Howard University’s basketball and swimming and diving teams enter the 2026-27 season after championship and NCAA tournament appearances last year. With key seniors graduating and new underclassmen and transfers joining the programs, the teams will look to replace departing contributors while building on last season’s results.
Men’s Basketball Team
The men’s basketball team won its first-ever NCAA March Madness tournament game last season after posting a 24-11 record and winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship. They went on to lose to Michigan 101-80 in the Round of 64.
Howard has lost two pivotal players, Ose Okoije and Bryce Harris, who both graduated after last season. Okoije averaged 10.7 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and 1.7 assists per game. arris was the main producer of the 2025-26 team, averaging 17.3 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game. These statistics do not fully reflect the two players’ defensive contributions, which will also need to be replaced this season.
Even with promising returning players like guard Cedric Taylor III, guard Cam Gillus and guard Alex Cotton, Howard still has to replace the production with Okojie and Harris’ departures.
Fan and now senior political science major Keli Tyndall spoke on her expectations from the team this season.
“I think now that we have done so many great things in the MEAC…the expectation is that we continue to grow and develop,” Tyndall said. “Also starting to perform in those bigger stages…. Being able to show on a national scale what our program looks like and what we can achieve outside of the MEAC.”
Women’s Basketball Team
The women’s basketball team also thrived during the season, having a 26-8 overall record and 13-1 in the MEAC. They also “protected” The Burr, the Howard University gymnasium, having an 11-0 record at home. The women made the NCAA tournament, losing to Ohio State 75-54 in the first round. The team is losing two impactful senior forwards from last season, Nile Miller and Zennia Thomas.
Miller was Howard’s defensive anchor last season, whose energy and grit made an important impact on the court, according to some of her team members. Thomas was the team’s leader in points, averaging 15.2, rebounds, averaging 7.9 and blocks, with one a game.
This season, the women’s team has several returning players like senior guard April Edwards, senior guard Destiny Bynum-Johnson, senior forward Rayne Durant and senior guard Zoe Stewart.
Stewart, a sociology major from Terre Haute, Indiana, commented on the two senior leaders last season and the returning players.
“Nile was a really big presence for us defensively…[Thomas] was a phenomenal scorer, player of the year. [They are] two really big pieces that we are definitely going to miss, and I don’t think anybody can necessarily just replace them,” Stewart said. “A lot of us being returners, we still know what it takes to win.”
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Teams
Both swimming and diving teams were successful as well, winning the Northeast Conference (NEC) titles. The men won their second NEC title in a row; they have also won in three of the last four years. The women went on to win their first in program history.
A teammate of the graduate class, now senior swimmer and Spanish major Mason Green, spoke highly of them.
“The graduating class of 2026 is nothing short of amazing,” Green said. “They were one of the strongest classes in my opinion.”
Green knows his team has to pick up where they left off and speaks on that.
“Our goals and expectations team wise is to make sure that we fill in those spots the seniors held,” Green said.
Copy edited by Daryl R. Thomas Jr.
