WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team looks to reclaim and build off of its success from the 2025-26 season that featured a plethora of achievements.
The Presidents begin their 2026-27 campaign with a home opener in the Salvitti Family Gymnasium against Lancaster Bible with a scheduled tipoff of 6:00 p.m.
2025-2026 Season Review: The Presidents closed out last season with a 23-7 overall record and a 12-4 conference record.
W&J opened its 2026 slate of games with a 9-2 record through the months of November and December. The Presidents claimed a highlight victory at the annual Great Lakes Invitational hosted in Washington against the No. 21 ranked Maryville Scots (79-75).
The Presidents went on to finish as the No. 1 seed in the PAC South Division following a 93-65 win over Waynesburg. The win helped W&J break a three-way tie with Chatham and Franciscan.
The Presidents registered victories over Geneva (W, 85-59) and Franciscan (W, 75-65) to have another crack at the PAC Championship. In a closely contested conference championship, W&J shined and pulled through with a 68-61 in over the Westminster Titans. The victory clinched the 11th PAC Championship in program history and the first since 2022. The win additionally secured the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Presidents were set to face the No. 13 Mount Union Purple Raiders at Christopher Newport University. W&J downed the Mount Union Purple Raiders in the First Round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament, 82-77. The victory secured the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since the 1994 season, when the Presidents beat Otterbein, Kenyon and Illinois Wesleyan to reach the Elite 8. The Red & Black concluded their successful season with a loss to host and soon to be NCAA National runner-up Christopher Newport, 90-61 in the Second Round.
"It was a great experience and an incredible reward for the work that our team poured into the process. It is a reflection of the ceiling of our program, and I was really proud of our team for showing that our league can compete on that stage," stated Head Coach
Ethan Stewart-Smith. "It was very special to be one of the few PAC teams to win an NCAA Tournament game over the last 25 or so years."
Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and
Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) cemented themselves in the 1,000-point scorers for the Presidents, each finishing above the cutoff. Seidl finished his career with 1,402 points (T-10
th all-time) and 280 assists (6
th all-time). Acosta finished his career with 1,106 points.
"You can't really replicate or replace the impact that Matt and Alex had on our team and program. Our senior class graduated as the winningest class in school history, and they were two of our most competitive players, along with
Nick Colucci (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), and it's difficult to replace that type of mentality," stated Stewart-Smith. "We do have a couple players that came off the bench last year that have worked and prepared to move into our starting line up, and we're excited to see how they make that transition."
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) repeated as the PAC Defensive Player of the Year after becoming the first Presidents to earn the major award a season ago. The junior forward led the conference in blocks with 73, averaging 2.6 blocks per game during the regular season. Plotner finished the year ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in blocks (83) and eighth in blocks per game (2.72). Plotner also hit the boards strong, hauling in 6.7 rebounds per game. Plotner and Acosta were both named to the All-PAC Second Team.
| 2026-27 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (South Division) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025-26 record (conference) |
| 1. Washington & Jefferson College (7) |
67 |
23-7 (12-4 PAC) |
| 2. Franciscan University (6) |
63 |
21-7 (12-4 PAC) |
| 3. Chatham University |
47 |
18-8 (12-4 PAC) |
| 4. Saint Vincent College |
44 |
16-10 (11-5 PAC) |
| 5. Bethany College |
27 |
10-15 (6-10 PAC) |
| 6. Waynesburg University |
19 |
7-18 (3-13 PAC) |
| Saint Francis University* |
--- |
7-24 (5-13 NEC) |
* - Ineligible for PAC Championship as school reclassifies from Division I
W&J Players to Watch
Team Captains: Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South),
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and
Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair)
"Leadership is always a really important aspect of team success," replied Stewart-Smith. "Our captains are our hardest workers and do a great job of setting the competitive tone for our team."
Key Returners: The Presidents return three of their five starters from a season ago. The team returns five seniors, five juniors and two sophomores.
"It's great to return a lot of experience and continuity on our roster. Many of our Juniors and Seniors have played a critical role in building our program to where it is," stated Stewart-Smith. "However, we understand that our past success does not have anything to do with what we are able to accomplish this year. We will continue to adapt and adjust as we build our identity with our current team. We expect all of our returners to continue to lead our team and help us reach our ceiling."
Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South),
Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) and
Quinton Burlenski (Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic) all look to return to their starting roles for the Presidents.
Plotner was the sole representative for the W&J men's basketball team on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. He also finished the season as the back-to-back winner of the PAC Defensive Player of the Year award and an All-PAC Second Team selection.
Plotner started all but one game this past season. The senior post player averaged 14 points per game throughout the 2025-26 campaign, leading the team with 420 total points scored (14.0 PPG). Defensively, Plotner had 83 blocks, 61 steals, and 201 total rebounds. Plotner had four double-doubles during his junior campaign. Plotner was also named the PAC tournament Most Outstanding Player following the team's championship run.
Carte will continue his role as the Presidents primary point guard. The W&J sharpshooter led the Presidents last season in three pointers made (47) with a 30% mark from beyond the arc. Carte averaged 11.1 points per game, had 85 assists and 34 steals. Carte was announced as a member of the PAC All-Tournament Team following the conference tournament and a member of the Great Lakes Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Burlenski returns as a crucial piece to the Presidents starting lineup. The versatile guard started all but one game for the Presidents and shot 42.3% from the field. Burlenski finished second on the team in triples (43) with a team high 34.1% mark from beyond the arc. The junior also led the team last season in free throw percentage (80.4%) and had 67 assists coupled with 45 steals.
The Presidents also return
Cameron Rowell (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and
Michael Plasko (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) to the lineup as individuals that will look to fill the holes left by Seidl and Acosta.
Rowell was named the PAC Newcomer of the Year in 2024-25 following his freshman campaign. The W&J highlight reel finished the 2025-26 season averaging 7.9 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game and 2.0 steals per game. Rowell dropped 15 points on three occasions last seasons against Chatham, Grove City and Geneva.
Plasko played in 25 games for the Presidents, logging four games of 20 or more points. The shifty W&J guard finished the season averaging 11.1 points per game in 25 appearances. Plasko shot 44.1% from the field and had 33 steals along with 35 assists on the season. Plasko dropped a season-high 27 points in a narrow 81-77 victory over Franciscan to keep the Presidents on track for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Nick Sukernek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair),
Harrison Sowers (Irwin, Pa./Hempfield) and
Michael Pfeuffer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) all return as pivotal pieces to the Presidents rotation. Sukernek finished last season with 13 threes when called upon. Pfeuffer has garnered time as a starter in past seasons and proven the ability to be a solid role player for the Presidents. With the Presidents lacking the size lost from Acosta, Sowers could look for more time on the court with his tall frame.
Jackson Pierce (Berea, Ohio/Saint Ignatius),
Parker Schramm (Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown),
Torrien Perkins (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) and
Lucas Luteran (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) round out the returners for the Presidents.
"I'm excited to see our continued growth from our returners and how they respond to the opportunity to have elevated roles because of who we graduated last year," said Stewart-Smith.
Newcomers: The men's basketball team enters the 2026-27 season with six incoming freshmen.
Coaching Staff: Head coach
Ethan Stewart-Smith (Penn State Altoona '07) returns for his 12th season as the head coach of the Presidents. Stewart-Smith's career record is 138-139 as the head coach of the Presidents. Stewart-Smith has won two PAC Titles during his tenure in 2022 and 2026.
Evan Bonnaure begins his seventh season as the assistant coach of the Presidents. This is the second year with Bonnaure as the full-time assistant. Bonnaure has been the intern assistant here at W&J since the 2020-21 season. The tenured assistant coach stepped up as the interim head coach on multiple occasions over the seasons. Most notably, he helped elevate W&J over their first ranked opponent victory since 2008-09 in an 84-73 victory over Carnegie Mellon in 2024-25.
"Our program is so fortunate to have such great continuity with Coach B's consistent presence. He is essentially our Associate Head Coach and we have a collaborative coaching style with many shared responsibilities," said Stewart-Smith. "He continues to evolve and improve, and we are grateful for his commitment to our players and this program."
Looking at the Schedule: The Presidents are scheduled for 16 conference games this season.
The Red & Black will face six nonconference games against Lancaster Bible (Nov. 7), Heidelberg (Nov. 13), Albion (Nov. 14), Carnegie Mellon (Nov. 18), La Roche (Dec. 2) and Pitt-Bradford (Dec. 15).
Presidents' Athletic Conference play will begin on the road against Waynesburg (Nov. 21) and conclude with a road matchup with Saint Vincent (Feb. 20). The eight-team PAC championships are slated to begin on Tuesday (Feb. 23).
