Men's Basketball | 11/10/2025 2:31:00 PM
GREENSBORO – Call it the way things are these days, but in his third season as the head coach of the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team, Monté Ross has endured significant turnover for the third straight season.
Even before he coached his first game at A&T, Ross had to bring in numerous new players because the previous year's team had endured so many departures. Now, in year three, Ross and his coaching staff introduced themselves to 10 new players as a part of the 2025-26 team.
Another new-look A&T men's basketball team plays in its 2025-26 home opener Monday at Corbett Sports Center, with the tip set for 7 p.m. against the South Carolina State University (SCSU) Bulldogs. The Aggies opened the season with a 91-72 loss to Power Four/SEC school South Carolina.
"To try to predict where you're going to finish or where someone else is going to finish is really difficult because it is becoming hard enough to know how my guys are going to come together, let alone another team," said Ross. "We have different teams every year. It's exciting. It's different. You have to embrace it for what it is."
There are some returners for A&T, including redshirt sophomore Will Felton, whose injury history has been well-documented. In his first two years at A&T, he was injured in the preseason. Last season, he played six games before sustaining a season-ending injury. Felton played one minute in A&T's season-opener against the Gamecocks as the Aggies try to bring him along slowly.
"He's flying around," Ross said about Felton. "Sometimes I cringe when I see how much he is flying around. But he's cleared to go. He's doing well. Knock on wood. The main thing is he's back at it, and that's really good to see."
Junior Bryson Ogletree was injured for a large portion of the 2024-25 season, missing 13 games with a hand injury. He averaged 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18 games last season (10 starts) while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from 3-point range. Junior Jalal McKie has become a familiar name in Aggieland over the past two seasons. But he is expected to take a redshirt this season.
A&T also has redshirt sophomore Uchenna Kellman-Nicholes, who sat out the 2024-25 season. Sophomore Efstratios Kalliontzis saw his playing time increase last season as the Aggies endured injuries and turnover on the roster during the season. A&T's other returner, Chanler Montgomery, saw limited action in 2024-25.
Those circumstances leave A&T with a new starting five this season, starting with 6-foot-5 junior guard Lureon Walker, a Division II transfer out of the University of Mount Olive.
Walker developed late as a basketball player, but by the time he reached his senior year in high school, he was averaging 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Walker may have gotten lost in the transfer portal world, signing with UNC Pembroke before moving on to Mount Olive. He is coming off a 22-point performance against SC last Tuesday.
"Lo was a scorer at Mount Olive, and the way that he scored translates to Division I," Ross said. "He got out on the break, he's fast, he's athletic, and he can shoot the basketball. Sometimes things don't translate from one level to another, but those characteristics translate."
Six-foot-5 Dwayne Pierce could also play a major role for the Aggies. He had 28 points in a scrimmage against VMI.
Pierce signed with Iowa State in 2023 after receiving interest out of Christ The King Regional High School from St. John's, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Illinois, LSU, Rutgers, George Washington, Seton Hall, Nebraska, New Mexico State, and Memphis. He did not play at Iowa State, but instead played his freshman season at Northwest Florida State College. He averaged 11.9 points and shot 43.6 percent from 3-point range.
Trent Middleton Jr. brings another ball-handler to Aggieland. A&T will be Middleton's third school after playing one season at Ball State in 2023-24 before transferring to the University of Delaware in 2024-25. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists at Ball State in 29 games before averaging 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game at Delaware.
Ross also added some height during the offseason, starting with 6-11 sophomore forward Amadou Doumbia out of UMass. He played 15 games and 64 minutes last season at UMass. Doumbia was a top-25 center coming out of Putman Science Academy and was the No. 4 player in Connecticut. The Aggies also added 6-8 sophomore forward Zamoku Weluche-Ume out of George Washington University.
Weluche-Ume only played two games last season for the Revolutionaries because of a wrist injury. As a freshman, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds per game while shooting 36 percent from the field in 15 games. KJ Debrick, a 6-9 fifth-year senior out of Springfield, Ill., will bring some more muscle inside. Debrick scored 115 points in 39 games played with Cleveland State.
Wings Mujahiid Burton and Lewis Walker should also contribute. Burton is a 6-5 junior out of Minneapolis, Minn. He averaged 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31 games at Wabash Valley last season. Walker came off the bench to score 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting against the Gamecocks.
Walker comes from nearby Winston-Salem, NC, where he was the 11th-ranked player in North Carolina coming out of Winston-Salem Christian School. He stands at 6-6 and played only one game for UMass last season. There are some freshmen on the roster, including 6-2 Deerfield Beach, Fla., native Brooklyn Vick.
Vick starred at St. Andrew's before getting prepared for college athletics at Hargrave Military Academy. He averaged 20.0 points and 7.0 assists in his last year at St. Andrew's, leading them deep into the state tournament. Yancarlos Cueto, a 6-5 wing, is also out of the high school ranks from Providence, RI. Cueto is an outstanding defensive player who can score from the perimeter on the offensive end.
The Aggies open Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play on December 29 at home inside Corbett Sports Center against UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network. The Aggies will also play Hampton on the CBS Sports Network on Monday, January 19, at Hampton's Convocation Center at 9 p.m.
Their rematch against the Pirates will take place in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, February 13, in the NBA HBCU Classic. It is a part of NBA All-Star Week in LA. Tip-time is 11 p.m. EST.
"We have a group here that can make shots," said Ross. "We have a group here that loves to share the basketball, so if we're sharing the basketball and guarding the way we have the ability to guard, and making some shots, I like our team."
