Cowboy Basketball Opens Season with First Official Practice

University of Wyoming Athletics Press Release
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Pokes play exhibition in Gillette on Oct. 18

UW Men's Basketball Coach Sundance Wicks. Photo courtesy of UW Athletics

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Sept. 22, 2025) – The Wyoming Cowboy basketball team officially opened the season on Monday with the first official practice of the 2025-26 season. The Pokes hit the floor in the Arena-Auditoriums for a two-hour practice.

“It has been a long summer and fall,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “I think our guys are kind of ready to get the season going. You have your summer work, you have your preseason work, and now you're about to get down to the season. I'm excited to see what this team’s ceiling is. I think our floor is pretty high, but I don't know where our ceilings going to be. We’re a completely different team than we were last year, which is going to be unique for Wyoming fans to see. Fans are going to see our speed, skill and some of our athleticism, but that's got to be coupled with some toughness that we got to keep creating.”

The Cowboys return a pair of players from last season’s team in Forwards Matija Belic and Abou Magassa. Belic appeared in 22 games with 16 starts adding 5.6 points per game with 3.1 rebounds. Magassa appeared in 31 contests with 14 starts. Je added 3.2 points and 3.7 rebounds. He shot 72.4 percent from the field.

Wyoming welcomes 12 newcomers with seven transfers and five high school additions. The seven transfers come from three different levels of college basketball with four division I transfers, two from Division II and one from junior college.

Wicks added a trio of new coaches for this season. Chris McMillian returns to UW after a stellar career in the late 90’s and early 2000’2. Will Martin comes to UW after serving as head coach at Missouri Western. Chris Taylor brings international head coaching experience.

Non-Conference Schedule

Wyoming Cowboy head men's basketball coach Sundance Wicks announced the non-conference slate for the Pokes in early September. The 12-game schedule along with a pair of exhibition contests, features eight home games in the friendly confines of the Arena-Auditorium.

The Cowboys will head north to Gillette to take on Northern Colorado in an exhibition contest on October 18 in The Pronghorn Center on the campus of Gillette College. More information will be available in the coming weeks.

Wyoming will host The College of Idaho in an exhibition game on October 25. The second annual Jae Foundation Game against the schools will benefit the Jae Foundation, a non-profit focused on mental health awareness, suicide prevention and healing for those who have lost loved ones.

The Pokes officially open the season against Northern State on November 3. A special contest marks Wicks' first contest coaching against his alma mater. It opens a four game homestand to start the season for the Brown and Gold. Wyoming faces Cal State Fullerton on November 8 followed by Austin Peay on November 11 and Portland on November 15.

Wyoming also plays home contests against Norfolk State on November 23 and regional rival Denver on November 26. In the month of December, the Cowboys face Dartmouth on December 6 and close non-conference home action against South Dakota on December 9.

The Pokes will play a pair of road games in the Lone Star State. UW visits Sam Houston State on November 19 and closes the month with a trip to Texas Tech on November 30. UW will play a neutral site contest against South Dakota State at the Sioux Falls Pentagon on December 15 to close out non-conference action.

Game times and the Mountain West Conference Schedule will be released at a later date.