THATCHER — A new head coach and a nearly rebuilt roster will greet Eastern Arizona College men’s basketball fans when the Gila Monsters open the 2026-27 season October 30th.
Chris Martin takes over a program that has enjoyed considerable success in recent years, but he’ll have to develop a team with very little returning experience.
Only five players return from last year’s 19-12 squad.
Eastern Arizona averaged 79 points per game last season, but none of the returning players averaged more than 4.4.
That leaves Martin with 12 newcomers on a 17-player roster, including accomplished high school scorers and international players.
Martin is familiar with Eastern Arizona, having served as an assistant coach from 2022 through 2025 before spending last season at Eastern Washington University. He was named head coach in May following Cameron Turner’s departure for the University of Alaska Anchorage.
While the Gila Monsters have won two Arizona Community College Athletic Conference championships in the past three seasons, the challenge facing Martin is developing an almost entirely new group capable of competing at that level.
Several players responsible for last season’s production have moved on to four-year universities.
Ryan Hunt, who led Eastern Arizona with 14.9 points per game, is now at TCU. Kahu Treacher, who averaged 13.7 points, transferred to Oregon State, while Kofi Peyton, who averaged 9.5 points, joined Binghamton University.
Brad Ballinger, who averaged 8.3 points, is at New Haven, which is transitioning to NCAA Division I.
Other former Gila Monsters have found opportunities at the Division II level. Quincy Byas joined former EAC coach Cameron Turner at Alaska Anchorage, Jasyre Robinson transferred to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Giorgi Obgaidze is at Ohio Dominican.
Latvian forward Toms Salnajs returned to his home country to play professionally for BK Ventspils.
Two more former Gila Monsters will continue their careers at the junior college level. Derek Collins, who averaged 8.5 points, transferred to John A. Logan College in Illinois, while Ryder Bush, who averaged nine points, joined Barton Community College in Kansas.
With much of last season’s roster continuing its basketball career elsewhere, Martin will rely heavily on a recruiting class that brings some impressive credentials to Thatcher.
Among the newcomers is 6-foot guard Deuce Newt, who arrives from Loyola High School in Los Angeles after one of the more memorable individual performances in Southern California basketball last season.
On January 21st, Newt scored 50 points and made 10 3-pointers in Loyola’s 104-70 victory over Bishop Alemany. He later earned first-team All-Mission League honors.
Newt transferred to Loyola from Campbell Hall and wasn’t eligible until late December, but quickly made an impact. In his first Mission League game, he scored 23 points as Loyola rallied from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 72-68.
Another freshman guard, Daniel Trotenya, put together an impressive senior season at Kennewick High School in Washington.
The 6-foot-4 Trotenya scored 643 points in 25 games, averaging 25.7 points. He also pulled down 11.8 rebounds per game, finishing his high school career with 1,410 points.
Eastern Arizona also added Aiden McIntyre, a 6-foot-3 guard from Leuzinger High School in California.
McIntyre averaged 17.5 points, five rebounds and 3.3 assists last season, more than doubling his scoring average from his junior year. He also earned MVP honors at the 2026 Collision Showcase, an all-star event featuring players from the Los Angeles City and Southern sections.
The newcomers aren’t limited to the backcourt.
Lithuanian forward Kristupas Miselis comes to Thatcher after averaging 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds at La Salle High School in Pasadena, California. The 6-foot-8 freshman led the Lancers in both categories.
Another 6-foot-8 addition is Delijah McAlpin, who averaged 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks during the 2024-25 season at Village Christian High School.
McAlpin also has an unusual accomplishment away from the basketball court.
He appeared in the 2023 film “Sweetwater,” portraying a young Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, one of the players who helped break the NBA’s color barrier in 1950.
Acting runs in the family. His sister, Kyrie McAlpin, is an Emmy-nominated actress whose credits include Disney Channel’s “Raven’s Home,” ABC’s “Will Trent” and the Apple TV+ animated series “Doug Unplugs.”
King-Riley Owens, a 6-foot-3 freshman from La Mirada High School, has another interesting background.
Owens was featured in TIME magazine in 2017 as part of a national story examining the growing youth sports industry. At just 9 years old, he was already traveling around the country playing tournament basketball.
Nearly a decade later, Owens is beginning his college basketball career at Eastern Arizona.
Other newcomers include 6-foot-6 wing Christian Taylor from Skyline Prep, 6-foot-8 forward Chris Okpagu Jr. from ON1 Prep Academy in Texas, 6-foot-7 forward Jedidiah Wilfred from Five-Star Academy, 6-foot-5 wing Austin Gould from Las Vegas and 6-foot-5 wing Jacob Rice, who attended the Berkshire School in Massachusetts.
The Gila Monsters also added 6-foot-9 Australian center Poth Machar, giving Martin another option inside alongside returning 7-foot-1 center Alex Horton.
While the newcomers bring a variety of backgrounds, the five returning players will have an opportunity to take on considerably larger responsibilities.
The leading returning scorer is 6-foot-8 sophomore Malachi Seely-Roberts, who averaged 4.4 points in 29 games last season while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range.
Sophomore guard Jason Van Horn Jr. averaged 3.7 points in 26 games, connecting on 35.8% of his 3-point attempts.
Horton appeared in 24 games, averaging 0.6 points, while Safford High School graduate JoJo Ruelas played in 19 games and Moroni Seely-Roberts appeared in four.
Combined, the five returning players made just seven starts.
For Malachi and Moroni Seely-Roberts, basketball has always been a family affair.
The twin brothers grew up playing for their mother, Heather Seely-Roberts, who made history as the first woman to coach boys basketball in Oregon’s largest high school classification.
Before their time at Lincoln High School in Portland, the family was part of a memorable championship run at Yamhill-Carlton.
In 2021, the twins combined to score 50 of their team’s 52 points in a 52-48 victory over Cascade Christian in the Class 3A culminating-week championship game.
Moroni scored 31 points, while Malachi added 19.
The brothers eventually made their way to Eastern Arizona, where both return for their sophomore seasons.
Ruelas gives the Gila Monsters another familiar name for local fans.
The former Safford Bulldog was a three-sport athlete in high school, playing basketball, baseball and football. As Safford’s quarterback, he threw for 3,732 yards and 41 touchdowns during his varsity career.
He saw limited basketball action as a freshman at Eastern Arizona, averaging 1.3 minutes in 19 appearances.
For a program that finished 29-4 just two seasons ago and won consecutive ACCAC championships in 2024 and 2025, the expectations remain high.
But with a new coach, five returning players and a dozen newcomers, the Gila Monsters have plenty to figure out.
The incoming talent has produced impressive individual accomplishments, from Newt’s 50-point game and Trotenya’s prolific scoring to the unusual family basketball history of the Seely-Roberts twins.
How quickly those players can come together as a team will go a long way toward determining Eastern Arizona’s success.
The Gila Monsters open the season Friday, Oct. 30, against Phoenix College at 5 p.m. in the EAC Spooktacular Classic in Thatcher. They’ll face Lamar Community College on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 3 p.m.
Eastern Arizona will continue its season-opening homestand the following weekend, hosting Salt Lake Community College on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. and Community Christian College on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m. in the Gila Monster Shootout.
