Pronghorn men looking to control own destiny after missed opportunities in 2025-26

By Lethbridge Herald on February 27, 2026.

Nathan Reiter

Lethbridge Herald

One game short. That was the story of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s basketball team in 2025-26, as they finished just short of a Canada West playoff spot. 

Lethbridge finished with a 7-13 record, good enough for eighth place in the Prairie Division just behind the Brandon Bobcats for a playoff position.

Head coach Kenny Otieno says he felt the Pronghorns let some winnable games get away from them throughout the season. 

“I don’t think our record reflects our potential this year and where we could have been. I thought we had a couple opportunities to either jump ahead of getting above .500 or at least getting a couple more wins to put us closer to playoff contention. I thought we had enough chances throughout the season to kind of grasp and dictate our position towards playoffs and we just didn’t take advantage of it.”

Lethbridge will graduate four players off their roster. Guards Bryce Solis and Kymani Pollard along with forwards Karter Fry and Sebastian Perez will be moving on. 

The Pronghorns will have a strong returning cast back in the fold next year including Brady Baines, Joseph Lemieux, Jaxen Perrett, Cole Steele and Lu Dalil. 

Lethbridge will also have several transfers able to join the team next year after sitting out this season. Josh Francis, Dray Wallburger and Manny Biden are all expected to play a role for the Pronghorns next season. Francis and Wallburger are both U SPORT transfers while Biden was recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the preseason.

Otieno says he likes the group Lethbridge is able to bring back.

“When it comes to guys that were on the roster, I think we have a very solid core of guys that understand what it takes to win and understand how close it can be in terms of making or putting in all the effort to have a good season and winning but falling short. I think we have to come with a different mentality in terms of that core, understanding the struggles that we’ve had last year making playoffs but going out in the first round and then this year being one game short. Elevating our standards and our expectations that we want in the off-season and going into preseason so that when guys do come in they’re prepared.”

One major player will have to replace is Kymani Pollard. The fifth-year guard led the Pronghorns with 21.8 points per game while averaging a team high 6.1 rebounds and 31 steals in 20 games played.

Pollard was named a Canada West Third Team All-Star for his strong campaign. Otieno says Lethbridge will need to replace Pollard’s presence by committee next season.

“You can’t (replace Kymani). You can try the best fit pieces that can make it work with the roster makeup that we have moving forward. In terms of his production and just his skill set, it’s hard to replace that. We can be hopeful that there’s a guy that could come in and fill his shoes, but I can’t make that expectation out of whoever we try to bring into that position. You can hope that guys that will come in will understand his skill set and what he was able to do, but we can find different ways to produce and have an effect on winning.”

This offseason also has a unique wrinkle in the new U SPORTS transfer rules that take place for the 2026-27 season. Any first or second year athlete can transfer without having to sit out for a full 365 days like under previous rules. 

Otieno says transfers will be an area Lethbridge will explore to improve their roster.

“Now that it’s there, I have to do my due diligence as a coach in terms of understanding first how to go about that. You can’t just start talking to a bunch of U SPORT players without them consenting. Just finding the right way of how to approach that now that it’s there. We’ll explore but under the right circumstances and how to go about it without disrespecting other programs, coaches or just the credibility of the school and our program as well.”

With it being the first offseason with the new transfer rules in place, Otieno says the summer could be a bit more unpredictable then in year’s past. 

“I don’t really know what to expect because you would hope and expect that teams would go about it carefully and not step on toes. At the same time, you don’t know the intentions of whatever program that may be. You have a relationship with certain coaches in the league. You know that if they’re planning on doing something like that, they’ll go about it the right way but that’s out of my control. You don’t really know what to expect but you just hope for the best.”