Wagner College is less than one month away from the official start of college basketball season. And yet, it has not released a full schedule or a legitimate team roster.
What gives?
A college basketball program at the center of an ongoing scandal may not have enough players and/or coaches to play this season as planned. There is a lot of uncertainty about its immediate and long-term future.
Wagner made the NCAA Tournament two years ago!
Although the Seahawks are considered a mid-major program, it’s not like they’re dead last in the rankings. They finished two games below .500 last season after they made their second-ever March Madness appearance as the NEC champions the year prior, and finished with 20 wins or greater on multiple occasions since the turn of the millennium.
There are worse!
However, head coach Donald Copeland is currently suspended by the program amid allegations of abuse. He is accused of poor treatment toward his team.
His current and former players say he often withheld standard water breaks and frequently use verbal insults to tear them down, among other things. The investigation remains ongoing.
Meanwhile, Wagner is only 18 days out from Nov. 4, which marks the first full Tuesday of the 2025/26 college basketball season.
It does not have a full-time head coach. It also does not have a clear understanding of its roster.
Will the college basketball season continue as planned?
There are 365 college basketball teams on the Division-I level of competition. 364 of them have posted an official team roster and a full-season schedule for 2025/26.
Only one has not — Wagner.
The Seahawks actually started to populate a roster page about a week ago. It had four players listed for ~24 hours. It later listed a full team. However, none of the new offseason additions had jersey numbers attached to their names and the page has since been removed.
Poof. Gone just like that!
Meanwhile, the schedule currently lists only conference games. The first game is set for January.
This obviously leaves a lot of mystery surrounding the Wagner College basketball program.
First and foremost, are the Seahawks going to play? If they plan to do so, who will be the coach? Who is on the team? Who are they playing?
Only time will tell but the clock is ticking!