DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team kicks off the exhibition portion of the 2026-27 season with a familiar foe in an unfamiliar location. The Flyers take on old rival Xavier at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in the second game of the 2026 CareSource Invitational on Wednesday evening.
Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The Flyers (19-9, 10-5 A10 in 2025-26) return two players that started over 15 games last season, with
Amaël L'Etang and
Jaiun Simon back in the Gem City for their third seasons on the court. UD brought in nine total players for the 2026-27 season, with six transfers and three freshmen.
Xavier (15-18, 6-14 Big East in 2025-26) brings back five players from a season ago, including second leading scorer Jovan Milicevic, who averaged 12.4 ppg. No other returner played in more than five games. Xavier brings in 11 new faces for its 2026-27 campaign, including four freshmen.
BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
UD will play at least 16 games on national television, with seven games on an ESPN outlet, seven on CBS Sports Network, and two on USA Network. The Flyers game against Memphis as part of the A10/American Showcase will be aired on the flagship ESPN.
ON THE HORIZON
In head coach
Anthony Grant's 10th season leading his alma mater, the veteran bench boss approaches a pair of career milestones.
Grant currently sits at 197 wins as the head coach at UD and will join his former coach and College Basketball Hall of Famer Don Donoher (437) and legendary Flyer coach Tom Blackburn (352) as Dayton coaches to reach the 200-win mark as a Flyer. Grant is also just 10 wins away from 400 for his career.
FRENCHIE RETURNS
Junior
Amaël L'Etang finished his second season as a Flyer on a hot streak, scoring double-digits in 15 of Dayton's final 16 games, including a career-best 26 points against Saint Louis and of course the memorable tip-in to topple the Billikens in the A10 Championship semifinal.
The forward averaged 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his second season in the Gem City. L'Etang shot .490 from the floor overall and led Dayton in shooting from behind the arc with a .361 mark (35-of-97). The Bastia, France native played in 33 games in 2024-25, making 31 starts.
L'Etang, who is the tallest men's basketball player in UD history, has played in 67 games in his Flyer career, making 49 starts. While still in the distance, the 1,000 point and 500 rebound clubs are both visible, as L'Etang needs 365 points and 157 rebounds to get there. He would become the 16th Dayton men's basketball player to be in both the 1,000 point and 500 rebound club.
DAYTON PARTNERS WITH CARESOURCE FOR SPOTLIGHT GAME
The CareSource Invitational that is bringing together the state of Ohio's four finest college basketball programs is just one of a number of special college basketball events that CareSource is putting on this season. In addition to multiple other exhibition games, Dayton will partner with CareSource to host its annual Spotlight exhibition to shine a light on mental health.
The game will be played on Saturday, October 17 at UD Arena against Notre Dame. It will cap off the fourth year of community engagement events championing adolescent and young adult mental health and suicide prevention. All net proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Jay's Light.
#EXHIBITIONSZN
Dayton will play two more exhibition games before the season tips off for real in November.
First up will be the CareSource Spotlight Game against Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at UD Arena. Then the Flyers will welcome Morehead State to the Epicenter of College Basketball for a final tuneup on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Flyers will play their first five games of the 2026-27 season in the friendly confines of UD Arena.
UD's season opens with NJIT on Nov. 2, then follows with games against Northern Illinois (Nov. 7), Siena (Nov. 10), Cincinnati (Nov. 14), and Central Michigan (Nov. 17).
