2025-26 Basketball Preview: McClain Tigers

The McClain Tigers for the 2025-26 season are a group of “hungry guys,” according to head coach Jarrod Haines, coming off a season where the foundation began to take form to get the program back to where the head coach wants it to be. 

McClain finished last season with an 8-14 overall record, which was an improvement from the previous season when they collected five wins. 

McClain averaged 42.1 ppg in FAC games last season and allowed 58.7 ppg. Overall in games, the Tigers averaged 48.5 ppg and allowed 52.7 ppg. 

With Haines beginning his second season at the helm of the Tigers boys program (he coached the girls program for 10 seasons), he and his coaching staff want to keep building the program to stay competitive on a year-to-year basis. 

The Tigers have nearly a new group of players on the roster from last season, with two returning starters and three players who have full-time varsity experience, but they now know what the standards are for the program to become successful. 

McClain’s roster has three seniors, three juniors, eight sophomores and one freshman. 

Seniors for McClain are returning starter Jordan Bell (guard), Julien Evans (guard) and Carson Chandler (guard), as he is injured. 

Last season, Bell averaged 10.3 points per game last season, as he was Honorable Mention Coaches All-District and Special Mention OPSMA All-District.

The juniors for MHS are Elijah Storer (forward), Leland Bond (forward) and Ethan Fryer (forward). 

The eight-player sophomore class has returning starter Hudson Lovett (guard), Brady Binegar (guard), Connor Chandler (guard), Matthew Cummins (guard), Rilan Ballein (forward), Kolton Lamb (forward) and Gavin Anderson (guard). 

Lovett last season averaged 5.0 ppg. 

McClain’s lone freshman is Lucas Banks (guard). 

Assistant coaches for McClain are Heath McNeal, Matt Binegar, Mikel Pritchard and Brock Haines.

“We have a lot of young, hungry guys who’ve shown great improvement since last year,” Haines said. “Senior Julien Evans will be counted on for big minutes. Elijah Storer has shown bright spots, and we’ll also rely on Brady Binegar and Connor Chandler to step up. 

“Freshman Lucas Banks will play a key role filling a big void left by graduation. 

“Juniors Leland Bond and Ethan Fryer will also be in the mix, along with sophomores Matthew Cummins, Rilan Ballein, Kolton Lamb and Gavin Anderson rounding out the roster.”

The Tigers have worked this offseason to become a better team, though they’ve had to do it in a unique way. 

“This summer was a bit tricky — we never had the full roster together at once — but we’ve continued to build each day,” Haines said. “These guys work hard and are focused on improving daily while trying to restore the toughness our program has been known for.

“The biggest positive has been the relationships. This group truly gets along, and they’re in it together. We want to keep getting better every night. We’re young and inexperienced, but as a staff we know what to expect from them — effort and growth. We just have to continue getting tougher and improving daily.”

The schedule for McClain includes their usual opponents in the Frontier Athletic Conference as they’ll be facing Hillsboro, Washington, Jackson, Chillicothe and Miami Trace twice each. 

“The FAC might be as strong as it’s ever been,” Haines said. “Four teams return the core of their lineups, many led by senior players. It’s going to be a gauntlet this year.”

The non-conference schedule is strong too for the Tigers, as Haines spoke about the opponents on the schedule for the ’25-26 season. 

“Our non-league schedule is tough — we face county rivals Fairfield, Lynchburg-Clay and Whiteoak, along with strong opponents like Unioto, Vinton County, Clinton-Massie, Zane Trace, Adena, Paint Valley and East Clinton,” he said. “Every night is going to be a challenge. Our goal is simple: compete every night. Our schedule isn’t easy, so we need to be ready to play every time we step on the floor.”

As the season nears, the head coach of McClain spoke about how the Tigers’ program is excited for the season ahead. 

“This is going to be a fun group. As a coaching staff, we’re excited for our second year of building the program,” Haines said. “Everything that happens this season helps us continue to lay a solid foundation for the future.”

McClain opens the season Wednesday, Nov. 26 at home against Paint Valley.

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