All-Time vs. Valparaiso: 31-20

Last Meeting: 11/12/24 75-67 W

Tickets: csuvikings.com

Radio: Sports Radio 99.1 FM

Play-By-Play: Ed Daugherty

TV: ESPN+

Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Pat Vuyancih

SETTING THE SCENE

The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team returns home for its second home game in the Wolstein Center as the Vikings play host to Valparaiso. Cleveland State earned its first Division I win of the season in its last game as the Vikings came back to defeat Radford at the Greenbrier Tip-Off. Cleveland State is now 2-3 on the season and looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2025-26. Valparaiso is 3-1 on the season with all three wins coming at home. The Beacons are playing their second true road game of the season. 

THE CLEVELAND STATE/VALPARAISO SERIES

Wednesday's game marks the 51st all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Valparaiso. The two teams competed together in the Horizon League for many years until Valpo left the league following the 2016-17 season to join the Missouri Valley Conference. This is the second time the two teams have met as non-conference opponents and the second game of a home-and-home series that began last season. Cleveland State took the game last year by a 75-67 score at Valparaiso. The Vikings hold a 31-20 edge in the all-time series. 

VIKINGS WRAP 1-1 TRIP TO GREENBRIER TIP-OFF

Cleveland State visited the historic Greenbrier Resort this past weekend and finished 1-1 in the two-game Greenbrier Tip-Off tournament. Cleveland State fell in the first game to Kent State 102-97 before claiming a comeback win over Radford on Sunday to close the weekend. The Vikings were down as many as 17 points in the second half of the Radford game and trailed by double digits with just over five minutes to play. A 9-0 run cut the deficit to one in the closing minutes and the Vikings were able to complete the comeback for an 87-82 win. Dayan Nessah finished with 20 points or more in each of the two games and Tre Beard had a big weekend as well scoring 27 points against Kent State and 15 against Radford. 

CLEVELAND STATE CLAIMS FIRST VICTORY OVER CAPITAL

Cleveland State opened the home slate at the Wolstein Center with a victory over Capital University on Thursday night. The Vikings prevailed 71-70 and the win marked the first for head coach Rob Summers in his Cleveland State career. Cleveland State shot 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range in the win. The Vikings had three in double figures with Tre Beard leading the way with 13 points. Dayan Nessah added 11 and Chevalier Emery finished with 10. Cleveland State led for over 32 total minutes in the game and held on after a last-second Capital three-point attempt missed. 
 

SCOUTING THE BEACONS

Valparaiso is 3-1 on the season headed into Wednesday night's game. The Beacons have won all three games at home with wins over Eastern Illinois, Nicholls and Bryant in the first two weeks of the season. Their lone loss came at the hands of no. 9 Kentucky on the road, 107-59. The roster features four returning players from last year's squad and 13 newcomers. Of the newcomers, six are freshmen and seven are transfers. Roger Powell Jr. is in his third season as head coach. Powell was an assistant on former Valpo head coach Bryce Drew's staff from 2011-16 and went on to be an assistant at Gonzaga before returning to Valpo. 
 

VIKINGS FALL IN NAIL BITER AT LOYOLA

Cleveland State went on the road to start the 2025-26 season and gave host Loyola all it could handle in taking the Ramblers to the final buzzer in a thrilling season opener in Chicago. Loyola prevailed 91-88 thanks to a last second three-point shot on the game's final possession. The game went back and forth with 20 lead changes and nine ties as both teams had chances in the final minute to emerge with the victory. Dayan Nessah led the way for the Vikings with 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead all scorers and notch his first collegiate double-double. Josiah Harris finished with 20 points, Tre Beard chipped in 13 and Kamari Jones made it four in double figures as he finished with 12 points. 

ROB SUMMERS BEGINS FIRST SEASON AS HEAD COACH

This season marks the first for Rob Summers as Cleveland State head coach. Summers was named the 18th head coach in program history in April. Summers is a familiar face to Cleveland State after serving as an assistant coach under Dennis Gates from 2019-22. During that time the Vikings won two Horizon League regular season titles and one tournament title, making postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and the NIT in 2022. Following his three-year stint in Cleveland Summers spent two seasons as an assistant at Miami(OH) and then reunited with Gates as an assistant at Missouri this past season. Summers is a Columbus, Ohio native and played collegiately at Penn State and West Virginia, helping the Mountaineers advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
 

SUMMERS ADDS FIVE TO COACHING STAFF

Rob Summers has added an experienced group of five assistant coaches to his first Cleveland State staff. Associate head coach Frank Young comes to Cleveland after six seasons at Appalachian State. Young and Summers were teammates at West Virginia for their final two collegiate seasons. Veteran assistant Louis Rowe brings almost two decades of coaching experience and most recently was an assistant at Oregon. Rowe and Summers coached together at James Madison where Rowe was the head coach for four seasons. Assistant coach Michael Hunter comes to Cleveland after two successful seasons of head coaching experience at Shawnee State University. Hunter coached under Summers at Urbana University. Assistant coach Casey Perrin brings almost a decade of experience at three Division I programs. Perrin most recently was an assistant at Louisiana for the past three seasons. Dalon King returns to his alma mater as an assistant coach. King was on staff with Summers for all three seasons of his first stint at Cleveland State and went on to Missouri where the two worked together again last season.  
 

FRESH FACES

Cleveland State features a brand new roster this season. The Vikings added 15 new players this offseason who will be suiting up in the green and white for the first time. Cleveland State is one of six teams in Division I with all new players. The Vikings are one of ten teams in the country with zero returning points and one of eight teams with zero returning scholarship players. 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

Cleveland State's roster features 14 transfer student-athletes and one incoming freshman. Among the transfers, 11 of them are upperclassmen. The roster includes five seniors and six juniors, along with three sophomores and one freshman. Among the transfers, seven of them have Division I playing experience. 
 

LOCAL FLAVOR

Among the Cleveland State newcomers are some familiar names who have had success in the high school and college ranks in the Northeast Ohio region. Junior Josiah Harris comes from Akron where he played in six games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Harris played his high school basketball at Richmond Heights, located on Cleveland's east side. Harris was a Northeast Lakes Division All-District IV first team selection. Manny Hill is another local product who is a familiar face as he follows in his older brother's footsteps. Yahel Hill played four years for the Vikings and graduated in 2023. Manny has made stops at Notre Dame College, Cuyahoga Community College and most recently Heidelberg University. Hill will play his final season of college basketball at Cleveland State. 

CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AWAITS

Rob Summers has assembled a difficult non-conference slate in his first season in charge of the CSU program. The Vikings will match up with Loyola and Northwestern in the season's first week. Later in November, Summers will reunite with his mentor, former Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates, as the two will square off when the Vikings visit Missouri. A trip to the historic Greenbrier Resort as well as a matchup with UAB are also on the schedule. Cleveland State will take on five teams that won 20 or more games last season and four who made postseason appearances in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT.  

UP NEXT

Cleveland State heads back on the road for a rematch against Kent State as the Vikings and Golden Flashes will meet for the second time in just over a week. The game at Kent State will tip at 2:00 p.m.