Column: What is happening with CMU men's basketball?
Central Michigan University Men's Basketball head coach Andy Bronkema holds up a 22 to his daughter in the Kulhavi Events Center on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The number 22 symbolizes a Taylor Swift song and how he is the 22nd head coach. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
As the 2024-2025 season came to a close for the Central Michigan University men's basketball team, the chances for making another Mid-American Conference tournament appearance was eliminated after a devastating 83-81 loss to Northern Illinois.
The developments mark a dramatic turn for a program that entered the 2024-25 season with hopes of climbing the Mid-American Conference standings. Instead, CMU finds itself at a crossroads, staring down a critical rebuilding phase amid controversy.
Things only went downhill from there, as once again the transfer portal bug bites the Chippewas. Just weeks after the season ended, ten players from the 15-man roster have entered the transfer portal to pursue new opportunities in college basketball.
The exiting
To start, the Chippewas already loose senior guard Anthony Pritchard due to graduation. Also noted on the roster is redshirt junior DeCorion Temple, a dual-sport athlete also on the football team who was brought on midway through the season.
Among the ten is senior guard/forward Jakobi Heady. As prominent starter for CMU, he averaged 15 points per game seeing a season-high of 35 points against Ohio. Prior to CMU, Heady spent his first two years of college at Wabash Valley College, a two-year university in Illinois.
Following the 2022-2023 season, he would transfer to Bethune-Cookman in Daytona, Florida, where he would spend one season before becoming a Chippewa.
Sophomore guard Cayden Vasko announced his entrance to the portal via Instagram on March 24. Starting in Mount Pleasant as a true freshman, he started 31 out of 32 games played during the 2023-2024 season.
This season, Vasko started all 31 games and averaged 7.4 points per game. As an avid rebounder, he totaled 154 on the season and 81 assists.
Sophomore forward, Bryan Ndjonga entered the portal on March 20 after only one season as a Chippewa. Transferring in from Cal State Northridge, he played 29 games, with 21 starts. Despite only averaging 5.2 points per game, Ndjonga dominated defensively for the Chippewas with 17 blocks, 14 steals and 23 assists on the season.
Junior guard Kyler VanderJagt, who led the Chippewas in three-point shooting (38%) and averaged 11.2 points per game, entered the portal March 25. He has since committed to conference rival Toledo, delivering a painful blow to CMU’s backcourt depth.
Junior forward Ugnius Jarusevicius was a powerhouse for the Chippewas as he averaged 16.2 points a game this season. His career high came in back-to-back games against Kent State and Akron where he had double-doubles in both, scoring 32 points and 10 rebounds.
Since entering the portal, Jarusevicius. landed at a high-major program, committing to Nebraska, after a season in which he provided energy and versatility off the bench.
Another familiar name entering the portal is sophomore center Hunter Harding. As a true freshman, he saw action in 22 games with seven starts at center in the 2023-2024 season alongside his brother, Markus Harding.
During the 2024-2025 season, he played in seven games and saw the starting lineup four times before getting injured for the remainder of the season. Hunter announced his entrance to the portal via Instagram on Mar. 24.
Junior center Armani Mighty, who was a new name for the Chippewas, saw no action this season and earned a medical redshirt for the year. Prior to CMU, Mighty played two seasons for Boston College where he played 51 games.
After entering the portal on April 7, the Chippewas officially have no centers left on the roster.
The remaining players who have entered the portal are:
- Redshirt freshman guard Shaedon Simpson, a two-season player, saw action in 12 games and started two.
- Freshman forward Mohammad Habhab, a recruit from Dearborn, saw the court for two minutes against South Alabama at the start of this season.
- Sophomore forward Quentin Heady, the brother to Jakobi Heady, entered the portal following the rest of his teammates. One could only assume that we would see him follow behind his brother and also enter the portal.
Out of the ten, all members of the season's starting five have entered the portal. It's going to be tough to find five dynamic players through recruiting and the portal that can mesh well on the court together.
Coaching change
Following a disappointing season and growing unrest behind the scenes, CMU officially parted ways with head coach Tony Barbee. Barbee, who compiled a 28–62 record over three seasons in Mount Pleasant, faced criticism for roster instability and underperformance in conference play.
The university has since hired new head coach Andy Bronkema just 11 days after news broke about Barbee. Bronkema was the previous men's basketball head coach of Ferris State since 2013. Prior to being head coach, he was assistant coach of the program from 2007-2013.
Bronkema led the Bulldogs to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 25-9 overall record and a 14-6 record in the GLIAC this past season. His tenure in Big Rapids featured a dominant 2017-2018 campaign, when the Bulldogs went 38-1 en route to capturing the school’s first national championship and earning him National Coach of the Year honors.
As a Michigan-native, I could see Bronkema being dedicated to the improvement of this program. However, it would be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of rebuilding a program from the ground up.
The lawsuit
Adding a legal dimension to the offseason chaos, former guard Damarion Bonds has filed a lawsuit against CMU. You can read more about the lawsuit here.
Bonds, a junior this past season, saw limited playing time but had been viewed as a developmental prospect. After playing in 21 games before his sudden departure, Bonds averaged 6.6 points per game and shot 44% on the court. Despite being taken off the roster before the season's end, Bonds totaled 138 points as a Chippewa.
His legal action brings new scrutiny to CMU. University officials have not publicly commented on the lawsuit, citing ongoing litigation.
The remaining
Although the portal took many seasoned veterans, there are still a few names left that could step up in the upcoming seasons.
- Freshman guard Ryan Hatcher, a 6'2 recruit from Detroit, didn't see any action this season.
- Trey Phillips, a sophomore forward, didn't see any action this season at CMU. The 6'7 Arizona native transferred to CMU from Southern Nazarene College where he did not see any game action.
- True freshman guard Gus Salem, saw action in one game vs Central State and earned a redshirt for the 2024-2025 season.
What's next?
The balance of the transfer portal departures, Barbee’s firing, and the Bonds lawsuit leaves CMU facing a pivotal offseason. As CMU welcomes Bronkema as the 22nd men's head basketball coach, all eyes will point to how he handles the rebuild of this program.
With the portal window still open until April 22 for undergraduates, further roster movement remains likely. And as the legal situation unfolds, CMU’s offseason is far from over.
CMU and Bronkema must desperately use the off-season to recruit and pull from the transfer portal to build back some sort of team.
For now, uncertainty clouds the future of the men's basketball team. But, this will be the most important off-season for the Chippewas to fully rebuild this program.
