OKWU BASKETBALL: RELOADED EAGLES RANKED 10TH; BOSTWICK ON VERGE OF 500TH WIN
Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s Nick Bene (21) is expected to play a big role in the Eagles’ season.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Oct. 28, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
When it comes to transformation of average to good, good to great and great to elite, no one does it better in college basketball than Donnie Bostwick.
The still-young coach — he’s on the threshold of just his 19th season as a head coach, 13 of them at OKWU — should reach a tremendous milestone early in the season.
His 500th career coaching victory.
Bostwick's overall record sits at 495-123 (.801). He’s also just seven victories away from his 350th win at OKWU (343-67, .837).
The OKWU Eagles eye their season opener on Halloween Night with a showdown against Georgia Gwinnett College at 7:30 p.m. at Skiatook High School. The Eagles return on November 1 to Skiatook to play Langston at 7:30 p.m.
Even though Bostwick is certain to achieve early in the season his 500th win, he has greater challenges to meet — filling the void left by the departure of two All-Americans and another senior starter stalwart.
It’s a tall task — especially considering the Eagles soared last year to 28 wins and the NAIA national championship runner-up spot.
But, there is perhaps no coach equal to Bostwick when it comes to piecing together competitive teams with a winning attitude.
Bostwick has been here before — bidding goodbye to incredible talent — and still putting a big winner on the court.
Bostwick has approached his job with a three-tier mentality — bolstering the tradition of the past, molding the present into the best it can be, and planning for the future.
That’s why he returns 11 players with major varsity minutes to his nationally No. 10-ranked 2025-26 team.
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Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s men’s basketball coach, Donnie Bostwick, is closing in on his 500th win.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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Leading the list of talented veteran warriors are junior Nick Bene (f, 6-5), junior Yashi McKenize (g, 6-1), junior Issac Stanek (g/f, 6-5), senior Amari Woods (g, 5-9), senior Daniel Oluwasuyi (f, 6-6), senior Blake Hamblin (f, 6-5) and junior Jaden Wilson (g/f, 6-4).
Woods, Oluwasuyi, and Hamblin “are three seniors that have been with us forever,” Bostwick said.
Among last year’s leading starters back are McKenzie (36 starts, 8.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 59 steals, 54 assists), Bene (31 starts, 7.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 51 assists), Stanek (23 starts, 10.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 40-of-98 three-pointers).
Other than that trio, Wilson had the most starts (seven) among the trio.
But thanks to Bostwick’s coaching style of using 11-or-more players with significant minutes for most games, there’s plenty of experience to build on.
Bostwick also plans to employ a youth movement in this year’s mix.
Three sophomores vying for starting spots are Humberto Kentish Jr. (g, 6-1), Ethan Williams (g/f, 6-4) and Temaje Izuagbe (g/f, 6-5).
Some other leading candidates for the main rotation, according to Bostwick, are redshirt freshman Malachi Okunbor (g, 6-5), redshirt freshman Marshall Gillette (g, 6-3), and sophomore Jensen Knowles (g/f, 6-5).
Four other players that could help this season are sophomore Nathaniel Law (g/f, 6-6), freshman Cameron Mennesfield (g, 5-8), freshman Angel Hidalgos (g, 6-1), and redshirt junior Ethan Meeks (f/g, 6-8).
The point guard one-two punch could be Williams as the starter and Mennesfield. Both are quick and good passers, Bostwick said.
With this plentiful amount of quality talent and athleticism, Bostwick said his team will play more up-tempo this season.
“We’re going to play faster than we have in the past,” he said. “We have a lot of depth and we have a lot of speed. We’ll be running the court.”
Despite bidding goodbye to All-Americans D.J. Talton and Jaden Lietzke, and senior dynamo Dylan Phillip, OKWU still garnered major respect from NAIA coaches in the preseason poll, landing at No. 10.
The Eagles have set a brutal non-district schedule to open the campaign.
Georgia Gwinnett (October 31, at Skiatook High School) barely missed out on being ranked in the Top 25; and Langston (November 1, Skiatook High School) is ranked No. 4 in the nation.
Other solid early-November foes include MidAmerica Nazarene University (November 4, Bartlesville) and Texas Wesleyan University (November 8, Bartlesville).
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Former Oklahoma Wesleyan University player D.J. Talton has another year of eligibility and is now playing for the University of Buffalo.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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NOTES: OKWU’s star point guard D.J. Talton Jr. appeared to be done with his college playing days after last season. But Talton has another year of eligibility and is suiting up as a graduate student with the University of Buffalo in Division I basketball. During Talbot’s four years at OKWU the Eagles swooped to a 120-19 record and four-straight conference titles. Buffalo plays Division I ball in the Mid-American Conference and have played in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament four times in the last 11 seasons and once in the NIT.