INDIANAPOLIS - Entering his first season as the head coach of the Knights, Marian men's basketball's
Steve Drabyn has been busy on the recruiting trail, bringing in nine new faces to the university for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The nine new Knights are the most incoming new players for the school in the last decade, topping the previous high of eight faces brought in during the 2018-19 season.
In Drabyn's first recruiting class at Marian, he has found a mixture of veteran talent and incoming freshmen, bringing with him five transfers enrolling in the fall of 2026, in addition to three first-year collegiate athletes. Drabyn also inherits the talent of
Liam Mann, a sixth transfer who enrolled in Marian in the spring semester of 2026 but did not compete in game competition with the Knights.
Seven of the nine incomers are set to compete for playing time immediately and blend the talent of Marian's six returners from last year's roster.
Players are sorted by their new uniform numbers, assigned by the coaching staff. Biographical information for each student-athlete was obtained in combination by the coaching staff and each transfer student's previous school.
#0 | Mason Bales | R-Fr. | G | 6'2 | Middlebury, Ind. | Northridge HS | Bethel University
2025-26 (at Bethel): Played his freshman season for Coach Drabyn at Bethel University ... Saw action in 30 games as a freshman, averaging 9.7 minutes per game and 3.4 points per game ... Scored in double figures in three games as a freshman ... Scored a season-high 11 points against Grace College (1/14/26) ... Will redshirt the 2026-27 season after transferring within the Crossroads League
#5 | Jack Edelen | Sr. | G | 5'10 | Louisville, Ky. | Louisville Male HS | Western Kentucky
2026-27: Entered the transfer portal on April 7, landing with Marian on June 11 for his senior season.
2025-26, WKU: Appeared in 28 games with three starts … Dished out 28 assists and grabbed a total of 20 rebounds … Shot 92.3% (12-of-13) at the free throw line … Scored a season-high nine points to go along with three rebounds at New Mexico State (1/8)
2024-25, WKU: Appeared in 27 games with one start … Averaged 12.0 minutes per contest … Totaled career-high scoring totals twice on the season, scoring 11 points against Sam Houston (2/20) and at UTEP (2/27)
2023-24, WKU: Appeared in 27 games, averaging 8.9 minutes per game … Saw a season-high in minutes in the CUSA Tournament Semifinal game against Middle Tennessee (3/15) … Posted a season-high seven points at Wichita State (11/9) … Logged 12 minutes and shot a perfect 2-for-2 from the field while accounting for four points, two rebounds and three assists in the Tops' NCAA Tournament First Round matchup against [2] Marquette (3/22) … Helped lead the WKU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance and first conference title since 2013.
Louisville Male HS: Led his team to a Sweet 16 appearance in his senior year … Led the Bulldogs in scoring his senior season with 17.4 points per game … Played at Male his junior and senior years, becoming a 1,000-point scorer and making 150 3-pointers.
#10 | Liam Mann | R-Fr. | F | 6'7 | Carmel, Ind. | Carmel HS | Huntington University
2025-26: Originally committed to play at Huntington, but departed after the coaching change of Kory Alford leaving ... Enrolled in Marian in the second semester of the 2025-26 year, and redshirted the season while practicing with the Knights.
High School: Talented two-sport athlete who received collegiate offers to play both football and basketball out of Carmel HS.
#11 | Joey Garwood | Sr. | G | 6'3 | Elkhart, Ind. | Penn HS | Concordia (Mich.) | Holy Cross College
2026-27: Transferred to Marian in the spring of 2026 with one current season of eligibility remaining.
2024-26 (at Holy Cross): Played two seasons at Holy Cross College after leaving Concordia (Mich.) following its closure ... Played in 27 games as a sophomore and 13 as a junior at Holy Cross, making 36 starts across two seasons ... Averaged 17.4 points per game as a sophomore and 21.9 points per game as a junior in limited game action ... Shot 48 percent from the floor at HCC and 42 percent from three point land.
2023-24 (at Concordia): Played in 28 games as a true freshman at Concordia, starting 23 games in his first collegiate season ... Averaged 13.3 points per game and shot 43% from three ... Averaged 29.4 minutes per game as a freshman ... Scored what stands as a collegiate high 33 points against UM-Dearborn on November 29, 2023.
#13 | Peyton Byrd | Jr. | F | 6'7 | Greenwood, Ind. | Center Grove HS | Indiana Wesleyan | University of Pikeville
2026-27: Transferred to Marian in the summer of 2026 with two current seasons of eligibility remaining
2025-26 (at Pikeville): Spent his sophomore season at the University of Pikeville after playing as a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan ... Appeared in 16 games off the bench as a sophomore, averaging 7.3 minutes per game and 2.0 points per game ... Scored a season-high five points in two different games.
2024-25 (at Indiana Wesleyan): Began his collegiate career at Indiana Wesleyan ... As a freshman, saw action in 17 games, all as a reserve ... Averaged 10.9 minutes per game and scored 3.8 points per game ... Scored a season-high 20 points against Trinity Christian (11/14/24), shooting 9-10 from the field ... Scored 11 points against Grace (11/23/24) ... Ended the season with 64 points, 24 rebounds, 5 assists, 9 blocks and 3 steals.
#15 | KJ Avery | Fr. | G | South Bend, Ind. | South Bend St. Joseph HS
High School: Three-year varsity starter at SB. St. Joseph ... Helped team to 21-5 record under HC Eric Gaff as a senior ... Scored nine points and had five rebounds while helping St. Joe win its first 4A sectional title ... Led team in free throw shooting at 79% as a senior.
#20 | Owen Marshall | Fr. | G | 6'4 | Columbia City, Ind. | Columbia City HS
High School: Earned four basketball letters at Columbia City HS under HC Matthew Schauss ... Named a two-time team captain, helped the Eagles win conference twice in four years ... Earned back-to-back sectional titles as a junior and senior, while winning a regional championship as a senior ... Averaged 14.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game ... Earned Indiana Top-60 workout invite ... Named NW Indiana All-Star ... Two-time First Team All-Conference ... 2026 Honorable Mention All-State.
#24 | Brayden Goff | Fr. | G | 6'0 | Brazil, Ind. | Northview HS
High School: Earned four varsity letters at Northview HS ... Started 105 games in a row to end his HS career ... Broke the Northview all-time assist record with 570 career assists, ending his career with 1517 career points (third-most at Northview) ... Logged Northview's first-ever triple-double ... Averaged 14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game ... Earned WIC All-Conference four times, and led his team to three consecutive sectional titles, the school's first-ever three-peat ... Named to the 2026 Large Class All-State and the 2025 Supreme 15 All-State team.
#25 | Carter Kent | R-Fr. | G | 6'0 | North Vernon, Ind. | Jennings County HS | Bethel University
2025-26: Played in 35 games as a true freshman at Bethel University, averaging 6.1 points per game in 14.4 minutes per game ... Scored in double figures in seven games for the Pilots ... Dropped a season-high 17 points in the season finale against Clinton College in the NCCAA Tournament ... Will redshirt the upcoming season at Marian after transferring within the Crossroads League.
#34 | Kody Clancy | R-So. | G | 6-3 | Scottsburg, Ind. | Scottsburg HS | Ball State University
2026-27: Enters Marian University with a current three years of eligibility remaining.
2025-26 (Sophomore): Played in nine games at Ball State as a sophomore for a total of 62 minutes and averaged 6.9 minutes per game ... Averaged 1.4 points per game in limited action ... Scored a collegiate-best 11 points against Earlham (12/29/25).
2024-25 (Freshman): Played in four games for a total of 13 minutes ... scored his first collegiate points on an and-1 at Miami (3/7)
HIGH SCHOOL: Earned four letters playing basketball at Scottsburg HS under head coach Eric Richardson ... scored 1,556 career points and was a team captain his sophomore, junior and senior seasons ... averaged 21 point, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game as a senior to be named Team MVP, the Scott County Male Athlete of the Year and Third Team All-State ... led Scottsburg to a Class 3A State Championship where he scored 20 points in the title game ... set the school record for most 3-pointers in a game with 10.
In addition to the newcomers, the following Knights have changed uniform numbers entering the 2026-27 season:
Aidan Franks - #3 from #34
Lamar Jones - #21 from #10
Marian's schedule for the 2026-27 season will be announced in the month of July.
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