After a long wait, Wabash basketball is finally underway. With massive roster changes following the 2024 graduation, the Little Giants will have a new look through the 2024-2025 season. Here’s six key storylines to watch for through November.
6. The new contributor
After a 2023-2024 season that ran on depth, the Little Giants must get production from their bench this year to remain competitive in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).
The Scarlet & White have plenty of promising faces on the starting lineup. But with only seven returners who played 20 or more games last season, there will be a need for younger players to step up and fill the open minutes.
5. Buccilla to take the lead
As a player who started on Wabash’s 2022 NCAA Division III Final Four team, Vinny Buccilla ’25 has been that guy since his freshman year. It doesn’t take a professional analyst to see that the guard from Fishers, Indiana is the future. In his previous two seasons, Buccilla averaged 14.0 and 10.5 points per game – the latter dragged down by an early season injury through his junior year. Last season, he was the third-leading scorer for the Scarlet & White.
Fans can look forward to seeing Buccilla rapidly climb the all-time 3pt-shooting leaderboard this year. Buccilla has racked up 118 career makes from beyond the arc, which puts him at 11th all-time. Only one three behind 10th place, he will enter the top ten early in the season.
Now on the brink of his senior campaign, Number Two is the best look Wabash has to be an elite two-way threat. With higher volume shooting he should be able to reach between 16 and 18 points per game.
| Photo by Will Duncan ‘27
4. More Matelic
It takes guts to put up a contested shot from the elbow as a freshman. It takes skill to knock it down. That’s exactly what Nate Matelic ’27 did on multiple occasions last season.
At 6 feet 7 inches the sophomore from Speedway, Indiana will bring some much needed size to the court for Wabash. But his biggest contribution will surely be a fearless scorer at the forward position. Despite only playing 12.7 minutes per game last year – not exactly the kind of time you bet on a contested mid-range shot – Matelic showed a desire to take the ball and make something happen.
Oftentimes a breath of fresh, old-school air in an increasingly three-point dominated game, Matelic will have a lot more time to work with this season. With potential to put stats in every column for Wabash, Matelic’s niche will be carved out early in the season. If he can follow up last season with a big sophomore performance, Matelic will be on track to be the defining player on the team later down the road.
| Photo by Will Duncan ‘27
3. Whack to strike back
Josh Whack ’26 has been one of the most promising players off the bench since coming to Wabash. In his freshman season he averaged a cool 4.9 points per game, while playing solid minutes and contributing to most columns in the box score.
However in his sophomore year, — due to several other players making strides forward on the court — Whack saw less playing time and averaged less than half as many points.
Now, as a junior, Whack should look to become one of the top contributors on the Wabash lineup.
Capable of putting his head down and getting to the basket and an opportunistic three-point shooter, Whack has the tools for a standout career. He also has the athleticism to pull in his fair share of rebounds and a solid defense. His performance will be one of the main determinants for how the Little Giants’ season turns out.
2. Hupmann to clean house
A transfer to Wabash at the start of last season, Noah Hupmann ’25 was a little slow to start on his conference-leading, seventh-nationally 74 blocks in the 2023-2024 season. A third of the way into the schedule, the 7-foot 2-inch center had only recorded 11 blocks. But it was the second half of the year when Hupmann turned things up. He finished the year on a streak of dominance with 4.1 blocks per game in the last 13 games of the season.
If the towering transfer maintains that pace through the minimum 25 games that the Little Giants play, he will finish second all-time in career blocks for Wabash basketball after only two seasons. The record sits at 194 career blocks, which will require Hupmann to reach 4.8 blocks per game in 25 games.
As the season goes, fans can look out for a walking highlight reel on a run at the all-time blocks record.
1. Brooks to break out.
In 25 appearances last season, Rich Brooks ’26 showed he was as high-octane as a player can get, knocking down flashy threes and occasionally elevating for all-to-rare Division III slam. Brooks stepping into the role of second scorer this year is the most important piece of the puzzle for Wabash basketball to recapture the success of previous seasons.
The junior’s mission for the upcoming season should be improving shooting percentages and game-to-game consistency. Nightly performance fluctuations, is the main reason why – despite putting together six games with over 15 points and two games above 20 points – Brooks saw his minutes decrease towards the end of last season.
However, the path is set for a breakout year from Brooks, who will be the favorite to start at small forward. If he can boost his efficiency, Brooks should easily eclipse his 15.8 minutes per game and 8.9 points per game.
