SPOKANE, Wash. - Many of the names and faces may be unfamiliar to fans of Whitworth men's basketball, but the expectations remain the same as the Pirates prepare to take the court for the 2026-27 season. 

Whitworth returns only six players from last season when the Bucs won the Northwest Conference regular season and tournament championships, on the way to a 22-6 record.  None of those six were starters.

Yet, head coach Damion Jablonski is pleased with the combination of talent and cohesion he has seen develop on this season's team.

"I think that our staff did a great job of bringing in talented players that are also high-character humans who desire the best for the team," said Jablonski, the 2026 NWC Coach of the Year who is 139-45 heading into his eighth season as Whitworth's head coach.  "Because of that, it already feels like this team has been together much longer than we actually have."

Of the six returning players, two saw significant playing time last season.  Dylan Westermeyer (6-6, Jr., G) played in all 28 games off the bench.  Nate Krohn (6-4, Jr., W) appeared in 26 games as a substitute.

In addition, Kobe Parlin (6-2, 5^th, G) has returned for his final season, despite missing significant pieces of the last two years due to injury.  His impact could be significant. 

"Last season we were able to see him at best at 70% of what he is capable of," said Jablonski.  "God willing, he has already been a great leader for us, and I am so grateful to be able to see him play with both freedom and joy."

Ben Fried (6-1, Jr., G) spent the last two years apprenticing at the point guard position.  He appeared in 19 games off the bench last winter.  Finally, Aidan Bews (6-6, Jr., F) and Finnegan Anderson (6-4, Jr., W) are looking to step up their impact as they pass the halfway point of their Pirate careers.

Jablonski was able to bring in four transfers from two-year colleges who could make immediate impacts.  "They not only bring college experience but are also team-first guys," he said.  "I am grateful to have them in our program and think that they will really help shorten the learning curve for this team."

Jake Skaggs (6-6, Jr., F) was a two-year starter at Cañada College in California who averaged 14.2 points per game as a sophomore.  Angus Lourey (6-7, Jr., F) was a starter for Butte College in California last winter, where he averaged 9.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.  Greg Piotrowski (6-7, Jr., F) played in 29 games for a Yuba College (California) team that went 22-8.  Blaine Granberg (6-3, Sr., W) spent the last two seasons with Skagit Valley College after one year at NCAA Div. II Northwest Nazarene.

Seven freshmen joined the team this season to complete the 17-player roster.  Typically, first-year players have not seen much of the floor in the tradition-rich Whitworth program, but Jablonski feels like a few of this group could have an immediate impact.

"We were fortunate to get another uber-talented freshman class," Jablonski said. "I'm very confident that they will all make their mark on our program, some of them immediately."

The freshmen include Ben Berg (6-0, G), Pierce Bierlink (6-0, G), Andwele Bridges (6-0, G), Cameron Hood (5-10, G), Kasen Lariz (6-5, W), Jackson Skaggs (6-4, G) and Mason Sonntag (6-6, F).  Bierlink's father Scott ('04) played at Whitworth.  Bridges and Lariz were high school teammates in Forest Grove, Oregon.  Hood (Lafayette, Calif.) is the only one of the seven from outside the Pacific Northwest.

One thing that Jablonski believes will remain the same in 2026-27 is a focus on defense for the Pirates.

"Similar to last year, defense can be the calling card for this Bucs team," he said.  "What we've graduated in length, I think we replaced with speed, and I've been really been excited about the prospect of our defensive capabilities."

Those capabilities will be put to the test when Whitworth opens the season with a road trip to Mary Hardin-Baylor and Concordia, a pair of tradition-rich programs in Texas on November 6^th and 7^th.  The Pirates will also travel to the Midwest for December 20^th and 22^nd games at Aurora (Ill.) and Carthage (Wis.), respectively.

Whitworth will host Northwest (Wash.) in the Spokane Public Schools game as the home opener on Friday, Nov. 13 (11:00 am).  The Pirates will host back-to-back contests against Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 20-21.  The Bucs get an intriguing non-conference home game against Hope (Mich.) on December 12^th before closing non-conference play against Northwest Indian College at home on Dec. 30^th.

The NWC will be improved again in 2026-27.  Willamette and Puget Sound bring back nearly their entire rosters from teams that made the 2026 conference tournament.  Lewis & Clark and Pacific Lutheran figure to battle for tournament spots as well.  Linfield and Pacific (Ore.) took strong steps last season.  Whitman expects to return to its traditional level of success.  George Fox is always very dangerous.

Whitworth opens NWC play on December 4-5 at home against Lewis & Clark and Linfield.