By Joe Budzelek
Over their last ten seasons, few programs in college basketball have sustained the level of success that James Jones and his staff have cultivated at Yale: seven Ivy League regular season championships, five NCAA Tournament appearances, two of which resulted in upset wins – versus Baylor in 2019 and Auburn in 2024 – all of which sum up to the Bulldogs winning 108 of their 140 Ivy League conference matchups in that span.
That being said, despite the graduation of last year’s leading scorer John Poulakidas, whose 1,362 career points ranks tenth all time in Yale’s record book, and point guard Bez Mbeng, who finished his career with three consecutive Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year honors, Yale has recent experience sustaining excellence after facing large-scale roster turnover.
Led by upperclassman forward Nick Townsend — whose all-around excellence has placed him on the short list for Ivy Player of the Year — along with center Samson Aletan and wing Casey Simmons, the Bulldogs return over 60% of their rotation minutes. Combining that continuity with their stellar 13–1 Ivy League record and first-place finish last year — highlighted by league-leading marks in scoring (82.6 ppg), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66), opponent field-goal percentage (39.4%), and rebounding margin (+6.4) — the Ivy media sphere is in agreement: Yale received all 21 first-place votes and was unanimously selected to finish first in the Ivy League preseason media poll.
And while Danny Wolf’s early exit to Michigan proved to be the final step before launching his NBA career with the Brooklyn Nets, the Ivy League’s decision to opt out of the NCAA settlement — which includes direct compensation — and its continued prohibition against athletic scholarships or revenue-sharing for athletic participation, has not diminished Yale’s appeal. The program continues to attract and retain some of the best talent not only in the Ivy League but across all of mid-major basketball.
“There will always be a group of people interested in coming to Yale because of what the education affords them for the rest of their lives,” says Yale head coach James Jones. “We’ll always have that — parents who want their kids to attend this institution — and that’s certainly a positive. Then there are students who want the opportunity to have a four-year journey, to be with a consistent group of people, to learn and grow, and not experience a revolving-door environment. So yes, I think that’s always going to be part of it. And there will be people we recruit who connect with that message and really respond to it.”
While some of Yale’s top conference rivals win only when their rosters fit their specific systems, James Jones has built his success by tailoring the Bulldogs’ approach to the strengths of his personnel. This season, those strengths lean toward size — Simmons, Townsend, Aletan, and sophomore Isaac Celiscar are all expected starters listed at six-foot-six or taller.
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| After a breakout junior season Nick Townsend is now receiving widespread recognition as one of the best all-around players in the nation. (photo credit: David Schamis) |
“Having Bez, John, Danny Wolf, and Nick Townsend as the cornerstones of our program — we still have Nick — there was more isolation then,” Jones said. “Bez and John, for example, liked to operate on the move within our offense, but the ball tended to stop with them a lot. They didn’t need to run through all twelve actions to get a score; they could just go out and create one on their own. We don’t have that kind of team this year, but what we do have is a group that plays really well together and is unselfish.”
A major change to this year’s roster is that Aletan, Townsend, and Celiscar are projected to share the floor in the starting lineup for the first time. While this group may lack overall perimeter volume — Townsend shot an impressive 48.2% from three, but the trio combined for just 83 three-point attempts across 30 games — their efficiency is elite. All three rank within the top 160 nationally in Offensive Rating, per KenPom.com, and each is an excellent offensive rebounder. Expect the Bulldogs to attack the glass aggressively on the offensive end.
Reprising a starting role he solidified late in non-conference play is senior wing Casey Simmons. The wiry, high-energy, defensive-minded forward posted excellent efficiency numbers — 58% on two-pointers, 37% from three, and top-20 conference marks in turnover prevention, offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, and block rate. Despite being a low-usage player last year, Jones is excited for the Milton, Massachusetts native to break out in his senior season.
“He’s done some things in practice that are next-level for him, and I think it’s just going to come naturally,” says Jones. “It’s not going to be forced or anything like that. Casey is a winner, and he’s going to make winning plays, like you mentioned. I’m looking forward to seeing him prove himself as one of the better players in this conference and helping us try to win another championship.”
Easily the biggest question mark this season is which guard will step into the massive void left by 2024–25 Ivy League Player and Defensive Player of the Year Bez Mbeng. Junior Trevor Mullin — who backed up and often shared the floor with Mbeng — is the most experienced guard with a chance at the final starting spot, but a deep group of guards will be competing alongside him.
“Trevor Mullin is a guy who will have that opportunity,” says Jones. “And we have a senior, Devon Arlington, who really hasn’t played a lot. He’s had a string of bad luck throughout his career here at Yale. Every year, right around the time when the learning and proving process happens in practice — because if you think about it, the way practice works in the preseason before your first game, that’s really when guys prove who’s going to play — Devon’s gotten hurt.
“Once the season starts, you have fewer hard practices. You shift to prep days, so you’re not really doing as much. It’s hard to prove yourself in one or two days of practice when you’ve already had 25 to show what you can do.
“Devon’s been injured almost every year he’s been here. He missed his entire freshman year, and he’ll be a grad transfer after this season. Then during his sophomore and junior years, he also got hurt and couldn’t really prove himself.
“All that being said, Devon Arlington is another guy who’s going to fight for that starting point guard spot, along with freshman Courtney Wallace and sophomore Jordan Brathwaite. We have a lot of guys who can contribute at that position. With a guy of Bez’s caliber graduating, we’re never going to have just one guy come in and — bang — take over. But what we will have is a group that does it by committee.”
Speaking of sophomores, Yale has a history under James Jones of transforming first-year puppies to second-year dawgs, so their unit of Isaac Celiscar, Riley Fox and Jordan Brathwaite is arguably the deepest sophomore group since 2022-23.
Reflecting on that group, Jones adds: “I see all of them being big contributors to our program. They’re all really talented players, and, you know, it’s hard as a freshman to come in and play on a good team — it just is. You don’t know what you don’t know until you find out you don’t know it.
“I think our guys are figuring things out. By the time their shot comes, they’re ready to step in and help us. Fortunately, we have a really good, talented group of guys. And I think when players don’t get as much playing time, it often motivates them to work harder on their games so that it doesn’t happen again.
“For example, Jordan didn’t like how it felt to sit on the bench last year, and I think he’s ready to go. Riley Fox, after an unbelievably successful high school career, is also ready. That’s kind of how it works for us, and I’m happy that it does. I’m really looking forward to seeing what those guys can do.”
With a lighter non-conference schedule this year — Alabama is the only power-conference team willing to take on the challenge of hosting the Bulldogs — home tilts against Rhode Island and UIC stand out as two of Yale’s tougher non-tournament matchups, sandwiched around a mid-major–heavy U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam over Thanksgiving weekend. During this time, one priority for the coaching staff will be to experiment with different lineups before settling into the eight-man rotation Jones typically relies on by February.
Some suggest that Yale’s uncertainty at point guard makes the Bulldogs vulnerable in their bid to defend the Ivy League crown. However, with their potent overall defense, aggressive rebounding, and high-efficiency, low-mistake, tempo-controlling offense, this year’s Yale team resembles Kelvin Sampson’s best Houston squads — albeit at the mid-major level.
Fade Yale at your own risk.
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