FLUSHING, N.Y. – First-year head coach Chris Alesi and the Queens College men's basketball team have announced their 2026-27 schedule, featuring a 28-game regular-season slate highlighted by the Knights hosting the ECC x NE10 Challenge November 13-14 at Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Queens will face four teams that competed in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, including the reigning East Regional champion, along with five non-conference opponents that qualified for their respective conference tournaments.
 
Queens opens the season Monday, November 9, in Rindge, New Hampshire, taking on Franklin Pierce University Ravens before returning home to host a pair of weekend contests as part of the ECC x NE10 Challenge.
 
The two-day challenge will feature four matchups between East Coast Conference (ECC) and Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) programs. Queens will host Pace University Setters on Friday, November 13, while Molloy University Lions takes on Adelphi University Panthers in the other matchup. The challenge concludes Saturday, November 14, with Molloy facing Pace and the Knights hosting Adelphi.
 
Following the challenge, the Knights hit the road Wednesday, November 18, to take on Wilmington University Wildcats before returning home Monday, November 23, to host Saint Michael's College Purple Knights. Queens closes out the month with a road matchup against Lincoln University Lions on Saturday, November 28.
 
The Knights open December with their ECC opener Saturday, December 5, against D'Youville University Saints. Queens then heads to Pleasantville to take on Pace on Tuesday, December 8, before hosting the College of Staten Island (CSI) Dolphins on Thursday, December 10. The Knights remain home Saturday, December 12, when they welcome American International College (AIC) Yellow Jackets.
 
Continuing their homestand, the Knights welcome Ravens to Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Wednesday, December 16. Queens then travels to Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) Owls on Thursday, December 17, before closing out the 2026 calendar year against Saint Anselm College Hawks on Wednesday, December 30.
 
The Knights begin 2027 with back-to-back home ECC contests, hosting the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Firebirds on Thursday, January 7, and defending ECC and East Regional Champions Daemen University Wildcats on Saturday, January 9. Queens then travels to UDC on Saturday, January 16, before continuing its road trip with matchups against Monroe University Mustangs on Wednesday, January 20, and Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks on Saturday, January 23.
 
The Knights return home Thursday, January 28, to host Mercy University Mavericks before welcoming Molloy on Saturday, January 30.
 
Queens opens February with consecutive road contests against D'Youville on Thursday, February 4, and Daemen on Saturday, February 6. The Knights then return to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Thursday, February 11, to host St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans before traveling to Molloy on Saturday, February 13.
 
Queens travels to CSI on Thursday, February 18, before hosting Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday, February 20, for Senior Day. The Knights then hit the road for their final two regular-season contests, taking on Mercy on Thursday, February 25, and STAC on Saturday, February 27.
 
Looking to earn their first postseason berth under Alesi, the Knights will turn their attention to the 2027 ECC Championship. The postseason is scheduled to begin Wednesday, March 3, with the first round hosted by the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The semifinals and championship game will then be hosted by the No. 1 seed, with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday, March 6, and the championship game set for Sunday, March 7.

2026-27 ECC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Alesi and the Knights have been tabbed to finish seventh in the ECC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. (Full Story)

2026-27 Roster Outlook

Alesi will be joined by an experienced coaching staff, including three former Knights in John Sikiric, Shaun Bertin, and Shomari Redd, along with Mike Aamon and Cory Madden.
 
The 2026-27 roster features 15 student-athletes, consisting of one senior, three juniors, three sophomores, and eight freshmen. The Knights return six players from last season while welcoming nine newcomers to the program.
 
Alesi and his coaching staff will look to returning junior guards Lleyton Fried and Tyler Michel to help lead the way. The duo logged the most playing time among returning Knights from last season. Both appeared in all 27 games, with Fried earning 22 starts and Michel making 15 starts. In his first season with Queens, Fried averaged 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while recording a career-high 23 points against Roberts Wesleyan on February 15.
 
Other returning players include senior guard Williams Guzman, sophomore guard Darius Mihai, who missed last season due to injury, and sophomore forwards Juwuan Smith and Aaron Mitchell. The group will look to provide valuable contributions as the Knights enter the new campaign.
 
Junior transfer forward Jabari Phillip is the lone transfer addition for Queens. Phillip brings extensive experience to the roster after earning NJCAA Division II First Team All-American and Region 15 Player of the Year honors during his time at SUNY Orange.
 
Eight newcomers round out the 2026-27 roster. The freshman class features five guards in RJ Walker, Tyler Cameron, Rob Phelps, Melo Mojeed, and Jahzir Crawford, along with forward Jaden Howard and swingmen Jordan King and Nico Esposito. The newcomers will look to make an immediate impact in their first season in Flushing.

Game Day Week Outlook

The 2026-27 season gets underway Monday, November 9, as Queens travels to Rindge, New Hampshire, to face the Franklin Pierce University Ravens. Alesi and the Knights then return home to host the ECC x NE10 Challenge, opening against the Pace University Setters on Friday, November 13, before concluding the opening week of play against the Adelphi University Panthers on Saturday, November 14.

Franklin Pierce University Preview

The Ravens are coming off a 7-21 campaign last season and will enter the new year under the direction of first-year head coach Art Luptowski.
 
Monday's matchup will mark the first of two meetings between the programs this season. It will also be the third all-time meeting between the two sides and the first in Rindge. The Knights trail the all-time series, 0-2.

Pace University Preview

The Setters are coming off a 16-11 season, which saw them advance to the first round of the NE10 Conference Tournament.
 
Friday's matchup will mark the 13th all-time meeting between the programs and the first of two scheduled contests this season. Queens trails the all-time series, 2-10. Last season, the Knights earned a series split, picking up a road victory on November 16 before Pace claimed the rematch in Flushing on December 17. The victory marked Queens' first win over the Setters since November 13, 2015, when the Knights earned a 78-76 home victory.

Adelphi University Preview

The Panthers opened their 2026-27 campaign in Honolulu, Hawaii, competing in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic, and enter the week with a 1-2 overall record. Adelphi will face Molloy on Friday before taking on the Knights to conclude the ECC x NE10 Challenge.
 
Saturday's matchup will mark the 33rd all-time meeting between the programs, with Queens trailing the series, 6-26. The Knights will look to earn their first victory over the Panthers since November 11, 2023, when Queens claimed an 83-79 overtime win in Rockville Centre.

Next Week Outlook

Queens will travel to Wilmington, Delaware, for their lone game of the week on Wednesday, November 18, as they take on the Wilmington University Wildcats in non-conference action.

For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), X Athletics Main Account (@QCKnights), Queens College MBB (QCKnightsMBB) and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's basketball (qcmensbball).