Hopes are high for the Lake Erie men’s basketball team this season, mostly because in 2025-26 it was a breakthrough.
The Storm finished 23-9 last season, made the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time, and had a runner-up finish at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament.
On Oct. 20, the GMAC preseason coaches poll was released and LEC was voted second with 106 points and five first-place votes. Walsh University was first with 108 points, and also received five first-place votes.
The Storm’s home opener is Nov. 9 against Penn State Du Bois, but before that, the program is set for a start to their season unlike any other.
On Oct. 27, LEC departs for Hawaii and will participate in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic, which begins Oct. 30. That’s the day Coach Kyle Conley’s team tips off against Winona State at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time.
Conley said planning for the trip took more than a year, at a cost of about $80,000. It involved plenty of fundraising, but Conley is confident the cost and efforts to raise funds are outweighed by a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the program, players and families making the trip.
“I think this trip will create lifetime memories,” said Conley. “For our program, I think it is great to raise our program nationally.”
LEC will play three games in Honolulu, with games played at Chaminade University and St. Louis High School. The Classic is Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, and features a traditional eight-team bracket.
Along with LEC, the field consists of Adelphi, Hawaii Pacific, Minot State, Saint Edward’s, Tampa and Winona State.
Conley said as many as eight families of members of the team will be making the trip. While in Hawaii, the team’s itinerary includes visits to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, north shore hiking, a dinner cruise and luaus.
Fund-raising the past year included LEC gym rentals, raffles, sports card shows on the campus and phone-a-thons.
LEC adding the Hawaii Tip-Off Classic to its schedule came to fruition thanks to the relationship between Chaminade head coach Eric Bovaird and Conley. Bovaird knew each other when Bovaird was an assistant at West Liberty and Conley when he was an assistant at Findlay University.
“When the idea of this was brought up, I thought it was a great idea,” said Conley. “I just knew it would be expensive. We made it work, and everyone is super excited.”
LEC returns eight of its top 12 rotation players from a season ago, when it went 15-5 in GMAC play. It averaged a conference-best 87.8 points per game playing an up-tempo full-court press style.
Lake Erie College’s Amari Williams was a first-team All-GMAC selection last season, and returns to lead the Storm in 2026-2027. (Tim Phillis/For The News-Herald)
The Storm’s top returning player is senior guard Amari Williams, who last season was first-team All-GMAC after averaging 14.5 points and 3.1 assists.
Also back are seniors Caelum Ethridge and Gio Mooore, who averaged 9.8 and 10.9 points per game, respectively, a season ago.
Other key returnees include brothers Rokas and Alanas Castillo, Aidan Filippini, Griffin Turay and Riley Cervenka.
Several transfers are also expected to contribute, according to Conley. They include Jamyier Patton (Texas A&M International), Keishawn Morris (SUNY-Orange Community College) and Ryan Rodriguez (North Oklahoma).
“We feel we’ve got a good, experienced group this season,” said Conley. “We want to keep winning at a high level and in the GMAC it’s going to be challenging. We want to continue the chase to winning our league.”
GMAC coaches preseason poll
1. Walsh 108 (5)
2. Lake Erie 106 (5)
3. Ashland 97 (1)
4. Findlay 93
5. Kentucky Wesleyan 82 (1)
6. Hillsdale 76
7. Northwood 63
8. Thomas More 53
9. Cedarville 50
10. Malone 27
11. Tiffin 21
12. Ohio Dominican 16