Slippery Rock Men's Basketball Opens 2026-27 Season Against Lincoln University

The Slippery Rock University men’s basketball team opens its 2026-27 season against Lincoln University on Monday at 6 p.m. inside Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, rockathletics.com reported. The matchup marks the second meeting all-time between the two programs following last year’s inaugural contest.

Monday night’s contest forces The Rock to open a regular season away from Morrow Field House for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign. Live statistics and video coverage for the game are provided directly by the Lincoln communications and marketing office.

Building on a 17-Win Foundation

Head coach Ian Grady enters his ninth season leading the program with a career record of 116-88. Last season, Slippery Rock finished 17-12 overall and went 10-10 inside the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference before earning a berth in the PSAC Tournament.

The program has recorded winning records in 16 of the last 18 years, establishing one of the most consistent stretches in the conference. Across the 17-team PSAC, only Indiana (Pa.) and East Stroudsburg have produced more winning campaigns than The Rock since the 2008-09 season.

A Roster Reset in the West

Slippery Rock enters the new year with a heavily re-shaped roster featuring only four returning players who saw action last season.

The returning core features sophomore guard RJ Sledge, who started 15 games as a freshman while averaging 7.5 points and 2.9 assists. Junior forward Elijah Hill also returns after averaging 11 points and 6.4 rebounds a contest while shooting 63.4 percent from the field.

In the annual PSAC West preseason poll, Slippery Rock was picked to finish fourth in the division. Defending national champions Gannon were selected to win the Western Division after garnering eight first-place votes.

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