Rock Hill, S.C. – The New Year has arrived and so has conference play as Winthrop men's basketball hosts USC Upstate on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 4 p.m. in the Big South Conference opener for both teams.
WINTHROP (10-4, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Sr. |
13.6 |
2.8 |
3.3 |
1.4 |
'23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Surpassed 400 career assists (430) / In double-figures for 12-of-15 games, including a 24 point performance vs. Georgia Sou. / Season-high 6 assists vs. NCCU |
| G |
3 |
Paul Jones III |
6-3 |
Fr. |
7.9 |
3.2 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
Career-high 25 points vs. Averett / Was 6-of-8 behind the arc / 6th double-digit game with 10 at Indiana / 4 rebounds or more in eight games / 9.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg as a starter |
| G/F |
10 |
Nick Johnson |
6-4 |
Sr. |
10.9 |
2.5 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
Career-high 22 points in win over Mercer / 20 points in win at Queens / Ranked 5th in Big South with 1.5 spg / multiple steals in 6 games, at least 1 steal in 11-of-12 games played / 6 straight games in double-figures |
| F |
12 |
K.J. Doucet |
6-7 |
Sr. |
14.0 |
6.1 |
1.0 |
0.8 |
24-25 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Posted double-double of 14 points, 12 rebounds at Indiana, surpassing 1,500 career points / In double-figures in 13-of-15 games / Season-high 23 points vs. Coastal / 5th in Big South in free throw attempts / had five 20-point games in '23-24 |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Sr. |
14.8 |
7.7 |
0.6 |
1.3 |
'23-24/'24-25 Big South Preseason All-Conference / '22-23/'23-24 Big South All-Conference First Team / 18th career double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds vs. Mercer / Moved into 3rd on the all-time rebound list (783), now 5th in career points (1,553) / Became program's all-time leader in free throw attempts (619) |
* (blocks per game)
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: 19-10
Series Streak: W1
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 7-5
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W1
Prosser vs. USC Upstate: 4-2
- Eagles and Spartans meet for the 20th time
- It is the 3rd time the two teams have met in a Big South opener, with each team winning on their home courts
- The last time they met in a league opener was 2022, with Upstate winning 70-62
- Winthrop won its Big South opener last season, 68-60 in overtime over Longwood
- Eagles are 21-18 all-time in league openers and have won 10 of the last 11
WINTHROP AT HOME
- Have won 14 of the last 15 home non-conference games and 16 of the last 18
- Eagles finished 3-1 at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center this season and are 9-1 at home for the year overall
- Have won seven straight at the Winthrop Coliseum against non-conference opponents
- Have won seven straight home openers after the 125-65 victory over Piedmont
- Finished last season with an 11-5 record, 4-4 in non-conference and 7-1 in Big South action
- The longest home win streak in program history is 24 from 2005-06/2007-08
- Hold an all-time record of 487-178 in home games and 433-165 at the Winthrop Coliseum
- Since 1998-99 the Eagles are 309-70 at home (.815 winning percentage)
- Since 2012-13 the Eagles are 149-35 at home (.809 winning percentage)
- As an NCAA D1 member the Eagles are 406-149 in home contests
WINTHROP
- Reached 10 wins before the start of conference play for the first time since the 2015-16 season
- Win over Mercer assured a winning record in the month of December for a second straight season and fourth time in the last five seasons
- Eagles posted 102 points in the win over Mercer, the 18th all-time 100 point game vs. a D1 opponent (Eagles hold a 42-2 all-time mark when scoring 100 and 16-2 vs. D1 opponents)
- Of the Eagles non-conference D1 opponents, seven of them have a winning record and eight or .500 or better (as of Dec. 29)
- Eagles lead the Big South in scoring at 85.0 ppg and are 5th defensively at 74.3 ppg
- Winthrop also leads the conference in steals, rebounding, offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds
- Leading the nation in free throw attempts per game (31.3) and second in free throws made per game (20.9)
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg, K.J. Doucet is next at 14.0, Kasen Harrison is averaging 13.6 ppg and Nick Johnson is at 10.9 per game
- Talford is 9th in the league, Doucet is 14th and Harrison is 15th in scoring
- Winthrop and Asheville are the only two programs with three players in the Top 15 in scoring in the league
- Talford is fourth in the Big South in rebounding (7.7) and is 3rd in field goal percentage (.563)
- Eagles have four players ranked among the Top 10 in the Big South for free throw attempts as Talford is 1st, Doucet 5th, Johnson 8th, and Harrison 9th
- Eagles had 48 free throw attempts in the win over Mercer, the 5th game of the year with 40 or more trips to the foul line
- Johnson had a career-high 22 points in the win over Mercer, his second 20 point game of the year
- Johnson had 20 points to help the Eagles to their first road win of the season at Queens on Dec. 3
- Eagles hosted the Rock Hill Classic Nov. 15-17 and came away with a 2-1 record
- Opened the weekend with a thrilling 86-85 victory over William & Mary as Bryce Baker buried a three at the buzzer
- The win over William & Mary was the 100th career victory for head coach Mark Prosser
- It also marked the 800th win all-time in program history
- Eagles dropped the second game, 89-87 to Georgia Southern as that game came down to the final seconds
- Capped off the weekend with a 77-75 victory over North Carolina Central
- This was the first time the Eagles have been involved in three consecutive games decided by a single-possession since Nov. 10-14, 2019 vs. Fresno State (3), St. Mary's (2) and ETSU (3)
- First loss of the season and only road game so far came on Nov. 11 with a 58-52 loss to Virginia Tech
- It was the second-fewest points the Eagles have ever held an ACC opponent to (57 vs. N.C. State on 12/3/96 is the lowest)
- Opened the season with a 125-65 victory over Piedmont, the second-largest margin of victory in program history (+60)
- In the game the Eagles also hauled in 63 rebounds, tying a program record with 28 offensive rebounds
- Voted to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll
- Eagles had two players on the preseason all-conference teams
- Talford was voted to the first team and Doucet was voted to the second team
- This marks the 1,425th game in program history and hold an all-time record of 807-617
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (251) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is UNC Asheville with 217
- Mark Prosser starts his fourth season as head coach of the Eagles (8th head coach in program history) and holds a 65-46 record now in his fourth season
- Prosser earned his 100th career win on Nov. 15 vs. William & Mary, which was also his 100th game coached at the helm of the Winthrop program
- Prosser is coaching in his 230th career game and 202nd at the NCAA D1 level
- Led the team to 23 wins, the most by a first-year head coach in program history
- Prosser tied Towson State's Terry Traux (1992-93) for the most conference wins by a first-year coach with 14
- The newcomers include five transfers and one true freshman
- The transfers are Ryan Jolly (Graduate Student/Piedmont), Tommy Kamarad (Senior/Arkansas Tech), Tai Hamilton (Sophomore/William & Mary), Logan Duncomb (Junior/Xavier) and Bryce Baker (Junior/Old Dominion)
- The one true freshman is Paul Jones III, a guard out of Suffolk, Va.
- Jolly scored more than 1,000 points in his career at Piedmont
- Kamarad started 28-of-30 games last year and was named to the Great American Conference All-Tournament Team as his team captured the championship
- Baker played in 59 games in his first two seasons at Old Dominion
SEASON HONORS/AWARDS
- Kelton Talford, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason First Team)
- All-Big South First Team Selection in 2022-23 and 2023-24
- Started 28-of-31 games as he led the team in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (5.7)
- Ranked 13th in the Big South in scoring and 11th in rebounding while leading the conference in field goal percentage
- K.J Doucet, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason Second Team)
- Started 30-of-32 games and was second on the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg
- Second on the team in three-pointers made (51) and field goals made (129)
CAREER MILESTONES
- Kasen Harrison
- Reached 1,000 career points last season and closing in on 1,300 points in the game vs. Averett (1,385)
- Surpassed 400 career assists (430) as he's dished out 279 as an Eagle
- Played in his 100th career game on Mar. 2, 2024 vs. Gardner-Webb
- Made his 100th career start in the game at Florida State (currently 116 games played)
- Kelton Talford
- Reached the 1,000 points and 500 career rebounds in 2023-24
- Has 1,553 career points, ranking 5th all-time in scoring at Winthrop
- His 783 career rebounds are ranked 3rd all-time
- Became 12th player in Big South history with 1,500 points/750 rebounds
- Is currently the career leader in field goal percentage in Big South history at .635
- Is 1-of-14 NCAA D1 active players with 1,500 points/700 rebounds in a career
- Became the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Became the 67th player in league history to join the 1,000/500 club
- He became the 65th player in league history to reach 600 rebounds
- Became the 48th player in Big South history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds
- Has 18 career double-doubles after his 18 points, 10 rebounds vs. Mercer
- Became the program leader for most free throw attempts (619), passing Keon Johnson's all-time mark of 610
- Overtook George Valentine for the most games played by a single-player in program history after playing at Indiana for 132 in his career
- Nick Johnson
- Reached 1,000 career points in the win at Radford last season and surpassed 1,200 (1,208) after 10 points at Indiana
- Is two starts away from 100 in his career (119 games played)
- Reached 400 career rebounds vs. UNC Asheville in 2023-24 and is now at 466
- Dished out his 100th career assist vs. Queens and surpassed 100 steals
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 1,000 career points after 22 points at Coastal Carolina (2023)
- Moved past 1,500 points in his career (1,503) after 14 points at Indiana
- Joined the 1,000 point/500 rebound club and now has 530 boards in his career
- His 51 threes in 2023-24 were a career-best for a single-season
- Ryan Jolly
- Scored 1,371 career points in his collegiate career between Piedmont and Lander
- Had 15 points in the opener vs. his former team (Piedmont)
- Currently sitting with a career total of 1,438 points
- Has 345 career assists, 423 career rebounds and 161 career steals
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ARE ON SALE
Fans can purchase single-game tickets for all home contests for the 2024-25 season by visiting
www.winthropeagles.com/MBBTickets2425 or call text ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
CHAMPIONSHIP ANNIVERSARIES
This year celebrates the 25
th anniversary of the 1999-2000 team that captured a second straight Big South Conference championship. Under the guidance of second-year head coach Gregg Marshall the Eagles posted an overall record of 21-9 and were 11-3 in the conference (2
nd place). Winthrop defeated fourth-seeded UNC Asheville 75-62 in the Big South title game and faced 3
rd-seeded Oklahoma in Tucson, Ariz. in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Greg Lewis was voted the Big South Tournament MVP.
It is also the 20th anniversary of the 2004-05 team that went 27-6 on the season and 15-1 in Big South play on its way to the first of four straight league titles for the second time. Eagles opened conference play with a 76-68 victory before reeling off 15 straight wins to take the regular season championship. Eagles rolled in the conference championship game, 68-46 over Charleston Southern as Torrell Martin was named the Big South Tournament MVP. The team was seeded 14th in the NCAA Tournament and faced #3 Gonzaga in Tucson, Ariz as it fell 74-64. The 18 consecutive wins is the 3rd longest winning streak in program history and 2nd longest in a single-season.
It's been 15 years since the Eagles captured the 2009-10 Big South Title. The Eagles were 19-14 overall and 12-6 in the Big South. Eagles started off league play with a 1-3 record before going on to win 11-of-12 league games and earned the 3rd seed. Opened the tournament with an 80-72 win over 6th-seeded Liberty before defeating 2nd-seeded Radford 61-46 and then top-seeded Coastal Carolina on its home court, 64-53. Mantoris Robinson was named the Big South Tournament MVP.
TUNE IN TO THE EAGLES
Fans can listen to the games all season long on OTS Media of Rock Hill (94.3 FM), which is the flagship station for Winthrop Athletics. In addition, most games will simulcast on 730 ESPN Charlotte and AM 1450 WGNC Gastonia.
All home games as well as all Big South games home or away are available to watch through the Big South Network on ESPN+. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. ESPN is currently offering a discount between Oct. 25-Dec. 2 to get 12 months for the price of nine. For more information how to subscribe,
click here.
UP NEXT
Winthrop has a quick turnaround as it will hit the road to Radford, Va. to take on the Highlanders on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 4:30 p.m.
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthrop_MBB), Instagram (@Winthrop_MBB) and Facebook (/WinthropMBB).
