From Rebuilding to Rebuilt: Harvard Men’s Basketball Returns

The long wait is finally over. After a 2024-25 season where Harvard men’s basketball recorded its first losing record since 2016 and missed out on Ivy Madness, the Crimson begins its 2025-26 regular season on Friday, Nov. 7.

Last season had its moments, but was ultimately underwhelming for a team headed by Tommy Amaker, the winningest coach in program history. The Crimson went 2-5 in its first run through the Ivy League, then turned its season around in February and early March, finishing with a 7-7 Ivy record. The team still missed the cut for the top half of the Ivy League by one game and led to a premature end to Harvard’s season.

The peak of the season was the final two games. Harvard upset eventual Ivy League champs Yale 74-69 in the penultimate game of the season, dubbed “Game of the Year” by The Crimson. Then, the team took down regular-season Ivy No. 3 Dartmouth 66-58 in the season’s final game.

Entering this season, the Crimson hopes to maintain and expand upon its late success, returning all three of last season’s top scorers: sophomore guard Rob Hinton, senior guard Chandler Piggé, and junior forward Thomas Batties III.

Hinton led the team in scoring as a true freshman, averaging 14.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 SPG in his first collegiate year. He won Ivy League Rookie of the Week eight times, tying the conference record. In line with his honors throughout the season, Hinton was unanimously voted the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Amaker praised Hinton's mental development over the offseason.

“I think one of the things is that as he’s gaining attention, there’s a confidence and comfort level that he’s not pressing or forcing,” Amaker said. “I talk to him a lot about that, he’s got to settle down and allow the game to evolve and then trust his instincts after that.”

“You see the growth in that regard with him,” Amaker added.

Hinton also noted his improvement over the offseason.

“Spending a lot of time with the coaches, film, morning workouts, it’s all coming to fruition,” Hinton said. “Definitely feels a little bit easier out there.”

While Hinton will be the focal point of the Crimson’s attack this season, Piggé and Batties will play key supporting roles.

Piggé, a Crimson Sports editor, is a sure-bet to stuff the stat sheet any given night, averaging 13.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, and a team-best 1.7 SPG in his junior year.

Batties III is set to play an important role as a stretch big. Last year, Batties averaged 11 PPG, 5 RPG, 1.6 BPG, and shot a team-best 38.2% from beyond the arc on 3.3 three points attempted per game.

Harvard has also made some big additions to a frontcourt which lacked a true five last season. 7-foot tall first-year Kenan Parrish, who is coming off of a postgrad year, and 6’9” first-year forward Ryan Sullivan will bolster the Crimson inside the paint alongside Batties.

Harvard also awaits the return of junior post Luca Ace-Nasteski from injury. The 6’10” Australian is expected to return early in the season and will provide more depth at post.

“It's wonderful to have a few bigger bodies to rotate through and not have Thomas feel like the only post player,” Amaker said. “We have some rotational dependability up front.”

“So if we’re in foul trouble, or we need a little more size, or somebody’s sick, or whatever it may be, we’re not just decimated,” Amaker added.

In the Crimson’s home exhibition game against UMass-Boston, a 107-58 win, Parrish posted 15 points and 5 rebounds in just nine minutes. His performance drew praise from his teammates.

“Keenan, really happy for him, especially since I see him as a sophomore, you know, so he's one of my guys, but really proud of him,” Hinton said in a postgame interview.

Hinton and Piggé are also fresh off of international experience during this offseason. Hinton represented Team Taiwan for the third straight summer in the William Jones Cup, and Piggé played for the USA men's 3x3 team in the World University Games. Both appreciated the experience they picked up due to the accelerated speed of the game.

“The pace is just different, and the ball moves super fast,” Hinton said. “It was good to learn their playstyles.”

“You can see the fast pace and you’ve got to learn how to really make quick, efficient decisions,” Piggé explained. “You have to learn how to guard the ball one on one, and take pride in your defense.”

“That’s what I tried to bring back from playing in the World University Games,” Piggé added.

Despite its disappointing end to last season, the Crimson have lofty expectations for the 2025-26 year. Harvard is ranked second in the Ivy League Preseason Poll after most other teams in Division I basketball’s oldest conference lost key pieces to either the transfer portal or graduation. Before the Crimson begin its quest for Harvard’s first conference title since 2019, though, they will face a gauntlet of stout out-of-conference competition.

The Crimson’s first big test will come Nov. 19, when it travels to Happy Valley to take on Penn State. Later, the Crimson will face off with Rick Pitino’s preseason No. 5 St. John’s on Dec. 23, in a game no doubt circled on every calendar in Harvard’s locker room.

On Jan. 5, Harvard will open its Ivy League play, hosting Dartmouth at Lavietes Pavilion. Key conference games against Ivy Preseason Poll No. 1 Yale take place on Jan. 31 and Feb. 14.

Both of these games are expected to have major ramifications for seeding in the Ivy League’s postseason tournament, Ivy Madness. Started in 2017, this tournament pits the top four teams in the Ivy League against one another in a single-elimination tournament, with the winner receiving the Ivy League’s automatic bid for March Madness. The men’s basketball team has never won.

Nonetheless, confidence appears high with younger players growing into bigger roles across the board. The Crimson will look for key help from sophomores Tey Barbour, Ben Eisendrath, and Austin Hunt.

“I was joking with some of the guys last year, like, Ben and Austin,” Piggé said. “I was like, man, I’m glad I wasn’t a senior. I’m glad I got two years with you guys.”

“Us coming in this year with these guys, you know, sophomores, having a year under their belt, we're just that much stronger, because all of them came in and developed their game,” Piggé added.

The Crimson will tip-off its season Friday, Nov. 7, when it hosts MIT at Lavietes Pavilion at 5:00 PM. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with a radio stream on WHRB’s website.