A moment in time that was supposed to be celebrated turned into a daunting memory for fans of Illinois State men’s basketball.
With just seconds left on the shot clock in a round of 64 matchup against the University of Tennessee, Kyle Cartmill found an open Dan Muller for the game-winning shot. Fans let out an outburst, creating cheers loud enough that caused the Richter Scale to go off the charts in Bloomington-Normal.
Bloomington-Normal became quieter, year after year, unable to recreate the success of this moment.
That matchup against Tennessee was the last time the Redbirds won a game in March Madness, let alone made an appearance. Illinois State has witnessed some success since then. However, many of the following years felt like getting sucker punched by despair, leaving fans wondering when ISU would return to the glory days.
The Time is Now
Then the 2025-26 season came around, and the Redbirds are handing out hope quicker than Oprah Winfrey was handing out cars in 2004.
Illinois State was voted first in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason polls, a projection they last received heading into the 2001-02 season.
The hype did not emerge from thin air. It originated from a foundation established by Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon last season. Following a 79-68 College Basketball Invitational Championship victory against Cleveland State, the Redbirds finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 22-14 record.
ISU followed up on that historic moment by returning 57% of its rotation’s minutes from the previous season, ranking them No. 6 in the country. They are not just returning players — they are returning studs. Out of the 11 players to finish on the MVC All-Conference First/Second team, only two players returned to their respective programs. Both players were Redbirds who decided to stay at the nest.
The Captain of the Redbirds
Leading the pack for the Redbirds is big man Chase Walker. The junior was last season’s MVC Most Improved Team Captain, finishing the year with 15.2 ppg while shooting 58% from the field. He has a soft touch at the rim yet is one of the hardest rebounders in the country, finishing the year with 6.2 rebounds.
Standing right by the side of six-foot-nine Walker is five-foot-eleven Johnny Kinziger. Do not let the size fool you, Kinziger’s quickness will have you twist your head at a speed a chiropractor could not recreate. His motto is about getting a bucket, averaging 14.6 ppg while shooting 43.8% from the field, 38.6% from deep and 89.6% from the charity stripe.
There is a heavy emphasis on surrounding your stars with role players. Coach Pedon made sure to surround his two-headed monster with players who can step up when it matters most. The Redbirds finished the 2024-25 season shooting 38% from beyond the arc, ranking them No. 23 in the country. The leader of the three-point barrage was freshman Jack Daugherty.
Primed for a bigger role, Daugherty averaged 6.3 ppg while shooting 47.6% from three. He made four or more threes in seven games, including a 7-of-10 extravaganza against Bradley.
The Redbirds return five players who averaged 12 or more minutes per game, including the likes of Ty Pence and Landon Wolf. What that stat does not include is Cameron Barnes, the Ole Miss transfer who emerged late in the season as a shot-blocking behemoth. Also not included are big man Bradon Lieb and North Dakota State transfer Boden Skunberg, who missed all of the 2024-25 season with injuries.
A strong core of players that fit coach Pedon’s culture has been built. Yet the Redbirds’ staff kept building. ISU brought in a freshman class that ranked No. 118 on 247sports, including three-star prospects TyReek Coleman, Isaac Ericksen and Nick Allen. Adding the icing on the cake, the Redbirds landed Butler transfer and Bloomington-Normal native, Landon Moore.
Despite ISU having a buffet of returning and new players, there are still holes that need to be filled and addressed by the coaching staff.
Dalton Banks was the main ball handler for Illinois State last season. Despite being a shooting guard forced to play as the point, he averaged 4.0 APG with 2.1 TO. When Banks was not cashing out checks to his teammates, Kinziger had to take over as the ball handler. Forcing him to move the rock held him back in moments from being the natural bucket getter he is. It is nearly impossible to succeed as an iso-heavy team.
The loss of Jordan Davis will be felt early on. The brother of former NBA player Johnny Davis has an impact that will never be seen on the stat sheet. He did all of the dirty work as he developed into a coach’s dream player. Davis picking someone’s pockets or grabbing offensive rebounds often flipped the momentum back to the Redbirds. Someone has to want to win like Davis wanted to win.
Looking for History
Illinois State is aiming to make history and have its best team since the 1997-98 season. As the saying goes, to be the best, you have to beat the best. The Redbirds will play exhibition contests against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University to kick off the season. ISU will then play away games against the University of Southern California and Utah State University later in the season.
The upcoming 2025-26 season has challenges that will test the Redbirds. However, the Redbirds have a dream. ISU wants to make history by putting the glass slipper back on its scutes and returning to the big dance.