After a 1-19 2024-25 campaign, the UNBC Timberwolves will be looking to hit the reset button this season.
Can the program turn things around and achieve its first season above-.500 since 2014-15?
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the 2025-26 season for the UNBC.
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Todd Jordan returns for his 16th season as the bench boss of the team. His record sits at 80-162 through the regular season in his time as coach of the Timberwolves. Jordan has made the playoffs six times — most recently in the 2023-24 season when UNBC went on to finish third in the Canada West conference playoffs — holding a record of 4-8 in the post-season.
Roster Breakdown
1st Years: 1
2nd Years: 7
3rd Years: 3
4th Years: 4
5th Years: 0
Guards: 10
Forwards: 5
New Additions
3rd Year, Forward, Haukur Davidsson: The six-foot-eight forward from Hveragerdi, Iceland, transfers in from New Mexico Military Institute of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. Davidsson played two seasons for the Broncos, suiting up for 30 career games and starting in eight of them. The forward averaged 2.0 points per game and shot 31.7 per cent from the field on 9.3 minutes per game. Davidsson is one of five forwards on the Timberwolves roster this season.
4th Year, Guard, Tony Kibonge: The six-foot guard from Prince George, B.C., transfers in from Northwestern Polytechnic in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). He played in all 20 games last season and led his team in points per game with 13.6, while shooting 44.6 per cent from the field and 36.2 per cent from three-point range. Kibonge is one of 10 guards on the team and one of four fourth-years at UNBC.
1st Year, Guard, Cairo Wells: Standing at six-foot-eight forward from Coquitlam, B.C, Wells is the only first-year listed on the roster. The guard is a graduate of Chilliwack's Dr. Charles Best Secondary School and played last season at the CTA West post-grad prep program.
Roster Analysis
Of the players who played in 60 per cent of the team's games or more last year, six of the 10 were rookies. UNBC will not face the same problem this season, with only one first-year player on this year's roster.
That freshmen crop of 2024-25 now brings one season of experience under their belt. That experience will be invaluable if the Timberwolves want to improve on their 1-19 record from last season. One player who most fans will be excited to watch in 2025-26 is the team's second-leading scorer and 2024-25 Canada West All-Rookie Team recipient, Isaiah Bias. The now second-year guard scored 145 points, shooting 40 per cent from the field on 140 shot attempts, and started in 10 of 19 games last season. Watch for Bias to take a significantly bigger role for this team.
Another player to watch out for is the third-year guard, Chris Ainsley. He finished third in team scoring last season and was three points shy of tying Bias for second. Ainsley also shot 41.9 per cent from the field and connected on a team-high 17 threes. The guard started 17 of the 18 games he appeared in last year. Expect him to be another significant part of this team's offence, whether that's off the bench or in the starting five.
Timberwolves fans will also be happy to see fourth-year forward Evgeny Baukin return after leading the team with 17.6 points per game. Baukin shot a combined 43 per cent from the field on the year in all 18 games he started in and knocked down 64 free throws, the most on the team last season. The forward has some scoring options around that could allow him to facilitate the ball more. However, the roster is still a work in progress, and Baulkin should be this team's top scorer in 2025-26.
The young players still have a way to go before they can take over control of the lineup. Expect many of the second-year's to take another step in their development and start to find the roles they will play in later in their careers.
Position Battles
There are quite a few spots to watch out for this season.
Starting with the backcourt, if pre-season is any indication of who will see regular minutes, it's the team's newest guard, Tony Kibonge. He saw his minutes increase game over game in the team's three pre-season games. Opening with 19, then 25, and finishing with 29 — not to mention he started in both the 19 and 29-minute games. It seems likely that Kibonge will take up one of the starting guard roles on opening night.
However, the other guard spot might be more challenging to predict. While Kibonge's minutes went up each game in preseason, Isaiah Bias trended downward. The guard opened with 28 minutes, then dropped to 19 and finished with 11. His production also declined as a result. Bias dropped 14 off the bench in the first pre-season game and ended the final pre-season game with five points. It is very possible that the coaching staff has already seen what they need to see from Bias and were spreading out minutes to evaluate other players.
Justin Sunga, a fourth-year guard, did see most of the playing time when Bias was not playing, which makes him a possible candidate to slot in next to Kibonge. However, don't count out the rookie Cairo Wells. He posted double digits — 7 and 13 — in the final two pre-season matches. Although he may find himself in more of a backup role to start the year. Chris Ainsley also did not suit up for the preseason, which may put his chances of starting in jeopardy.
Moving to the front court, who will lineup with Evgeny Baukin? Starting down in the paint, it seems second-year forward Miller Davies, who stands at 6'9", will be the team's center. Davies started all three of the team's pre-season games and should be a lock at the five position.
The other forward spot could very well be a coveted spot that goes to a new transfer, Haukur Davidsson. The forward started in the final two pre-season games and scored 12 points while playing 21 minutes in the last matchup. Another possible option could be second-year forward Wesley Ainu'u. He only played more than 15 minutes in one preseason game, but made the most of that opportunity and recorded 10 points. It may be a stretch to assume he comes away with the starting spot, though, considering Davidsson's playing time in pre-season.
That being said, it is just pre-season, and things can change before opening night gets underway. However, based on what has happened through the preseason, this is what the Timberwolves' opening night starting lineup could look like.
My Projected Starting Lineup:
G Tony Kibonge
G Isaiah Bias
F Haukur Davidsson
F Evgeny Baukin
F Miller Davies
Strengths and Weaknesses of 2024-25
The most significant drawback for the Timberwolves last season was the number of rookies who played roles in the team's lineup. It's a strong reason why the team had a scoring differential of minus-467. Both the scoring differential and the team's now second-year players should improve this season.
The second weakness that plagued the team was its lack of depth scoring. Outside of Evgeny Baukin, no one averaged over 10 points per game. UNBC finished in the bottom 10 in the country in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, and in the bottom five in points per game as a team. The Timberwolves will need scorers other than Baukin to emerge if they want to avoid finishing last in their division for the second consecutive year.
The same problems emerged on defence last year. UNBC were tied for first in allowing the most points, while allowing the highest field goal and three-point percentage to opposing offences in all of USPORTS last year. A stronger emphasis on sound defence and a more experienced roster should help improve those numbers.
One of the team's few strengths was Evgeny Baukin's continued ability to find ways to score. If the fourth-year forward picks up right where he left off from last year's campaign, he should have another exciting season.
Schedule Overview
October: 2 Home Games (HG), 0 Away Games (AG)
November: 5 HG, 4 AG
December: 0 HG, 1 AG
January: 2 HG, 4 AG
February: 2 HG, 0 AG
Oct. 26 – vs. UBCO 4:00 PM
Oct. 31 – vs. Alberta 8:00 PM
Nov. 1 vs. Alberta 7:00 PM
Nov. 7 vs. TWU 8:00 PM
Nov. 8 vs. TWU 7:00 PM
Nov. 14 at UBCO 5:30 PM
Nov. 15 at UBCO 4:30 PM
Nov. 21 at UFV 8:00 PM
Nov. 22 at UFV 6:00 PM
Nov. 28 vs. Victoria 8:00 PM
Nov. 29 vs. Victoria 7:00 PM
Dec. 5 at TRU 7:30 PM
Jan. 15 vs. UBC 8:00 PM
Jan. 17 vs. UFV 7:00 PM
Jan. 22 at Victoria 8:00 PM
Jan. 24 at TWU 6:00 PM
Jan. 30 at UBC 7:30 PM
Jan. 31 at UBC 6:00 PM
Feb. 6 vs. TRU 8:00 PM
Feb. 7 vs. TRU 7:00 PM
Closing Thoughts
This team has a long way to go before it gets back to being a serious playoff contender. But they made some solid additions in the offseason. How much this team improves from their 1-19 record last year will highly depend on whether Kibonge and Bias can translate into a strong secondary and third option for the offence, and if the team can adopt a stronger defensive model.
There are some exciting pieces to this team, and if things fall into place, they could squeeze into the playoffs. However, they have lots of ground to make up before that becomes a reality.