Last Season: 9-24 (4-14 Tied for 13th A-10)
Preseason KenPom Rank: 89 (18th in Big Ten)
Head Coach: Drew Valentine
Drew Valentine enters his sixth season as head coach of the Loyola Chicago Ramblers after a sharp regression in 2025-26. Following a 25-12 (12-6 A-10, tied for third) campaign in 2024-25 that included a strong home record and deep NIT run, Loyola finished 9-24 overall and tied for last place in the A-10 last season. They saw their KenPom ranking plummet all the way from 99 to 280.
Last season started with a close win vs Cleveland State, a head-scratching loss to Mercyhurst and then a buzzer beater loss to North Texas. From there, the Ramblers lost seven straight and went on to have a season consisting of a few flashes of the Loyola we expected (wins at Santa Clara, at Rhode Island, 2-point loss to Dayton) and a lot of ugly losses (Chicago State, Mercyhurst, Northern Illinois).
The Ramblers lost 14 conference games last year and 11 of them were by double-digits. They looked like a team that quit early and gave up.
The good news is Drew Valentine has completely overhauled the roster, with just 2 returners from last year’s squad.
Key Returners
- Xavier Amos (fifth-year, 6’8” F): One of the more productive holdovers. He ranked near the top of the team in scoring last year (11.1 points per game) and provides size, experience, and a known commodity in the frontcourt.
- Nic Anderson (sophomore, 6’5” G): Limited production as a freshman but one of the few players with prior Ramblers experience. Expected to take on a larger role with the heavy turnover.
That’s essentially the extent of returning production and both were in their first season at Loyola last year. Valentine will have a job to build chemistry and identity from scratch.
Newcomers and Transfers
The roster is dominated by transfers. Notable additions include:
- Donald Hand Jr. (fifth-year, 6’5” G, Boston College): One of the headliners. Over his last two seasons he started extensively and averaged 12.4 points per game last season. He provides a scoring punch, three-point volume but the efficiency on offense has not been great. His defensive impact has been better than his offense but he’s not a guy that’s going to get many steals.
- Guillaume Grotzinger (senior, 6’1” G, France): International guard who averaged 14.5 points in France’s ÉLITE 2 league. Described by Valentine as a poised, experienced, and mature guard. A bit of a wild card coming over from France.
- Eddie Ricks III (junior/senior, 6’8” F, James Madison): Averaged 7.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while starting a significant 20 games last season. Adds size but is doesn’t add a ton on offense. Has not shown to be an efficient outside threat; shot just 27.8% from three last season.
- Ryan Agarwal (transfer from Stanford): Probably my favorite portal add. Perimeter shooter and experienced option, he makes Loyola better on both ends of the floor. Expect him to be the team leader.
- Dayan Nessah (junior, 6’8” G/F): Previously at Cleveland State and George Washington. Offense first forward, aggressive – he’ll make things happen. He gets to the line a lot, he’ll create opportunities for others and he’ll also turn the ball over a lot.
- Jayden Dawson: Returning to the program (previously at Loyola 2022-25) pending final eligibility rulings. This could be a big-time returner if he’s eligible.
- Additional pieces include Elias Rapieque (Kansas State) – limited role but shot 10-25 from 3 (40%), Malick Diallo (TCU, former four-star) brings size, Chris Jeffery (Villanova) shows the ability to create on offense and create steals on defense, Jason Schofield (Marist) is a 6’10 center that has been a high-usage guy at a lower level but is a better defender/rim-protector than offensive threat. Junior College transfers Dayton Williams (6’4″), Aidan Wing (6’5″) and Sterling Knox (6’6″) provide guard depth. 6’10” Freshman Ryan Kreager rounds out the roster and joins the frontcourt.
The class mixes high-major experience, international talent, and mid-major production. Chemistry and defensive consistency will be early priorities given the limited returning pieces.
Atlantic-10 Outlook
Loyola is projected to finish 12th in the A-10, but with a completely revamped roster, there is so much unknown with with group. Saint Louis, VCU and Dayton remain the class of the A-10. All three are good enough to challenge for an at-large bid to the newly expanded NCAA Tournament.
Schedule Snapshot
The Ramblers open up with The Citadel on November 2nd. The thing that stood out to me is that they have 4 neutral site games. They play in the Acrisure Series in Palm Springs, CA November 22nd and 23rd and also in Frisco, TX for two games December 18th and 20th. Two big measuring stick games will be at Colorado State on November 14th and vs Wichita State on November 18th. Loyola opens up conference play with George Washington on December 30th before a stretch of 4 of 6 on the road including at Dayton, Saint Louis and George Mason. The Ramblers will face George Washington, Saint Louis, Dayton, Davidson and Duquesne twice.
KenPom has the Ramblers projected to go 13-16 and 7-11 in the A-10.
Outlook
This is a true revamp after the 2025-26 drop-off. With only two returners and a portal-heavy roster, early-season inconsistency is likely as roles and chemistry develop. The addition of scorers like Hand Jr. and Grotzinger, combined with frontcourt size from Amos, Ricks, and others, gives Valentine more talent on paper than last year’s group.
A return to the middle of the A-10 pack would represent a solid recovery. The Ramblers will need time to establish an identity after the heavy turnover. After a rough 2025-26, it’s on the new-look Ramblers to gel and reinvigorate Gentile Arena.