As March progresses, college basketball fans gear up to support their teams for the renowned March Madness tournament. ULM fans, however, will have to look for something else to do. Finishing as the 13th seed in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), the ULM men’s basketball team played their final game of the season against the Raging Cajuns, which they fell 73–69.
Looking back at ULM’s 2024-25 season, the Warhawks finished with a subpar 7-25 record. The team only won three conference games, ranking last in the standings with a 3-15 record.
Revisiting the SBC’s men’s basketball preseason prediction, ULM was predicted to finish last in the conference. Suffice to say, they did not prove the prediction wrong.
The Warhawks started the season with an encouraging win over Champion Christian University with a dominant 111-61 final score. As the season progressed, ULM secured a 65-63 victory against Northwestern State University and achieved back-to-back wins against South Alabama as well.
Out of the 15 losses this season, 11 concluded with 10 points or fewer. The Warhawks showed spirit as they put up a good fight against higher-ranked teams such as Troy and UT Arlington. However, there were also disappointing losses against lower-standing teams such as Coastal Carolina.
This season also marks the final season of basketball head coach Keith Richards. Richards developed the ULM men’s basketball program for 15 seasons, guiding the program through some difficult times. His retirement leaves a big hole yet to be filled.
ULM will also lose some key players this offseason. Junior guard Jacob Wilson, junior forward Jerry Ngopot and senior guard Devon Hancock have already entered the transfer portal. ULM’s biggest loss will be Junior guard Jalen Bolden, who also recently entered the transfer portal.
During the 2024-25 season, Bolden started all 32 games, averaging 13.2 points, six rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Bolden led the team in total points, total rebounds and steals, significantly contributing on both offense and defense.
Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, ULM will enter a transition phase with a new coaching staff. Additionally, acquiring and acclimating new players into the team will require significant management as the roster thins out this offseason. Although immediate team success may not be likely, the Warhawks hope to progress toward a new age of ULM basketball.
