Last season was the best in Saint Louis basketball history. The Billikens went 29-6 overall and 15-3 in the Atlantic 10, won the regular-season crown, set the program record for victories, cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign — climbing as high as No. 18 — and, as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, dismantled Georgia 102-77 for the program's first March Madness victory in 12 years before falling to Michigan. It was a coronation season.
What happened next was, in today's college basketball, basically unheard of: the players stayed. Over a two-day span in the spring, the nine rotation pieces Josh Schertz expected back formally committed — five key returners, three of them All-Atlantic 10 — while more than 2,000 players around the country entered the transfer portal. Blue bloods got decimated. Saint Louis got better. “You can make a case, a pretty easy one, that this will be the most anticipated season in Saint Louis basketball history,” Schertz said.
The headliner is the returning core. Junior guard Trey Green (10.7 points per game) shot 44.2 percent from three in 30 starts. Junior guard Kellen Thames (9.7 ppg) — the St. Louis native — has battled unique injuries and turned into one of the most exciting players in the league. Sophomore guard Amari McCottry (10.5 ppg, 5.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists) does a little of everything. Junior Quentin Jones (9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.0 apg) steadies the backcourt, and junior Ishan Sharma (9.1 ppg, 41.7 percent from deep) provides instant offense.
And then there's Robbie Avila — the 6-foot-10 point-center whose fifth-year decision looms over everything. Avila averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists last season while shooting 41 percent from three, the hub of an offense built on his passing and shooting. Projections that leave him out have SLU in the 60s; add him in and the Billikens jump into the top 40, with plenty of room to climb. He is, by every measure, the most important “maybe” in the Atlantic 10.
The system is the star anyway. SLU shot 39.6 percent from three as a team last season — one of the best marks in America — and brings back three players who each shot over 40 percent. Schertz's offense is beautiful in its simplicity: shots at the rim, shots behind the arc, and almost nothing in between. With this roster's length and athleticism, the Billikens should be even better at generating both.
The reinforcements fit the formula. Colorado transfer Alon Michaeli (7.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg) adds frontcourt shooting. South Carolina transfer Elijah Strong (10.0 ppg) brings SEC-tested scoring. Marquette transfer Sheek Pearson adds length and athleticism. Four-star freshman Jermel Thomas and three-star Jamison White headline a recruiting class with real upside, joined by Yousaf Ahmad. Six of the top seven players return, and the depth got better.
Schertz himself is part of the story. Hired from Indiana State in the spring of 2024, he was believed to be a top candidate for high-major openings — NC State, Syracuse — and stayed, telling his players directly that the speculation was mostly unfounded. His commitment set the tone for the retention miracle. Year three is when a coach's program truly becomes his, and this one looks like a contender from day one.
The history gives the moment its weight. Rick Majerus (2007-2012) built SLU into a defensive juggernaut; Jim Crews carried it to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2012-14, including the 2013 Atlantic 10 title and a No. 4 seed. Travis Ford's tenure (2016-2024) added A-10 tournament crowns in 2019 and 2023. Larry Hughes' lone season in 1997-98 made him a top-10 NBA draft pick. The 2025-26 team didn't just join that lineage — it may have surpassed it.
Chaifetz Arena — opened in 2008, holding 10,600 — is one of the great home courts in the Atlantic 10: modern, loud, and full of fans who remember when SLU was the league's team to beat. This winter it should be the league's toughest ticket. Saint Louis has always been a basketball town — the old Spirits of St. Louis gave the city ABA soul — and the Billikens carry that legacy into every A-10 war.
The schedule opens with a statement: November 6 against Missouri at the Enterprise Center, a regional rivalry game with real juice. From there, it's the A-10 grind — Dayton, VCU, Saint Joseph's, George Mason — with the Billikens wearing the target they spent a decade trying to earn.
Expectations are simple and enormous: a preseason top-25 ranking, the Atlantic 10 title, and a return to the NCAA Tournament — this time with designs on the second weekend. After the winningest season in school history, anything less would feel like a step back. In St. Louis, for the first time in a long time, the Billikens aren't chasing the moment. They are the moment.