Northwest men’s basketball begins its 2025-26 season on Friday, Oct. 31.
The team is led by new head coach John Redman, his first collegiate head coaching position.
The Rangers return only two players from last year’s 7-19 squad.
SENATOBIA, Miss. – A new era is beginning for the Northwest Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team as it prepares to open the 2025-26 campaign with a new head coach and an almost entirely new roster.
John Redman takes the helm for his first season as a college head coach. He brings 11 years of coaching experience, including the past seven as an assistant coach at Delta State University.
“This is my first season at Northwest and my first as a college head coach, so this team and year will hold a special place in my heart,” Redman said. “I am excited for our guys and just watching them go on and do some great things on and off the court this year.”
Redman is tasked with rebuilding a program that finished 7-19 last season and won only one conference game. The Rangers are seeking their first winning season since the 2021-22 campaign.
To achieve this, Redman plans to implement a new, team-oriented style of play.
“We will play an exciting brand of basketball that will be fun to watch for our fans and fun to play in for our players,” Redman said. “It will require all five guys on the court working together defensively and offensively. Our brand will be up-tempo, aggressive, and unselfish.”
The “reboot” is significant, as the Rangers return only two players from last year’s team: Grant Hutton and LaMarcus Crawford. The pair played in a combined 29 games last season.
They are joined by three sophomore transfers: Olive Branch native Zahir Gutierrez (Pearl River Community College), Dakota Morris (Barry University), and Tyler Henry, who played for Redman at Delta State University.
“Our older guys have done a great job setting the tone so far,” Redman said. “Guys like Zahir Gutierrez, Dakota Morris, Tyler Henry, Grant Hutton, and LaMarcus Crawford have been working extremely hard to show our freshmen what college basketball looks like.”
A key to turning the program around will be cleaning up mistakes. The team was -121 in turnovers last season, which negated its averages of 73 points and 40 rebounds per game.
Northwest opens the season on Friday, Oct. 31, against National Park in the Greyhound Tip-Off Classic in West Memphis, Arkansas. The team will face Arkansas State Mid-South on Nov. 1.
The Rangers’ first home game at Howard Coliseum is scheduled for Nov. 4 against Dyersburg State. The home schedule includes difficult tests against the top four conference finishers from last season, including regular-season champion Jones College on Feb. 12.
Northwest Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team. (Credit: Brian Oakley, nwccrangers.com)
Bob Bakken provides content for DeSoto County News and its social media channels. He is an award-winning broadcaster, along with being a reporter and photographer, and has done sports media relations work with junior and minor league hockey teams. Along with his reports on this website, you will find this veteran media member providing sports updates and high school football play-by-play on Rebel 95.3 FM Radio.
