Riddled with injuries the entire season, the VMI basketball team struggled for much of the year but found many positives throughout the season to build a solid foundation for upcoming campaigns.
The Keydets finished the year with only six wins, much in part due to the absence of injured 1st Class cadet star and Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year, Rickey Bradley Jr. ’26, who ended up missing the entire season due to injury and was unable to step foot onto the court for a single game.
T.J. Johnson ’28 excelled the entire year and was recognized as a Third Team All-SoCon recipient for his accomplishments. The Belton, Texas, native played a big role for the Keydets this season by averaging 35.4 minutes per game, second-most in the league.
Deadly from beyond the arc, Johnson ranked second in the SoCon and seventh among all Division I shooters with nearly four three-pointers made per game. Johnson launched 301 shots beyond the arc, ranking first nationally, and made 107 three-point field goals, the fifth-most in the country.
Johnson averaged 18.4 points per game, which ranks fourth in the SoCon.
Johnson was chosen to serve on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors as one of only three NCAA student-athletes nationwide to serve on the committee.
The Keydets earned their sole conference victory Jan. 3, 2026, when VMI defeated Chattanooga by a 79-71 count at Cameron Hall.
On Jan. 17, the VMI basketball program celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1976 and 1977 NCAA Tournament teams, as many members of those historic teams reunited in Lexington that night to be honored for their unprecedented achievements as former Keydets.
VMI’s season came to a close in the opening round of the Southern Conference tournament, where the No. 10 seed Keydets fell to No. 7 UNCG by an 84-70 score in Asheville, North Carolina.
