Hobart opens its 116th varsity basketball season at home against Gettysburg at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, with 11 returning players and its four leading scorers back.
Seventh-year coach Stefan Thompson's team returns players responsible for 84% of last season's scoring and 85% of its rebounding, according to the Statesmen's season outlook.
The Statesmen finished 14-11 in 2025-26. They started 11-3 before an eight-game losing streak damaged their postseason chances; five of those losses were decided by five points.
Seniors Ashton Khoorchand, Alex Moesch and Dorian Paki are among the returning players. Thompson, a 2013 Hobart graduate, said the combination of experience, newcomers and depth gives the team a chance to compete for the Liberty League championship.
He said the competition for roles has made practices intense, with different players stepping forward on different days. He hopes that competition will help develop the team's depth as the season progresses.
Moesch approaches 1,000 points
Moesch enters the season 15 points short of 1,000 for his career. He led Hobart with 14.9 points per game last season, adding 5.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals.
He also led the team with 54 made 3-pointers and an 87.3% free-throw rate. His season high was 30 points against RPI. Moesch earned USBWA Rochester Area first-team honors and has been an All-Liberty League selection twice, making the second team in 2026 and third team in 2025.
Junior Monty Nedd averaged 14.5 points, six rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals. The 2025 Hobart Tournament MVP scored a season-high 27 points in a win over Ithaca and had 20 points and 12 rebounds against Utica. He also finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists at Rochester.
Paki averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, one assist and one block while shooting a team-best 53.3% from the field. He scored 27 points at Skidmore, recorded two double-doubles and had 17 points and a season-high five blocks against Ithaca.
Junior Allen Mordi rounds out the returning double-digit scorers after averaging 10.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and one assist. He shot 47.7% from the field, 34.7% from 3-point range and 76.1% at the foul line. Mordi scored 24 points while making all four of his 3-point attempts against Skidmore and grabbed 12 rebounds at RPI.
Returning depth meets four newcomers
Justin Price has played in 44 career games and made 18 starts last season, averaging 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists. His season highs included nine points at Clarkson and seven assists against Bard.
Harrison Muntner appeared in all 25 games, averaging 11.6 minutes. He had 15 points and six assists against Merchant Marine and eight rebounds at Vassar.
Jackson Carey played in 23 games and averaged 10.3 minutes. He scored 10 points against Ithaca and had four points and four assists in the road meeting with the Bombers. Elvis Lloyd appeared in 15 games, averaging 4.1 minutes, scored four points three times and had three points and three rebounds at RIT.
The newcomers include first-year guards Tucker Burnett of Marcellus and Tre Paulfrey of Buffalo. Sophomore transfer Matt Dalton of Sykesville, Maryland, and first-year Brendan Mathey of Summit, New Jersey, add options in the post.
Schedule includes four NCAA tournament teams
Gettysburg is one of four 2026 NCAA tournament teams on Hobart's 25-game schedule, along with Mount Union, Keuka and Vassar, which the Statesmen will face twice. A meeting with Catholic in the second round of the Catholic Holiday Classic could add another tournament opponent.
After Saturday's opener, Hobart hosts St. John Fisher on Nov. 11 before visiting Mount Union on Nov. 14 and Keuka on Nov. 17.
Liberty League play begins Dec. 4-5, when Bard and defending conference champion Vassar visit Bristol Gym. Hobart's longest homestand runs from Jan. 26 through Feb. 6, with five consecutive games in Geneva.
That stretch includes Basketball Alumni Weekend Jan. 29-30, when RIT and Skidmore visit. The Statesmen finish the regular season with four road games before the Liberty League Tournament, scheduled for Feb. 23-28.
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