is due for a breakout, his first three seasons haven’t amounted to much outside of a few flashes here and there. Asheville seems to hit on big men who leave P5 schools, whether that be Pember or Gantt. Morrell has found ways to make big men really good and I feel Sage has the talent to breakout and be the next UNC Asheville big man success.
Kameron Taylor: Kam Taylor coming back is big for Asheville, this would be if Mister Dean had come back for Upstate or if Darryl Simmons came back for Gardner Webb. Taylor has some unreal potential and that was really on display later in the season. Year 2 Kam Taylor could very well be an All Conference player.
David Hermes: When you look at Hermes’ UTSA stats, it does leave a lot to be desired, but if you look at his sophomore JUCO stats, you start to see a vision. He shot 39% from 3 on decent volume, and stretch bigs who can shoot 35% on good volume are always a good addition. If Morrell can get that level of shooting out of Hermes again, UNC Asheville could be looking at Cody Jute style shooting big man.
Bench/Depth: C+
Thoughts: The guard depth for Asheville rivals some of the top teams in the conference. You have everything you would want coming off the bench. You have shooting off the bench with Connor Dubsky, the promise of Powell and Clarke, and even the ability of Kam Taylor to play the two if he needs.
The forward depth is where I am worried/not impressed, two freshmen, whom both I do like as freshmen, but not as main bench pieces. I do think Patrick could end up playing decent minutes at the 3-4 since that is what he did at Charleston Southern but even then, you either have Hermes, Tolentino or maybe Taylor off the bench and I don’t think that compares with the upper teams of the conference.