UNC Asheville Basketball: 10-Year Snapshot & 2025 Season Update

2024-25 North Carolina Sports Network
NC Basketball Spotlight, 10-Year Snapshot:
UNC Asheville

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

School: University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNC Asheville)

Location: Asheville, N.C.

NCAA DI Member Since: 1986-87

Conference: Big South Conference

Big South Member Since: 1984-85

Big South Ranking Among 31 Leagues (KenPom): 16th (2025), 18th (2024), 22nd (2023), 24th (2022), 28th (2021), 30th (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 5 (2003, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2023)

Conference Titles: 6 (1989, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2023)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 8 (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2023)

Head Coach: Mike Morrell (42 years old, 7th season at UNCA)

As A Player: Milligan (2000-05)

Record At UNCA (through Feb. 19): 114-95 (.545) in 6+ seasons

Previous HC Experience: none

College AC Experience: King (2005-07), Charleston Southern (2010-11), VCU (2011-15), Texas (2015-18)

Assistant Under: J.P. Andrejko, Barclay Radebaugh, Shaka Smart

2023-24 Record: 22-12, 12-4 (2nd in 9-team Big South)

2024-25 Preseason Prediction (Coaches/Media): 4th in 9-team Big South

2024-25 Record (through Feb. 19): 19-7, 10-2 Big South

2024-25 Midseason Ranking (KenPom): #166 nationally (2nd in Big South)

Remaining Regular-Season Schedule: at Radford (2/19), Longwood (2/22), Presbyterian (2/26), at Winthrop (3/1)

Under seventh-year head coach Mike Morrell, UNC Asheville is doing a great job of proving that its 2023 Big South championship, and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, was not a fluke.

Last year, the Bulldogs went 22-12, finished second in the conference and advanced to the Big South Tournament championship game. This season, through Feb. 19, they were 19-7 overall and (at 10-2) challenging for another regular-season title with just four games remaining.

Under Morrell, who at 42 years old is still among the younger head coaches in Division One basketball, the Bulldogs have shown steady growth over the past seven years.

In his first season at UNCA (2018-19), the Bulldogs went 4-27, winning just two conference games. Since that rough start, though, UNC Asheville has improved almost every season, highlighted by that 2023 Big South title campaign.

“I didn’t handle (that 4-27 season) very well, honestly,” Morrell told the North Carolina Sports Network. “You don’t leave the University of Texas, working for Coach (Shaka) Smart, and go get your first head coaching job under the premise of winning four games.

“What I do think was unique to my situation was that, usually, when you have to completely and utterly rebuild a program, something bad has happened, something crazy. That wasn’t the case here. I followed Eddie Biedenbach, who you know is a legend in this state, and Nick McDevitt, who also did an unbelievable job here. So I was just following success.

“It just happened to be a little bit of a perfect storm (in 2018-19), right before the transfer portal is what it is now. And we don’t have a grad school, so we couldn’t just bring in graduate transfers to try to flip this thing really quickly. We were forced to play a lot of freshmen that year, and that’s definitely not a recipe for winning in modern college basketball.”

UNC Asheville took a major turn for the better in 2021, after Morrell signed 6-foot-11 Tennessee transfer Drew Pember, who had played very little during his two seasons with the Volunteers. Pember (who now plays professionally overseas) became one of the best players in program history over the past three seasons, winning the Big South player of the year honor in both 2023 and 2024.

Even without Pember, the Bulldogs have continued their winning ways this season, with eight transfers and one high school signee in their nine-man rotation.

Starting guards Jordan Marsh (Appalachian State) and Josh Banks (VCU), who had been off-the-bench role players at their previous schools, have blossomed into All-Big South candidates for the Bulldogs. Starting forward Toyaz Solomon, a 2023 signee from nearby Caldwell Community College, also has become a big-time contributor, after coming off the bench for the team last season.

2024-25 UNC Asheville Bulldogs
(19-7, 10-2 Big South; through Feb. 19)

STARTERS (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

PG Jordan Marsh, So. (5-10/165) — 2024 App State transfer (backup)
29 mpg, 19 ppg, 4 rpg, 45% FG, 81% FT, 31% threes, 98/59 ATO, 10 blocks, 46 steals

G Josh Banks*, Ss. (6-5/175) — 2023 VCU transfer (backup)
31 mpg, 15 ppg, 4 rpg, 41% FG, 79% FT, 37% threes, 39/43 ATO, 9 blocks, 14 steals

G Fletcher Abee*, Ss. (6-4/190) — 2022 Citadel transfer (2-year starter)
30 mpg, 11 ppg, 2 rpg, 41% FG, 70% FT, 45% threes, 32/25 ATO, 2 blocks, 15 steals

F Toyaz Solomon, Sr. (6-9/185) — 2023 Caldwell CC transfer (Regional POY, DPOY)
31 mpg, 16 ppg, 8 rpg, 61% FG, 59% FT, 30% threes, 42/27 ATO, 41 blocks, 25 steals

F Greg Gantt Jr., Ss. (6-8/210) — 2023 NC State transfer (starter)
27 mpg, 4 ppg, 6 rpg, 62% FG, 67% FT, 0 threes, 84/38 ATO, 16 blocks, 32 steals

KEY RESERVES (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

G Kameron Taylor, Fr. (6-7/185) — 2024 HS signee (Carmel Christian near Charlotte)
22 mpg, 9 ppg, 5 rpg, 49% FG, 69% FT, 21% threes, 22/10 ATO, 7 blocks, 18 steals

F Jemal Davis, Sr. (6-8/205) — 2024 Central Michigan transfer (backup)
13 mpg, 4 ppg, 2 rpg, 53% FG, 48% FT, 30% threes, 17/20 ATO, 10 blocks, 16 steals

F Sage Tolentino, r-So. (7-1/240) — 2024 Cincinnati transfer (backup)
10 mpg, 4 ppg, 3 rpg, 74% FG, 39% FT, 0 threes, 7/5 ATO, 5 blocks, 1 steal

G Connor Dubsky, So. (6-4/195) — 2024 Rhode Island transfer (backup)
10 mpg, 5 ppg, 1 rpg, 38% FG, 87% FT, 39% threes, 10/7 ATO, 3 blocks, 9 steals

Departures from 2023-24: G Jamon Battle (Ss.), G Caleb Burgess* (Ss./Azerbaijan), G Davion Cunningham (So./transfer/USC Aiken), G Dean Gabrelcik (r-So.), G Evan Johnson (Sr./transfer/UMES), F Nick McMullen* (Sr./transfer/Georgia State), F Drew Pember* (Ss./ABA League/Montenegro), G Trent Stephney (Ss.)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of the Bulldogs’ games last season)

UNC Asheville Bulldogs
10-Year Snapshot

Season: Overall, League (Place), Postseason

2023-24: 22-12, 12-4 Big South (2nd), no postseason (Mike Morrell)
2022-23: 27-8, 16-2 Big South* (1st*), NCAA 1st Round (Mike Morrell)
2021-22: 17-15, 8-8 Big South (5th), CBI Quarterfinals (Mike Morrell)
2020-21: 10-10, 9-5 Big South (4th), no postseason (Mike Morrell)
2019-20: 15-16, 8-10 Big South (5th), no postseason (Mike Morrell)
2018-19: 4-27, 2-14 Big South (10th), no postseason (Mike Morrell)
2017-18: 21-13, 13-5 Big South (1st*), NIT 1st Round (Nick McDevitt)
2016-17: 23-10, 15-3 Big South (t-1st*), CIT 1st Round (Nick McDevitt)
2015-16: 22-12, 12-6 Big South* (3rd), NCAA 1st Round (Nick McDevitt)
2014-15: 15-16, 10-8 Big South (6th), no postseason (Nick McDevitt)

*—conference champion (regular-season and/or tournament)

NOTE: Please visit the North Carolina Sports Network’s 2024-25 profiles and 10-year snapshots (links below) for all 19 Division One men’s basketball programs in North Carolina and all 18 Atlantic Coast Conference programs.

Appalachian State Mountaineers, Sun Belt Conference

Boston College Eagles, Atlantic Coast Conference

California Golden Bears, Atlantic Coast Conference

Campbell Camels, Coastal Athletic Association

Charlotte 49ers, American Athletic Conference

Clemson Tigers, Atlantic Coast Conference

Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference

East Carolina Pirates, American Athletic Conference

Elon Phoenix, Coastal Athletic Association

Florida State Seminoles, Atlantic Coast Conference

Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, Big South Conference

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Atlantic Coast Conference