After an offseason of changes on and off the court, Penn men’s basketball is set to open its season on Nov. 7 against Rowan, beginning its first season under the leadership of new coach Fran McCaffery.
Last season was not the prettiest for the Quakers. The Red and Blue finished seventh in the Ivy League for the second-straight season, with a 4-10 conference record and 8-19 overall record. Steve Donahue was later dismissed from his position as coach after nine seasons.
This season, the Quakers have a new look in multiple ways. McCaffery will be at the helm with his new staff and a roster that includes seven newcomers, including junior forward TJ Power — the program’s first former five-star recruit. The team is also set to wear throwback jerseys honoring the team’s winning seasons and historic Final Four run in 1979.
Let’s break down what lies ahead for the Quakers this season:
Donahue v. McCaffery
On Nov. 17, the Quakers will kick off Big 5 pod play with arguably the most anticipated matchup of their season — and it’s not because of the players, but because of the leaders on the sideline.
As the newly named Saint Joseph’s coach, Donahue is returning to the Palestra on the visitor’s side for the first time to face his successor. Both coaches also have significant ties to Big 5 basketball: Donahue grew up in Delaware County and began his college coaching career in the City of Brotherly Love, while McCaffery is a Philadelphia native and Penn men’s basketball alum and also started his coaching career on the Palestra sidelines.
As the reigning Big 5 champions, this matchup is the Hawks’ to lose. Between the storylines and the passionate Hawks fanbase, this matchup should pack the Palestra.
More Big 5 play
Just four days later, Penn will make college basketball’s shortest road trip to battle Drexel for the 29th edition of the Battle of 33rd Street, in which Penn looks to avenge its back-and-forth loss to the Dragons at the 2024 Big 5 Classic. One week later, the Quakers will host La Salle for the first time since 2022 during the Cathedral Classic. While it will not count towards Big 5 standings, this matchup could prove to be valuable experience if the two should face off again just over a week later at this year’s Big 5 Classic on Dec. 6.
Notably, Penn is not guaranteed to play Villanova this season due to the reconfiguration of the Big 5 pod system. Should the programs not face off at this year’s Big 5 Classic, it will be the first time since the 2000-2001 season that the programs have not played each other. Penn’s most recent wins over nationally ranked teams were thrillers, both over Villanova in 2023 and 2018 — the latter when the Wildcats were the defending NCAA champions.
Faceoff with Rutgers
The Quakers’ non-conference play this season proves to be full of opportunities. While the rest of the Penn community escapes campus for winter break, Penn men’s basketball is not taking any breaks and is set to face Rutgers of the Big 10 on Dec. 20 at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Historically, Ivy League schools have seen mixed success against the Scarlet Knights. In the last two editions of the Jersey Jam, Princeton edged Rutgers by less than eight points, while Columbia dropped its last two games at Rutgers in 2022 and 2024. This will be Penn’s first matchup since 1975 against the fellow colonial college.
Ivy play starts away
Similar to the changes on the staff and roster, this season’s conference schedule has some departures from previous years. For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Quakers will open Ivy play with a matchup against rival Princeton on Jan. 5, 2026 and will not end the regular season against the Tigers. Penn also starts conference play six days earlier than last season and ends its season two days earlier.
When the Penn community returns to campus for the spring semester, its first opportunity to see the new era of Penn men’s basketball in action in conference play is against Yale on Jan. 24, 2026. There will be five additional opportunities to watch the Quakers at the Cathedral of College Basketball, ending with senior day against Harvard.
