A new era of Illinois State basketball began on March 7, as Ryan Pedon was introduced as the 20th head coach in Redbird basketball history.

The Redbirds return six scholarship players from a season ago – led by senior forward Kendall Lewis who averaged 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while grabbing 38 steals, dishing out 33 assists, and blocking 32 shots. Also back is Liam McChesney who averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game with 30 blocked shots, Ryan Schmitt who averaged 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, Harouna Sissoko, and Alston Andrews.

Newcomers to the squad include five guards and a forward. Among the new players include fifth-year guard Seneca Knight, a former All-Mountain West Third Team honoree who averaged 17.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 2019-20 and played last season at BYU. Bolingbrook, Illinois, native Darius Burford comes to ISU after averaging 13.4 points per game with 97 assists and 47 steals for Elon en route to earning third team All-Colonial Athletic Association plaudits. Bloomington native Colton Sandage also comes to ISU as a fifth-year student-athlete, as he averaged 13.4 points per game for Western Illinois last season with a team-high 82 assists.

Also new to the team are junior guards Luke Kasubke and Malachi Poindexter, who played for Kansas State and Virginia, respectively last season. Kasubke, from basketball powerhouse Chaminade High School in St. Louis, scored 57 points a season ago in 30 games, while also grabbing 32 rebounds. Poindexter, a Virginia native, played in 19 games for the Cavaliers, scoring 19 points off the bench while adding seven assists and ten rebounds. Forward Joe Petrakis comes to the Redbirds as a graduate transfer with two seasons of eligibility remaining after averaging eight points per game for Western Carolina, starting 30 times and finishing in the top-15 in the Southern Conference in blocked shots per game and three-pointers made.