COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech men’s basketball hosts South Carolina Central Christian for an exhibition game at The Eblen Center at 6 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Head Coach John Pelphrey and the Golden Eagles show off the new and returning members of the roster to begin the year.

Tech men’s basketball returns JaJuan Nicholls, Mekhi Cameron, Grant Slatten from the 2024-25 squad, and has added Malik Ferguson, Jah’Kim Payne, Mekhi Turner, Ja’Quavian Florence, Brandon Muntu, Ty Owens, Dani Pounds, C.J. McPherson, and Owen Varnado as experienced transfers to the roster.

Cameron and Nicholls are the top returning scorers for the Golden Eagles with Cameron averaging 8.7 points per game and Nicholls appeared in 23 games with 15 starts, shooting 85-143 from the field (59.4%), 25-51 (49.0%), and totaled 195 points during the 2024-25 season. He averaged 18.4 points per 40 minutes played and 18.4 minutes per game. Nicholls grabbed 95 total rebounds with 35 offensive and 60 defensive boards. Both players were named players to watch by the OVC prior to Media Day.

Colin Ayers, Maguire Evans, Jacobe Whitted, Hagan Preston are additions out of the high school ranks to the 2025-26 roster.

South Carolina Central Christian makes its way to Cookeville out of the New South Athletic Conference. The Gladiators are led by Travis Stroud with 14.0 points per game, Taivon McPherson who averaged 14.0 points per game and grabbed 9.3 rebounds per contest, Daquan Ramey, who averaged 12.0 points per game, and Kevin Butler with 9.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per contest.

Story and image courtesy Tennessee Tech Athletics Media Relations