Will Hovey
One of the most exciting times of the sporting year is back in action as college basketball starts this month. Jerod Haase, the new head coach hire for the men’s basketball team, looks to turn the Spartans around and dominate the Southern Conference, while the long-standing women’s team coach Trina Patterson looks to do the same with her squad. Both teams have a lot to look forward to this year and are hoping to make Bodford Arena a tough place for opponents to play in.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s program enters a promising new era under new head coach Jerod Haase. Haase brings an impressive coaching and playing history to the team. He attended the University of California before transferring to the University of Kansas to play under legendary head coach Roy Williams. His résumé includes time as the Director of Operations at the University of Kansas (1999–2003) and UNC Chapel Hill (2003–2009). He then returned to Chapel Hill from 2009 to 2012 as an assistant coach. He has also had successful head coaching stints at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2012–2016) and Stanford (2016–2024) prior to his hiring earlier this year in Greensboro.
Reflecting on the hire, Roy Williams shared his enthusiasm: “I am ecstatic that Jerod Haase is back as a head coach at the college level. The people at UNC Greensboro are in for a fantastic ride. The best group, though, is the players he is going to impact. I think Jerod and UNCG is a fantastic pairing, and I can’t wait to watch him on the court.”
Speaking of the court, a major impact player for the Spartans will be Southeast Missouri State transfer Braxton Stacker. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound high-volume scorer started all 33 games during the 2025–26 season, averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. The guard will look to add to the team’s offense as one of the primary scorers this year.
UNCG saw a 9–9 conference record last year and an overall record of 15–19, which the team hopes to improve upon with the additions it has made this year. The Spartans officially open regular season play on November 3 against Milligan at Bodford Arena before hitting the road to face Elon later in the week.
Women’s Basketball
On the women’s side, veteran head coach Trina Patterson enters her 11th season at the helm. Building on their 14-16 overall record from last year (4-10 in conference, 10-4 at home, and 4-11 on the road), the Spartans look to make Bodford a nightmare for opponents. While discussing the upcoming season, Patterson noted that, “our goal is to continue making Bodford Arena one of the toughest places to play. We appreciate the support and energy our crowd brings each game.”
Some of the returning players for UNCG include sophomore Leyla Minor, who appeared in all 30 games last year while shooting 41% from the field, and Kristina Rakotobe, who also played in every game and successfully landed 53% of her attempts. Minor was sixth on the team in points in her debut year and had a season high of 17 points last year against Carolina University. Rakotobe tallied a standout double-double against Carolina University on January 1. Another prominent player for the team is international transfer Nina Stavrov. She is a guard from Slovenia who was the league’s leading scorer in the Under 20 Slovenian league and competed on the Slovenian national team.
The women’s basketball team will face a competitive out-of-conference schedule featuring matchups against Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Richmond, all of which earned NCAA tournament invitations last year. Both the men’s and women’s squads have the talent to compete this year and are looking to have blockbuster seasons that will break records and thrill fans for generations to come.
Headline image from Wikipedia
