Teams › Horizon · Compare Cleveland State with another team
Cleveland State
Cleveland State returns 63% of last season's minutes and rates #129 on offense and #301 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: -9.3 to +5.4.
Why we have them here
Cleveland State's preseason projection of -1.9 (No. 207 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth -1.4, about the -1.1 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 331 at the end of 2025-26) adds -1.8, less than its neighbours' -0.3; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add +0.9. It returns 63% of last season's minutes, about the same as teams ranked near it (65%). The projection leans most on Jaidon Lipscomb (+2.5), Tre Beard (+2.4) and Alex Bruskotter (+0.4); the newcomer who matters most is Alex Bruskotter, a transfer from Wright State, at +0.4. Its 80% range, -9.3 to +5.4, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 58% · Transfer 37% · Other newcomer 5%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 349 | Jaidon Lipscomb | G | 6-5 | 3 | Returning | Cleveland State | 25 | +4.1 | +2.5 |
| 423 | Tre Beard | G | 5-10 | 3 | Returning | Cleveland State | 28 | +3.4 | +2.4 |
| 1084 | Alex Bruskotter | G | 6-8 | 1 | Transfer | Wright State | 11 | +1.6 | +0.4 |
| 1650 | Deandre Jones | F | 6-11 | 1 | Transfer | Kent State | 8 | +0.0 | +0.0 |
| 1783 | Jordan Lowery | G | 6-1 | 1 | Transfer | UT Arlington | 15 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| 1803 | Derek Vorst | C | 6-10 | 3 | Transfer | Indiana State | 16 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| 3499 | Rayvon Griffith | F | 6-8 | 2 | Transfer | Kent State | 15 | -1.5 | -0.5 |
| 3909 | Waqo Tessema | F | 6-0 | 0 | Other newcomer | 9 | -2.2 | -0.5 | |
| 4231 | Lucas Burton | F | 6-8 | 1 | Returning | Cleveland State | 8 | -2.8 | -0.6 |
| 4257 | Curtis Stinson Jr. | G | 6-5 | 1 | Transfer | North Texas | 10 | -2.7 | -0.6 |
| 4485 | Kevo St. Hilaire | F | 6-10 | 1 | Returning | Cleveland State | 7 | -3.6 | -0.6 |
| 4621 | Manny Hill | G | 6-0 | 2 | Returning | Cleveland State | 8 | -3.6 | -0.7 |
| 4686 | David Giddens | G | 6-7 | 1 | Returning | Cleveland State | 10 | -3.4 | -0.8 |
| 4854 | Kamari Jones | G | 6-4 | 2 | Returning | Cleveland State | 10 | -3.8 | -1.0 |
| 4864 | Ivan Spirov | F | 6-8 | 1 | Returning | Cleveland State | 8 | -4.4 | -0.8 |
| 5071 | Holden Pierre-Louis | F | 6-8 | 2 | Returning | Cleveland State | 13 | -4.3 | -1.4 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Nov 03 | at |  Missouri #43 | -16.5 | 9% | |
| Mon Nov 09 | at |  Bowling Green #266 | -3.9 | 38% | |
| Fri Nov 13 | N |  West Florida #304 | +3.5 | 61% | |
| Sun Nov 15 | at |  Alabama A&M #343 | -0.5 | 48% | |
| Tue Nov 17 | at |  Xavier #57 | -16.0 | 10% | |
| Sat Nov 21 | vs |  Kent State #133 | +3.1 | 60% | |
| Wed Dec 02 | vs |  Youngstown State #215 | conf | +2.9 | 59% |
| Sat Dec 05 | at |  Purdue Fort Wayne #212 | conf | -2.7 | 41% |
| Thu Dec 17 | at |  Oregon State #93 | -12.7 | 15% | |
| Mon Dec 21 | at |  Pittsburgh #68 | -13.4 | 14% | |
| Wed Dec 30 | vs |  Wright State #165 | conf | +1.3 | 54% |
| Sun Jan 03 | at |  Northern Kentucky #270 | conf | -0.5 | 49% |
| Thu Jan 07 | at |  Northern Illinois #333 | conf | +3.3 | 60% |
| Sat Jan 09 | at |  IU Indianapolis #279 | conf | -0.2 | 49% |
| Thu Jan 14 | vs |  Milwaukee #242 | conf | +3.9 | 62% |
| Sun Jan 17 | vs |  Robert Morris #113 | conf | -1.2 | 46% |
| Wed Jan 20 | vs |  Green Bay #281 | conf | +5.1 | 66% |
| Sat Jan 23 | at |  Oakland #159 | conf | -4.0 | 37% |
| Thu Jan 28 | at | Wright State #165 | conf | -3.9 | 38% |
| Sun Jan 31 | vs | Northern Kentucky #270 | conf | +5.1 | 66% |
| Thu Feb 04 | at | Robert Morris #113 | conf | -6.2 | 31% |
| Sun Feb 07 | vs | Oakland #159 | conf | +1.0 | 53% |
| Wed Feb 10 | vs | Purdue Fort Wayne #212 | conf | +2.9 | 59% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at | Youngstown State #215 | conf | -2.4 | 42% |
| Fri Feb 19 | at | Green Bay #281 | conf | +0.1 | 50% |
| Sun Feb 21 | at | Milwaukee #242 | conf | -1.6 | 45% |
| Wed Feb 24 | vs | Northern Illinois #333 | conf | +7.9 | 74% |
| Sat Feb 27 | vs |  Detroit Mercy #312 | conf | +6.8 | 71% |
Projected margin is from Cleveland State's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.