A Hillsdale College men's basketball team that entered 2025-26 needing to fill the shoes of four starters took its lumps this season.

The hope for a young squad is that a rebuilding year will lay the foundation for success to come.

The Chargers returned just one starter this winter, senior guard Ashton Janowski, and were without the services of sixth man and the team's second-leading scorer in 2024-25, Mikey McCollum, for the entire season due to injury as well.

That lack of experience against a tough schedule proved to be too much for the Chargers to overcome in 2025-26, as Hillsdale struggled to an 11-18 record, the Chargers' first losing season since 2005-06, and the most losses by a Hillsdale squad since Bernie Balikian's final team in 1997-98.

Despite that record, the season was far from lacking in bright spots and silver linings. The Chargers played well at home, defending Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena with an 8-6 record, and played well down the stretch, with critical home upsets of fellow G-MAC Tourney qualifiers Kentucky Wesleyan and Northwood to secure a berth in the G-MAC Tournament for the ninth-straight time on the final day of the regular season.

Janowski put together a strong final performance in a Chargers uniform, earning second-team All-G-MAC honors while leading Hillsdale in scoring, and fellow senior Cole McWhinnie earned a starting job for the first time, tying for the team lead in three pointers made and leading the team in assists. Hillsdale's third graduating senior, Jacob Meyer, represented the team as the Elite 26 honoree, with the highest GPA among men's basketball players in the G-MAC, for an unprecedented third-straight season.

Hillsdale saw breakthroughs that bode well for the future as well. Post players Caleb Glaser and Connor Stonebraker had massive seasons offensively and made major leaps in stats, finishing second and third on the team in scoring, while fellow post Garett Bolte also had a career year. Those three, along with returning veteran center CJ Yarian, give the team a strong core in the paint.

On the perimeter, freshman guard Braylon Morris had an excellent first season at both ends of the floor and showed the potential to be an impact player, while redshirt freshman Tommy Morgan also played a major role in his first campaign and looked like a lineup mainstay.

True freshmen Paxton Giertz and Matt Buckman also made contributions that showed they could be future key contributors in larger roles as they develop.

Hillsdale now looks to the 2026-27 campaign with the aim of getting back into G-MAC title contention. The Chargers must replace two starting guards in Janowski and McWhinnie, but return every other major contributor and should get McCollum, a high-scoring player and deadeye three-point shooter, back and healthy for the season. Hillsdale also adds a strong freshman class that will battle for playing time and look to have the same kind of impact the 2025-26 freshmen did.

Add it up, and there's hope that the Chargers will be back among the top teams in the G-MAC before long.