Drake has appeared in three postseason tournaments during the four-year coaching tenure of Darian DeVries, who guided the Bulldogs to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He also led Drake to the College Insiders Tournament in his first year in 2019 as well as the College Basketball Invitational last year.

DeVries also has coached Drake to at least the semi- final round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in each of his four seasons at the Drake helm, including the championship game the past two years.

Darian DeVries, the 2019 and 2021 MVC Coach of the Year is tied for No. 3 with Gary Garner on Drake’s career coaching victory list at 95-40, guiding the Bulldogs to an unprecedented four straight 20-plus win seasons. He led the Bulldogs to a share of the MVC regular season title in his first year in 2019 as well as consecutive second place finishes the past two seasons.

Drake will play seven games against teams which advanced to postseason play during the 2021-22 campaign. Saint Louis, Belmont, Missouri State and UNI all competed in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Bulldogs will play three opponents for the first time during its nonconference schedule, playing host to Wofford Nov. 14 and Louisiana Nov. 26. In addition, the Bulldogs will meet Buffalo for the first time ever in the opening round of the Paradise Jam.

Drake will start the season with a roster whose average age is 21.5. Garrett Sturtz (132), D.J. Wilkins (127), Darnell Brodie (101) and Roman Penn (87), have combined to appear in 447 games for Drake entering the 2022- 23 season. Three players have scored 1,000 or more career points: D.J. Wilkins (1,279), Roman Penn (1,221) and Garrett Sturtz (1,069).

Six-foot 6-inch swingman Sardaar Calhoun and 6-10 forward Eric Northweather are among the newcomers expected to make their presence known this season. Calhoun, a native Tappahannock, Va., appeared in eight games for Texas Tech to begin the 2021-22 season. Calhoun played in 25 games with Florida State during the 2020-21 campaign averaging 5.3 points, while shooting 39.7 percent beyond the three-point line.   Northweather transfers in from Truman State. He appeared in 29 games, including 17 starts, during the 2021-22 campaign averaging 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds, while shooting 59.7 percent from the field.