TOLEDO, Ohio – After becoming the first current Mid-American Conference program ever to win three straight outright league titles last year, Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk and the Toledo men's basketball program will look to add to their historic run of success in the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.
 
To do that the Rockets must replace the departed trio of RayJ Dennis, Setric Millner Jr. and JT Shumate, whose list of accomplishments was impressive. Dennis became the third Rocket in the last six years to be named MAC Player of the Year last season, while Millner and Shumate each received all-league accolades the past two years. They helped spur a three-year period that saw UT post a 48-9 record, the best three-year stretch in league play in program history.
 
"We have lost three tremendous players who were among the best players in the MAC and were extremely important contributors to our success," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "They certainly will not be easy to replace, but I believe our overall talent level and depth has improved from last year."
 
The Rockets' two returning starters from last year's squad are the backcourt tandem of juniors Dante Maddox Jr. and Ra'Heim Moss. Maddox is UT's top returning scorer with 11.3 ppg and led the MAC with a 45.1 three-point field-goal percentage, while Moss has started all 69 games in his Rocket career and averaged 8.5 ppg and 4.2 rpg last season.
 
"Dante had a tremendous offseason and is ready to take the next step with his game," Kowalczyk said. "He has unbelievable athleticism, great basketball instincts and DNA. We're looking for Ra'Heim to be a better leader and a more vocal leader. He also needs to take the next step as a scorer because he's capable. I'm really excited for him because he's a guy that I think is one of the best defensive players in our league and we're going to need him to have an all-conference type year."

Another veteran guard Kowalczyk can turn to is junior Tyler Cochran, who played only nine games last season due to a toe injury before receiving a medical redshirt. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound guard is an all-conference type of player who can impact the game in many ways. Cochran averaged 11.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg and a MAC-best 2.0 spg for Ball State in 2021-22 before transferring to Toledo.
 
"It's great to see Tyler back on the court after not having him for much of last season," Kowalczyk said. "He doesn't need the ball to be successful and can defend multiple positions. He can also score in a variety of ways and is tremendous in transition."
 
The Rockets are also welcoming freshman guards Bryce Ford, Sam Lewis and Sonny Wilson. Wilson will serve as UT's starting point guard. Ford and Lewis are expected to provide valuable minutes off the bench.
 
"Sonny is very talented, tough, a winner, and competes," Kowalczyk said. "I think Rocket fans are going to really appreciate him and love him. Bryce is a lefty combo guard who can really shoot it and play off the dribble. Sam is talented and can shoot it as well. He plays downhill and is a north and south guy who possesses good length defensively."
 
In the frontcourt, Toledo will have some new faces with junior Andre Lorentsson the lone holdover from a year ago. Junior Ben Wight will be the Rockets' most experienced forward after transferring to UT from William & Mary where he averaged 11.3 ppg and 5.4 rpg and started 65 games over the last two seasons.
 
"Ben is one of the most consistent guys I've been around," Kowalczyk said. "You know what you're getting from him every day. He brings us maturity and is an elite offensive rebounder which is something we haven't had in a long time."
 
Redshirt freshman Javan Simmons is expected to make an immediate impact as well after fine-tuning his skills and learning the Rockets' system last season.

"I really felt like I probably made a mistake redshirting Javan," Kowalczyk said. "It wasn't a mistake for his future but for last year's team. Javan progressed a lot improving his skills and losing some weight. I'm looking forward to seeing him get on the court."

Lorentsson shot 36.4 percent from three-point range last year, highlighted by a nine-point outing vs. Central Michigan. "Andre has all the abilities to be a good player," Kowalczyk said. "He's much more athletic and a better defensive player than he showed last year. We just need him to be more aggressive and assertive."
 
Toledo also has freshmen Grgur Brcic and Xavier Thomas as options up front.
 
"Grgur is going to be very good for us," Kowalczyk said. "He's athletic and has good hands. He gets position in the post and can rebound it on both ends. Xavier also has the potential to be a really good player. He's a position-less basketball player that we've had a lot of success with."

Toledo opens its regular season vs. Detroit Mercy on Monday, Nov. 6 in Savage Arena. 

Season and individual game tickets for the men's basketball program are on sale now.  For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Rocket Athletic Ticket Office at the Sullivan Athletic Complex in Savage Arena, contact the Rocket Athletic Ticket Office at 419-530-GOLD (4653) or go online to UTRockets.com/tix.