VALDOSTA – The Valdosta State men’s basketball team announced its 2022-2023 schedule, Monday, featuring the 2022 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, the Gulf South Conference/Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Regional Challenge, 12 road contests and 14 home games inside the Complex.

Head coach Mike Helfer, who enters his 18th season at the helm of the Blazers, returns a solid core of returners, as well as eight fresh faces to the team. In addition, Helfer has also named former graduate assistant Nate Nowicki as the new assistant basketball coach ahead of the season.

“Our 2022-23 schedule is the toughest that we have played since I’ve arrived at VSU,” Helfer said. “We begin our season with the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic against two of the top teams in the nation.”

The Blazers will start the season at the 2022 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, hosted by Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. The classic features some of the top Division II basketball programs in the nation including defending national champion Northwest Missouri State and Hillsdale College (Mich.), who reached the national quarterfinals last year. In addition, GSC foe Alabama Huntsville along with Dallas Baptist, Flagler, Florida Southern, Lincoln Memorial, Nova Southeastern and West Texas A&M will all be featured in the classic.

VSU will tip off against Lincoln Memorial on Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m., to open the classic, and will round out the weekend facing off against Hillsdale on Nov. 6, also at 3:30 p.m.

Following the classic, the Blazers will travel to Pensacola, Fla., to play in the GSC/SIAC Challenge, hosted by West Florida. VSU will tip against Fort Valley State on Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET, and then will round out the Challenge with Clark Atlanta on Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

VSU will then open GSC play and the 2022-2023 home slate on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m., playing host to Lee inside The Complex. Following Lee, Shorter will make the trip down to TitleTown on Nov. 19 at 4 p.m.

“The GSC has expanded its game schedule to 24 conference games,” Helfer said. “Anytime you play that many difficult, grind-it-out, tough games both at home and away, it’s a challenge. It will be as much of a mental challenge as a physical challenge for everyone this season.”

Following Shorter, the Blazers will host a non-conference game against Clinton College on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m., before returning to conference play at Delta State (Nov. 26) and Mississippi College (Nov. 28).

Following the trip to Clinton, Miss., VSU will begin a four game home stand beginning with West Georgia on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m., Union on Dec. 11 at 4 p.m., Christian Brothers on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m., and a mid-week, non-conference game against Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 15 at 8 p.m.

The Blazers will travel back to Pensacola to take on West Florida on Dec. 18, to close out the pre-Christmas slate, and then will face Auburn Montgomery on the road on Dec. 31. To ring in the new year, VSU will travel to Montevallo on Jan. 2 in Montevallo, Ala., and will return to the Complex to face defending GSC Tournament champions Alabama Huntsville on Jan. 5.

Following UAH, the Blazers will play host to the 2021 regular season GSC champions West Alabama on Jan. 7, before traveling to Shorter on Jan. 12 and Lee on Jan. 14.

Following the Flames, the Blazers will continue conference play against Mississippi College (Jan. 19), Delta State (Jan. 21) inside The Complex then will face West Georgia (Jan. 28), Christian Brothers (Feb. 2) and Union (Feb. 4) on the road.

Following the second meeting with the Bulldogs, VSU will begin its final home stand with West Florida on Feb. 11, Montevallo on Feb. 16, and Auburn Montgomery on Feb. 18.

“We are excited to have 14 games in The Complex this year,” Helfer said. “It’s an incredible environment, and Blazer Nation always makes it a tough venue for our opponents when they come to Valdosta.”

VSU will then round out the 2022-2023 season on the road at West Alabama on Feb. 23 and then Alabama Huntsville on Feb. 25. The Gulf South Conference tournament quarterfinals will begin on Feb. 28 at campus sites, while the semifinal and championship game will be held Mar. 4-5 in Birmingham, Ala.

The NCAA DII South Regional Championship is slated to begin on Mar. 11 and continue through Mar. 14, with the top seeds hosting, while the NCAA DII Elite Eight begins on Mar. 21 in Evansville, Ind., followed by the national semifinals on Mar. 23, and the NCAA DII National Championship is set for Mar. 25.

Helfer returns seven returners to the roster including seniors Jacolbey Owens, Maurice Gordon, Cam Hamilton, Kelan Walker and Mohamed Fofana in addition to junior Cam Selders and redshirt freshman Dylan Garrington.

Last season, Hamilton led the team in three-pointers with 64 out of 180 attempts, while Owens had a team-high 144 field goals in 322 attempts. In addition, Owens also led the team averaging 15 points per game and 83 free throws made out of 144 attempts.

Helfer also welcomes five transfers and three incoming players. Sophomore Caden Boser, a transfer from UMKC, appeared in 17 games as a freshman for the Kangaroos in 2020-2021. He then played in 30 games, with three starts, and averaged 11.8 minutes per game in the 2021-2022 season.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a sense of ‘togetherness’ from our team,” Nowicki said. “Our returners are locked in right now, and our new guys are following their lead. We have a talented group that is working like a championship-level team.”

Jayvion Rucker, a transfer from Emmanuel College, appeared in 28 games as a sophomore last season and recorded 24 starts, 294 points, 157 rebounds, 25 assists and 20 blocks. Junior Lee Flenor, a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, recorded 240 points and went 103 of 171 from the field through 623 minutes of action last season while junior Mike Isler, a transfer from Tallahassee Community College, was named to the All-Panhandle Conference second team last season through 31 games.

Graduate student Ryan Black, a transfer from Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind., played in 28 games with 27 starts last season and recorded 394 points, 136 rebounds and 32 steals during his senior campaign.

In addition to the transfers, sophomore and Valdosta native Jace Lavan, freshman and Lowndes High School alum Jarcqves “JJ” Williams, and sophomore Christian Connor, a native of Snellville, Ga, all join the roster.

For all updates on Blazer basketball, visit vstateblazers.com or follow Valdosta State Athletics on social media.