America East Basketball: Maine Black Bears Preview

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The talk all summer about the Maine Black Bears program centered around one name: Ace Flagg. The heralded brother of NBA first-round pick Cooper Flagg decided he would begin his college basketball career at home in Orono, Maine. It was met with great enthusiasm in the state of Maine.

What has also been met with great joy is the job that head coach Chris Markwood has done since taking over the program. Last season, the Black Bears made an appearance in the America East championship game, losing on the road at Bryant. The buzz around this program has not stopped; good things are expected for Maine as the 2025-26 season gets underway. Let’s take a look at the roster that Coach Markwood will have to work with.

Roster Breakdown: Fresh Faces and Veteran Transfers

There are four freshmen on this year’s team:

Ace Flagg is a 6’7″ forward from Newport, Maine, and Greensboro Day School. He has spent time with three different high schools, during which he has won three state championships with those schools. He also won a National High School Championship at Montverde High School.
Emmitt Byther is a 6’6″ forward from Old Town, Maine, and Old Town High School. He was a thousand-point scorer at the school. He was named Big East Player of the Year and the Maine All-Academic team.
Joshua Ojuri is a 6’6″ forward from Providence, RI, and Massanutten Military Academy. He has yet to appear in a game for the Black Bears.
Bashir N Galang is a 6’3″ guard from Saint Laurent, Quebec, and Fort Erie Academy. He played 18 minutes in the Black Bears’ opening game vs. George Washington, where he scored two points on two free throws. In the Stony Brook game, Bashir played 19 minutes, scoring 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also had three rebounds and a turnover.

The team also features several key transfers:

TJ Bielis is a 6’9″ forward who played the last two seasons at Southern Missouri State University. He appeared in 61 games, with six of them being starts. He averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds in 13.9 minutes. His shooting splits were 46/32/64.
Mekki Grey is a 6’4″ guard who is playing for his third team in America East. He spent four years at NJIT and last year with UMass Lowell. He has appeared in 115 games in the league, averaging seven points a contest, three boards, and 1.5 assists. He was named America East All-Rookie selection in 2020-21 while with the Highlanders.
Ryan Mabrey is a 6’5″ guard who spent the last four seasons at two different programs: two seasons at Miami of Ohio and the last two at Quinnipiac. He averaged 4.3 points, one rebound, and one assist on shooting splits of 33/30/70.
Yanis Bamba is a 6’6″ forward who spent two seasons at Wichita State. He played in four games a year ago for the Shockers. He scored his first points at the college level vs. Alcorn State.