| 2024–25 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season | |
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| League: | NCAA Division I |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Duration: | November 4, 2024 – March 2025 |
| No Of Teams: | 14 |
| Tv: | ESPN |
| Season: | 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season |
| Season Champ Name: | Regular season champions |
| League Champ Name: | Tournament Champion |
| Mvp Link: | Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year |
| Finals: | Tournament |
| Finals Link: | 2025 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament#Champions by year |
| Seasonslistnames: | Basketball |
| Prevseason Link: | 2023–24 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2023–24 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2025–26 |
The 2024–25 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season is the season for Sun Belt Conference men's basketball teams that will begin with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play will begin in December 2024, and conclude in March 2025. The 2025 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament will take place at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida.
On December 6, 2023, head coach Cliff Ellis retired with assistant coach Benny Moss named interim head coach for the rest of the season. On March 12, 2024, Western Carolina head coach Justin Gray was named new head coach.[1] [2]
On March 25, 2024, Mark Byington left to become head coach of Vanderbilt. On March 29, 2024, Morehead State head coach Preston Spradlin was named new head coach of the Dukes.[3] [4]
On March 25, 2024, head coach Dan D'Antoni and Marshall parted ways. Later that day, associate head coach Cornelius Jackson was named his successor.[5]
Jeff Jones resigned following a heart attack he had on December 20, 2023, and special assistant coach Kieran Donahue was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. Jones retired on February 26, 2024. Former Old Dominion player and Maryland assistant coach Mike Jones was named new head coach on March 1, 2024.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Sun Belt record | Sun Belt titles | Sun Belt Tournament titles | NCAA Tournaments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Dustin Kerns | Presbyterian | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Arkansas State | Bryan Hodgson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Coastal Carolina | Justin Gray | Western Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Georgia Southern | Charlie Henry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Georgia State | Jonas Hayes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| James Madison | Preston Spradlin | Morehead State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Louisiana | Bob Marlin | Sam Houston | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Louisiana–Monroe | Keith Richard | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Marshall | Cornelius Jackson | Marshall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Old Dominion | Mike Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| South Alabama | Richie Riley | Nicholls State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Southern Miss | Jay Ladner | Southeastern Louisiana | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Texas State | Terrence Johnson | Texas State | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Troy | Scott Cross | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
On October 14, 2024, the conference announced a preseason conference poll as voted by the league's 14 head coaches.[6]
| Rank | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arkansas State(12) | |
| 2. | James Madison (1) | |
| 3. | Troy (1) | |
| 4. | Louisiana | |
| 5. | Southern Miss | |
| 6. | Appalachian State | |
| 7. | Texas State | |
| 8. | Georgia Southern Old Dominion | |
| 10. | Marshall | |
| 11. | South Alabama | |
| 12. | Georgia State | |
| 13. | Coastal Carolina | |
| 14. | Louisiana–Monore |
| 2024-25 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams | ||||||
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Freeman – James Madison Kobe Julian – Arkansas State Hosana Kitenge - Louisiana Nate Martin – Marshall Myles Rigsby – Troy | Obinna Anochili-Killen – Marshall Tayton Conerway – Troy C.J. Huntley – Appalachian State Toneari Lane – Georgia State Taryn Todd – Arkansas State | Xavier Brown – Appalachian State Andre Curbelo – Southern Miss Tyrel Morgan – Texas State Izaiyah Nelson – Arkansas State Myles Tate – Appalachian State | ||||
| Team | Tournament | Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic | 2nd | |
| Arkansas State | Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship | ||
| Coastal Carolina | Alabama A&M Bulldog Bash | ||
| Georgia Southern | Rock Hill Classic | 3rd | |
| Georgia State | Jacksonville Classic | – | |
| James Madison | Boardwalk Battle | 3rd | |
| Louisiana | Paradise Jam | 8th | |
| Old Dominion | Cayman Islands Classic | 8th | |
| South Alabama | Jaguar Classic | 3rd | |
| Texas State | Myrtle Beach Invitational | 5th |
| Week | Player(s) of the Week | School | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 11[7] | Jackson Fields | Troy | |
| Nov 18[8] | Nate Martin | Marshall | |
| Nov 25[9] | Bryce Lindsey | James Madison | |
| Dec 1[10] | Myles Corey | South Alabama | |
| Dec 8 |
| Conference | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | 0–0 | |
| Big East | 0–0 | |
| Big Ten | 0–1 | |
| Big 12 | 0–2 | |
| Pac–12 | 0–0 | |
| SEC | 0–3 | |
| Combined | 0–6 | |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record | |
| America East | 0–0 | |
| American | 0–4 | |
| ASUN | 0–0 | |
| Atlantic 10 | 0–0 | |
| Big Sky | 0–0 | |
| Big South | 0–1 | |
| Big West | 0–0 | |
| CAA | 0–1 | |
| Conference USA | 0–0 | |
| Horizon | 0–0 | |
| Independents/Non-Division I | 2–0 | |
| Ivy | 0–0 | |
| MAAC | 0–0 | |
| MAC | 9–4 | |
| MEAC | 0–1 | |
| Missouri Valley | 0–0 | |
| Mountain West | 0–0 | |
| Northeast | 0–0 | |
| OVC | 0–2 | |
| Patriot | 0–0 | |
| Southern | 0–0 | |
| Southland | 2–0 | |
| SWAC | 0–0 | |
| Summit | 0–0 | |
| West Coast | 0–0 | |
| WAC | 0–0 | |
| Combined | 13–13 | |
See main article: 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.