After a 2024 season ending with a loss in the semi-finals of the Conference USA Championships and a first-round exit in the National Invitation Tournament, Middle Tennessee men’s basketball is back on Nov. 5. 

With nine new players on the roster, MTSU is looking to compile its fourth consecutive winning season in five years. 

The team graduated two significant contributors from last year’s team, while two more left the program for the transfer portal. Middle Tennessee took advantage of the portal, with seven of the nine newcomers having collegiate experience. 

With a bit of uncertainty before MTSU tips off this week, three storylines stood out from the Blue Raiders’ new roster.

Next man up down low 

One of the key losses for the Blue Raiders last season was post player Essam Mostafa. In his lone year with Middle Tennessee, the graduate student from Cairo, Egypt, averaged 14.5 points per game and a CUSA-leading 9.2 rebounds per game. The campaign earned Mostafa the 2025 CUSA Newcomer of the Year award and an All-CUSA first team nod. 

“Coaching a guy like Essam, you hope you can get one of those guys once in your coaching career,” head coach Nick McDevitt said. “A guy that in a game can get 30 points and 20 rebounds, there’s not many of those guys out there.” 

Mostafa compiled some dominant performances for the Blue Raiders last season, including a 30-point, 20-rebound game against Liberty University.  

“Anytime you lose a guy like that, they are awfully difficult to replace,” McDevitt said. 

The Blue Raiders will turn to Chris Loofe to replace Mostafa’s production at the center position this season. Loofe, who’s beginning his third season with MTSU, compiled 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds as the backup big man last season. 

McDevitt said Loofe will be a good player for the Blue Raiders this year, but a different player than the since-graduated Mostafa. 

Loofe looks to be more of a defensive anchor for Middle Tennessee compared to Mostafa, as the junior led the team with 35 blocks last season. While he will provide stability on defense, he may not be able to fully replicate Mostafa’s 9.2 rebounds in a game all on his own. 

“The focus has been rebounding,” Loofe said. “[Mostafa’s] a guy that averaged like ten rebounds a game, so we need to make up for a lot of rebounds. That’s through me, Torey [Alston] and Kamari [Lands].”

Mostafa and Loofe are also very different players offensively, with Mostafa being more of a post player who works from the elbows and inside the paint. Loofe is more versatile with the ball in his hands, flashing some ability to knock down from three. 

“He shoots it a little better [than Mostafa],” McDevitt said. “ … [Essam] wasn’t as comfortable and skilled out on the perimeter that Chris is. Chris will be a guy that can stretch the defense because of his ability to make the three-ball.” 

New kids at the point (guard) 

After losing three of the offense’s primary facilitators to graduation or the transfer portal, Middle Tennessee added a whole new slew of guards to provide production in the backcourt. 

McDevitt brought in Penn State University transfer and former Tennessee Mr. Basketball winner Jahvin Carter, and fifth-year guard Sean Smith from Western Illinois University. 

“I think [Sean Smith] and Javin Carter are going to be two big pieces for this year’s team just because of what we lost in the backcourt,” McDevitt said. “Now, they’ve got to fill that void.” 

Carter and Smith both played 20-25 minutes in both of MTSU’s exhibitions against East Tennessee State University and Austin Peay State University. Smith had 10 points and five assists against the APSU Governors, while Carter had eight points, including two threes.

Smith will play a big role on the court for the Blue Raiders, as the graduate student looks poised to begin as the primary point guard. 

“Anything that needs to be done, I’m going to try my best to do it,” Smith said. “Whether it’s getting guys the ball or open looks, scoring, playing defense, whatever. I need to do it, that’s what I’m going to do.” 

McDevitt also sees returning guard Alec Oglesby as an addition for the Blue Raiders, after Oglesby was only able to appear in four games last season. 

In his senior year two seasons ago with Stetson University, Oglesby averaged 10.7 points per game, including dropping 22 against CUSA opponent Florida International University. 

“The addition of those three guys will be big,” McDevitt said. 

Six returners provide consistency 

Of the six returners for McDevitt’s squad, four of them will be in the projected starting five for the Blue Raiders. 

Loofe has started down low, paired with the forward Alston and guards Tre Green and Lands in the backcourt with the transfer point guard Smith. The other two returners, Alec Oglesby and Jarred Hall, saw about ten minutes off the bench. 

“We were fortunate to have six core guys return,” McDevitt said. “… They can help us as coaches kind of teach the new guys what we’re about and the way we do things.” 

The presence of six returners in the era of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals is unusual, but it is something that the Blue Raiders are going to try to take advantage of in 2025.  

“We’ve been gelling together, we all love each other,” Loofe said. “It’s a good camaraderie in the locker room. We’ll sit and talk in the locker room for a bunch of time after practice, so we all like each other.” 

This chemistry will be big for Middle Tennessee as it looks to build depth on the bench. Smith and Carter will be major contributors at point guard, while other new names like Marcus Whitlock Jr., Savon Wykle, Charvez Ambrose and James Dent Jr. hope to work their way into the rotation at some point during the season.  

The Blue Raiders’ season begins on Nov. 5 in the Murphy Center against NAIA opponent Milligan University, with a 10:30 a.m. CDT tipoff. The non-conference slate for MTSU is highlighted by two preseason top-seven opponents, as the Blue Raiders will hit the road to face off with No. 2 Houston and No. 7 Michigan. 

To contact the sports editor, email [email protected].

Follow Sidelines on Facebook at Facebook.com/MTSUSidelines, on X @mtsusidelines and Instagram @mtsusidelines. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.