Last winter saw numerous programs hit new heights — or ones they hadn’t seen in some time.

The 2025-2026 season could produce more of the same, with all three tiers wide open.

Defending Division I champion Wiesbaden picked up its first European championship in a quarter of a century last February, but they must replace Jordan Thibodeaux and Jacob Idowu, a backcourt that produced 37 points per game, plus a couple of other key players.

While going through transitions themselves, teams such as Ramstein and Stuttgart are nipping at their heels.

Vicenza waited nearly a decade to win a title and then managed to pick up a second Division II title in quick succession. The Cougars, though, have two huge holes to fill from All-European forward Ben Harlow and guard Jace Herron.

Marymount, which produced a shock run to the final last year, Naples and others are ready to usurp the Cougars.

Then, in Division III, Baumholder got hot at the right time and came away with its sixth title in seven seasons. The Buccaneers lost a few key pieces, but they always seem to reload.

They’ll need to with a Hohenfels team still smarting from a semifinal defeat after being the tournament’s top seed.

And there’s always surprises mixed in, which should lead to an exciting campaign on the hardwoods.

All will be decided during the European championships Feb. 11-14 in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Ahead of Friday’s tipoff, here’s a team-by-team look, based off coaches’ responses:

Division I

Kaiserslautern

Darwin Bines takes over the Raiders, with the coach emphasizing defense as the key to success this campaign.

Kaiserslautern allowed 49.6 points per game in the regular season last year. The issue: The club went 2-4 in games in which it gave up more than 50 points. The Raiders were 6-2 in other contests.

The Raiders have 13 returners in James Leonard, Jonny Brown, junior center Garrett Vitter, Kamden Caruth, Noah Perez, senior guard B’Angelo Drew-Carranza, Isiah Taylor, Jallell Thomas, senior guard Jordan Balsamo, Jayden Reid, Nicholas Chambers, junior forward Mason Stephenson and Noah Del Villano.

New to the team are Blake Johnson, Abdoulaye Diallo, Jacoby Carrington, Jayden Richards, Micheal Gray, Daniel Williams, Joseph Morrison, Jalen Newkirk, Sioni Seivwright, Lachlann Scott, Coco Leroy Tatang, Davon Gann and Michael Roberts.

Lakenheath

Michael Tieyah moved from Spangdahlem, where he was a part of the girls basketball coaching staff, to Lakenheath, where he takes over the boys program.

He inherits a squad that struggled last year but brings back plenty of experience.

Eight veteran Lancers are expected to step into leadership roles – senior forward Gabriel Blanke, senior guard Tyler Chiappetta, junior guard Chris Cabrera, junior big man Jaylon Gatewood, sophomore forward Oskar Feletar and sophomore guards Jaron Granderson, Jordan Freeman and Jayden Weber.

New to the team are Tyjuan Anderson, Connor Martin, Demilo Stroman, Hunter Winkler, Parker Larkins and Talen Francisco. Freshmen Lamart Overton, Jadiel Negron-Meza, Jaykob Kreider, Daniel Cabrera, Aizen Caballero, Aven Gravett, Caleb Williams, Landen Howard, Tavein Wilson and Jason Dalope will try to break into the team.

Ramstein

A new sheriff’s in charge of DODEA-Europe’s largest program. Deven Benson is a known commodity at Ramstein, though, as he was on former coach Brendan Rouse’s staff last year.

Benson’s tasked with trying to get the Royals over the final hurdle. They advanced to the final the last three years, only to be bested by Stuttgart and Wiesbaden teams in those games.

Ramstein has four players back this season. Senior guard Awwab Taijou-Noble is coming off first-team All-Europe and all-tournament honors. Senior brothers Amari and Aarius Guishard and junior guard Rhett Dalling give the Royals a solid leadership core.

Senior Reece Black, juniors Cristian Finley, Myles Howard, Adam Izaguirre, Cameron Saunders and Jayden Young and sophomore Brayden Claggett are hoping to make the jump from JV to varsity this season.

Seniors Freddie Robinson and Josiah Evans, junior Jaydem Powell, sophomores Maxwell Killpack and Dharion Polk, and freshmen Logan Black, Jonathan Davis, Deagan-Davis-Wilson, Jaydyn and Nicholas Griffith, Isaiah Saunders, Chase Williams and Kaleb Wilson are new to the roster.

SHAPE

The Spartans made vast improvements during last year’s Euros and ended up with a third-place finish.

New coach Patrick Franzese is hoping SHAPE can replicate that feat this campaign.

He has three returners to lead the way in junior guard Lincoln Coley and senior guards/forwards Luca Romano and Panagiotis Soulakakis. Joining the trio are seniors Wilson Stewart and Gavin Procknal and juniors Doruk Moran and Zaebulun Dinwiddie.

Players dressing both JV and varsity are juniors Titus Clobes, Delsine Graham and Jackson Westervelt and sophomores Efe Karagulle and Stylianos Psarros.

Stuttgart

The Panthers missed out on advancing to the semifinals last winter in a three-way tie with Ramstein and SHAPE during pool play, finishing fifth in the tournament despite a 14-5 record.

Coach Christopher Jackson and his players will look to avoid such a disappointing end. In fact, Jackson described his ballclub as being a “hard out.”

The Panthers have plenty of veteran leadership with senior guard Adrian Anglada Paz, senior shooting guard/small forward Ben Osman and junior big man Kai Lewis, the latter coming off a successful fall season on the gridiron.

Talented newcomers include Shawn Lasica, Jaden Srun and Collin Robinson.

Vilseck

The Falcons didn’t have the record they had hoped last season but still managed to get into the semifinals en route to a fourth-place finish.

This year, coach Adrian Crawford said the goal is to improve.

Seven – senior guards Khyleel Grimes and Kyle Sullivan, junior forwards Wyatt Smith and Jeremiah Dorff, and junior guards Josh Benn and Isreal Pillaca – are back. Joining them are senior center Drake Neville, junior forward Levi Schleicher and senior guard Keryel Badillo.

Wiesbaden

The Warriors exorcised their demons last February with their first European title this millennium, but they have their work cut out for them trying to replace their backcourt as well as two of their best defensive players.

Yet longtime coach David Brown isn’t lowering expectations for 2025-2026. Instead, he said they are as high as they’ve ever been despite the team being extremely different from last year.

Four return for Wiesbaden. Junior center Joel Idowu was one of Europe’s best, averaging a double-double of 12.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He earned first-team All-Europe and all-tournament selections.

Senior big men Teagan McConville, Jake Koschnik and Isaac Mason and sophomore guard Carter Edwards should see expanded roles.

Senior Elijah Kidd transferred from Camp Humphreys in South Korea, while junior newcomer Tahj Reche will attempt to fill in the shoes of the graduated Jacob Idowu and Jordan Thibodeaux.

Moving up from the JV team are senior Gunner Blackmon and juniors Jordan Palmer and Dayshaun Philbert.

Division II

American Overseas School of Rome

Dave Roberts saw the 2024-2025 group become competitive by season’s end, and with all but three coming back, the coach said he hopes that form will carry over to this winter.

Pacing the Falcons are juniors Leone Maggi, Ali Ceke, Sami Greer and Zaiden El Kilany and sophomore Francis Behnke. A newcomer expected to make his mark is junior Henrique Mendes.

Aviano

Keith Adams is calling this Aviano squad a rebuild, anticipating a challenging season for his young charges. He praised the Saints’ energy and enthusiasm.

They lack seniors and have just two juniors – veterans Jonathan Sanchez and Chance Borne – and two sophomores – returner Brylee Hillis and newbie Noah Stanley – on the roster.

The rest of the team is made up of freshmen Adonis Rojas, Oliver Ryan, Cooper Oakley, Bentley Laing, Kamdyn Beck, Nikias Muniz, Matteo Macconi, Nicco Nolley-Gallegos and Landon Zamora.

Black Forest Academy

The Falcons are under new management with Taylor Hemphill on the bench, and he expressed his optimism that they can navigate a mostly Division I regular-season schedule before Euros.

BFA has veteran presence with Luke Hartman, Samuel Batluck, Uriah Trusty, Nehemiah Perryman, Mateo Chamberlain and Brady Wilson.

Joining them are Leo Hemphill, Jonas Witherall, Asa Gable, Gavin Cuttino and Dash Dockery.

Marymount

Nobody’s sleeping on the Royals this winter.

Marymount made history in February by advancing to the program’s first-ever basketball final. That surprise run has coach Phil Davis excited for the upcoming season.

It also helped spark an interest in the team, with 23 players on the JV and varsity rosters.

Six players are back for the Royals. Sophomore captain Gael Grant Rios made the all-tournament team, and lone senior Lorenzo Tranquilli will serve as the team’s other captain.

Sophomores Abraham Rojas, Eliott Monchablon, Max Schnepf and Mykhaylo Klasov round out the veterans.

Freshmen Claudio Romani and Antoni Krawczyak should see time on the court as well.

Naples

The Wildcats have a veteran core supplemented by a healthy number of additions, according to coach Craig Lord.

Guards Jeramiah Robinson, Ryan Hernandez, Jack McGrath and Jayden Ferguson, small forward Ethan Santamaria and forwards Landon Heavrin and A.J. Miller are back.

New to the program are Ryan Mumby, Kingston Miller, Kamryn McKinnon, Samuel Jalondi, Zavian Johnson and Caden Wilkins.

Sigonella

The Jaguars are more experienced this year than last with most being upperclassmen.

That’s good news for coach Jimmy Martin, as the program makes the step to compete in the mid-school tier.

Continuity could be the key for success. The Jaguars have nine returners – seniors Keiron Cayton, Cooper Harrison, Jacob Maloney, James Stinyard and Gideon Tesfay; juniors Mikolaj Falecki, Bobby Gibbons and Jakob Pniewski; and sophomore Luca Spencer.

New to the team are senior William Thompson, juniors Gage Keck and K.J. Lawrence and sophomores Logan Smith and Christian Wilson.

Vicenza

The Cougars have gone back-to-back in the mid-school division, and with 11 back from last year’s JV and varsity rosters, they have a shot at making it three in a row.

All-tournament and second-team All-European big man Simon Gilbert will lead the way. Others returning are Zavier Washington, Alex Trescott, Kandon Price, Ben Morton, Jarrel Wing, Brayden Trescott, Chis Rodriguez and Baedyn Morehouse.

Division III

Alconbury

The Dragons lost the final in heartbreaking fashion last February, starting hot before falling in overtime to Baumholder.

Alconbury may face an uphill battle to get back to the title game, but coach Ronnie Mckinzie said an exciting group of upcomers coupled with three seniors – center Julian Arias, forward Grant Cumming and Christian Navarro-Salazar – will give them a chance.

Senior transfer Josiah Garner and freshmen Isaac Gain, Finnian Havens and Tadas Kurlavicius will complement the veterans.

AFNORTH

The Lions have been stuck in fourth-place purgatory for three seasons now. Coaches Kristin and Derek Kujat are hoping to break that cycle this year.

Returning is junior guard Stefan Termure, who totaled 359 points in 2024-2025.

Transferring from Alconbury is senior Vincent Sheehan. The guard was named to the Division III all-tournament team.

Ansbach

The Cougars are seeking to be more competitive a season after they recorded just one win, which came during the tournament.

Coach Rene Lovallo said she believes Ansbach has the makeup to accomplish that goal.

Three starters are back in senior guards Jalen Donaldson and Lucas Rudy and junior guard Jack Lovallo. Junior guard Marc Jacob Cruz, sophomore guard Donovan Howard and sophomore small forward Ryan Benson also return.

Juniors Azariah Choate and Daren Vergara, sophomore Makai Sinclair and freshmen Jonathan Beck, Aleksei Holloway and Elijah Thompson round out the roster.

Baumholder

The Buccaneers have proven themselves the cream of the crop in the division over nearly a decade.

They have won six of the last seven Division III crowns, including last year’s overtime victory vs. Alconbury. And coach Dewayne Piggé has set championship No. 7 as the bar this season.

He has plenty of veterans who are used to his demanding, high-pressure style of play, with seven coming back.

Two of those are all-tournament selections Artez Williams and Gregory Makubuya. The junior and senior shooting guards are joined by sophomore small forward Jaylon Bilbrew, junior shooting guards Jaylan Harewood and DeWayne Washington, Evan Olin and sophomore point guard Semaj Stukes.

Those looking to break into the rotation include Skylar Cooper, Jaquan Harewood, Bryce Lee-Gonzalez, William Mayo, Benaiah Morgan, Jaiden Quisano-Hernandez and Rhett White.

Brussels

New coaches Willie Gibbs and Vince Pantoja are excited about the upcoming season.

Five returning seniors in Arslon Khakimov from Uzbekistan, Tamaz Kapanadze from Georgia, Toma Jgenti from Georgia, Liam Richardson from the United States and Eljam Aziri from North Macedonia are big reasons why.

Hohenfels

The Tigers were the favorite for much of last year after going undefeated in league play during the regular season.

Hohenfels couldn’t recover from junior forward Lucas Gibbs’ broken arm in the semifinal against Alconbury and settled for third place.

While this year’s squad has a decent makeover, coach Michael Weston said the winter holds great promise.

He has a strong trio in senior captain and second-team All-European guard Jacob Berkau, fellow senior guard Jayden Ruelas and Gibbs. This campaign will be their third together.

Sophomore guard Kyrin Smith, junior guard Nasir Vargas and junior Jaylen Greene also are back for Hohenfels.

Joining them are juniors Bronson Jackson, Tkoa Kaisa, Joseph Cole, Adrian Collier and Cornelius Taylor and freshman Josiah Smith.

Spangdahlem

Aaron Wells steps onto the Spangdahlem bench this season, hoping to turn around a program that had a down year.

The Sentinels can bank on a pair of veterans to lead the way. Senior center Zander Doulder is the lone player from the 2023-2024 championship team still left. Also back is sophomore guard Brody McVey.

Newcomers Isaac Espinoza, Jase Tyler, Caleb Jackson, Roman Wells, Nik Bryington, Adler Armstrong, Malachi Murray, Nehemiah Smith, Jeremy Selman and Bryce Servais are pushing for playing time.

K-town Sports

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