ATLANTA-- Georgia State tips off the regular season on the road at Eastern Michigan for the third season of the SBC-MAC Challenge on Monday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET. 

Redshirt junior Jelani Hamilton earned 2025-26 Preseason All-Sun Belt honors after coming to Georgia State for the 2024-25 season and making an immediate impact. Returning home, Hamilton played in all 33 games and led the team with 38 total steals. He finished the 2024-25 season averaging 10.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg. 

The Panthers return six from the previous season, including impact starters in Jelani Hamilton and Malachi Brown, and welcome nine newcomers (7 transfers, 2 freshmen) to the squad. 

The Panthers started the season with two exhibition games, and went 1-1 going into regular season play. Georgia State hosted the CareSource Invitational against Georgia before heading down the road to Morehouse. 

SERIES NOTES: Georgia State and Eastern Michigan are meeting for the third time in program history. The Panthers are undefeated in the series. 

KEY RETURNERS: In a reload off-season for the Panthers' basketball team, head coach Jonas Hayes retained six members of the 2024-25 squad, including Jelani Hamilton, Malachi Brown, Clash Peters, Trey Scott III, Emmanuel Koveos and Kwame Tanic.

The Panthers return two key guards in Jelani Hamilton and Malachi Brown who both appeared in all 33 games for Georgia State last season.

Hamilton started 21 games for the Panthers last year and averaged 10.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 53 assists. The redshirt sophomore led the team with 38 total steals and posted Georgia State's highest scoring mark of the season when he scored 32 against Taccoa Falls.

Brown started 31 of the 33 games last season and put up 7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 3.4 apg, leading the team in total assists (111) and second in total steals (37). The junior finished fourth in the Sun Belt with a 1.85 assist/turnover ratio and 10th in the conference for total assists and assists per-game. Brown posted a career-high in scoring during Sun Belt action against ULM when he scored 19 points, one of 12 double-digit scoring games from last year.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Head Coach Jonas Hayes and his staff have reloaded the GSU roster with the addition of seven transfers and two freshmen.

The transfer squad brings a mix of experience and youth including Jakai Newton (redshirt sophomore, Indiana), James Cooper (graduate, Oregon), Joah Chappelle (sophomore, Pearl River), Isaiah Sherrard (junior, Moorpark), Anthony Enoh (junior, Jessup), Ayouba Berthe (senior, Minot State) and Christian Beam (sophomore, Southern Union State).

 Sophomore Joah Chappelle averaged 16.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 3.1 apg on his way to the MACCC's Freshman of the Year award along with being named First Team All-MACCC. Chappelle scored in double figures in 26 out of 30 games and had 20 or more in eight games and recorded six double-doubles.

Junior Isaiah Sherrard was named WSC North Player of the Year along with being on the WSC North All-Conference First Team. Sherrard averaged 15.6 ppg and 7.4 rpg to go along with 1 spg and 1.5 bpg. The junior recorded 50.0/36.1/74.6 shooting splits in his time at Moorpark.

Sophomore Christian Beam brings further all-conference honors having made Second-Team All-ACCC during his year at Southern Union State. Beam, a 7-footer, averaged 8.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 3.0 bpg highlighted by a 15/20/14 game against Gadsden State.

Jakai Newton brings Power 4 experience, having spent two years at Indiana, where he saw action in four games before suffering a lower body injury. Coming out of high school, Newton was ranked as the 86th-best prospect by 247Sports

Graduate James Cooper transfers in from Oregon where he appeared in 28 games during his four years there.

Junior Anthony Enoh averaged 11.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 1.4 apg during his sophomore season at Jessup.

Ayouba Berthe played his junior year at Minot State and averaged 13.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 1.7 apg.

HOMETOWN FRESHMEN: Georgia State brings in two Atlanta-based freshmen this year in Micah Tucker and Chris Jones.

Micah Tucker played at Overtime Elite and averaged 12 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 3.5 apg across 20 games. The freshman was ranked as a 3-star prospect and the 29th-best point guard in the 2025 class by 247Sports.

Chris Jones comes from Frederick Douglass High School, where he earned First-Team Class AAA honors during his senior year. Jones averaged 18.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg his senior season after averaging 11.2 ppg and 5.6 rpg for GHSA 5A Final Four appearing Jonesboro High School the previous year.

2024-25 SEASON RECAP: The Panthers went 14-19 (8-10 SBC) during the 2024-25 season,  with an appearance in the second round of the championship tournament.

The Panthers secured the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt Championship tournament, and knocked off in-state rivals Georgia Southern in the first round. Georgia State fell 79-76 to Marshall in round two of the tournament. 

The Panthers finished the season ranking second on the Sun Belt in FG percentage (44.9), and fourth in the conference in three-point percentage (34.5). Defensively, the Panthers finished the season ranking fourth on the conference in rebounds per-game with 38.03. 

Returning veteran Malachi Brown led the Panthers in assists, averaging 3.4 pg.  Another veteran returner, Jelani Hamilton, led the Panthers in total steals with 38 in the season. 

ABOUT THE SUN BELT-MAC CHALLENGE: 

A scheduling alliance in men's and women's basketball, the MAC-SBC Challenge enters its third season and will tip off on opening night of the 2025-26 campaign on Monday, November 3 with 13 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) women's basketball programs hosting Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams and 13 Sun Belt men's basketball teams visiting MAC opponents.

Georgia State is undefeated in the SBC-MAC Challenge. 

The Sun Belt and MAC men played to a series split in 2024-25 with the SBC claiming an 8-4 record in November home games, before the MAC accomplished the same feat on its home courts in February. 

The Sun Belt captured the inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge titles on the men's and women's fronts, respectively, in 2023-24.

The MAC-SBC Challenge began during the 2023-24 season at the recommendation of the Sun Belt's strategic planning committees for men's and women's basketball. Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests is considered in determining the matchups.

UP NEXT: The Panthers head to Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 7 before returning home for their home opener against Presbyterian on Nov. 10.