Men's Basketball | 11/6/2025 4:00:00 PM

Game #1 
Franciscan (0-0 | 0-0 PAC) vs. Beloit (0-0 | 0-0 MWC) 
Friday, Nov. 7th | 5:00 p.m.
Phillips Gymnasium | Oberlin, Ohio 

Game #2
Franciscan (0-0 | 0-0 PAC) vs. TBD 
Saturday, Nov. 8th | TBD
Phillips Gymnasium | Oberlin, Ohio 

Live Stats | Watch | 2025-26 Roster | 2024-25 Statistics

The Latest
- The Barons will open their season against Beloit College in the Oberlin College Tip-Off Classic in Oberlin Ohio
- After facing the Buccaneers, the Barons will play either Adrian College or Oberlin College on Saturday, depending on the winners of each game
- Last season, the Barons were 15-12, finishing 6th in the conference and falling to Washington and Jefferson 73-62 in the PAC quarterfinals
- Their 15 wins were the most by a Franciscan team in the Division III era
- They also competed in the ECAC Tournament for the second time ever, losing to Virginia Wesleyan University 73-51
- The Barons were picked to finish fourth in the PAC South division in the Coaches' Preseason Poll

Scouting the Buccaneers
- Last season, Beloit went 9-16 overall, finishing 7th in the Midwest Conference with a 4-12 conference record
- They return three of their five leading scorers from last year, including junior guard Anthony Carter, who led the team with 14.5 points per game
- The Barons and the Buccaneers have never faced each other 

The Returners
- The Barons return six players who averaged more than 14 minutes per game last season
- Sawyer Butler, Travis Zimmerman, Karl Yonkeu, Aiden Townsend, Nate Richards, and Malachi Rose-Burton all saw significant minutes last season
- Butler led the team in scoring, minutes, and three-pointers
- Zimmerman led the team in rebounds
- Yonkeu and Townsend were top five on the team in scoring and will look to take even bigger roles this season
- Richards and Rose-Burton will likely take greater ball-handling duties this season
- Thomas Kristian also returns, having played in 21 games last season

New Opportunities
- The graduation of Josh Zimmerman and Yann Yonkeu will leave big holes in minutes for the Barons to fill
- The Barons bring back several returners who didn't see much time last year and could capitalize on the opportunities
- Anthony Ciola, Volodymyr Trotsko, Aiden Jacomet, and Reece Miller could all see their minutes increase
- The Barons also bring in a large recruiting class 
- Junior transfer Zach Oliver comes to Franciscan after two years at Wooster
- Freshmen Anthony Covetta, Benji Rook, Zachary Pollaro, Sam Seiden, Troy Anthony, Nathan Rodriguez, Michael Swallow, and Mark Sweeney will be thrown into the mix

Big Time Butler
- Sawyer Butler returns following a sophomore campaign that saw him average 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game
- He finished second in the PAC in scoring and earned First-Team all-conference honors, becoming the first Baron to ever achieve that honor in the PAC
- Last season, he set program records for free throw percentage and free throws made in a season
- He will look to take another big leap in performance this season as Zimmerman's graduation opens even more opportunities for offensive production
- He is currently fifth all-time in career scoring average at Franciscan
- With 847 career points, he will likely hit the 1,000 point mark before the end of 2025

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