MELBOURNE, FLA - Year Two of the Will Murphy Era begins for Florida Tech men's basketball tonight in St. Augustine at 7 P.M. against Flagler. The 2025-26 campaign ended with a 10-18 record and 6-14 mark in Sunshine State Conference play, which were four and three-win improvements, respectively. While the ultimate goals are still to be reached for the Panthers, their head coach
"I'm very comfortable in the direction we're going," says Murphy. "Obviously, you always want results that show that you are following the right process but I think we're very committed to the things that we're doing, the things that we're prioritizing, and expecting that if we do those things at a high level, which we are very capable of doing, the results follow."
Two of the consistent themes going into 2026-27 when talking with the team and staff is an emphasis on being better at rebounding and creating extra possessions.
"Last year on average, our opponents had four extra possessions than us a game," says Murphy. "That's basically the turnover and rebounding margin, and we want to flip that and then some. We want to win the extra possession game."
"The concepts and the way he wants our team to play has become a lot easier with a year of experience under Coach Murph's style," says sophomore guard Ty Harpring.
"I think we're very connected," says graduate student guard Kevin Pazmino. "Which translates to us being focused on crashing offensive rebounds and extra possessions. That's going to be a very big thing for us this year, sending all five guys to the glass every single time. We believe extra possessions will win the game."
Harpring is the top returner for the Crimson and Gray after averaging 11.7 points per game while shooting 41.8% from three-point range to become Florida Tech's first Sunshine State Conference Freshman of The Year in over a decade. Having now experienced college competition for a full season and a full offseason to work on his game and prepare for the grind of the schedule, Harpring feels prepared to reach another level this campaign.
"For me personally, I feel like I've become more of a multi-faceted part of our offense," says Harpring. "Whether it's me scoring or getting others open off of cuts or screens. I also feel like I've taken a step defensively with being more aggressive, causing turnovers and extra possessions for the team. In terms of mentality, having all of the experience from last year has helped the game slow down and enables me to help my teammates and become one of the leaders of the team."
Another critical component to the Panthers' success this season will be sophomore point guard Greyson Williams. In his debut season, the Nolensville, Tennessee native wowed fans and the conference by averaging 4.2 assists and 1.9 steals to go with 10.9 points per game. Being a part of Murphy's first recruiting class at Tech and having success in his first season has allowed Williams to use his voice more while helping the team establish culture and standards.
"I think we are a lot more competitive and holding each other accountable on the little things that we go over," says Williams. "We each have a job to do and if someone isn't meeting the standard then they are going to get called out on it. The leadership is something that took a huge step forward this year."
Tech's strong suit will remain its shooting, which led the nation in three-point shooting last season, averaging 11.6 makes per game. The outside game will get even more of a boost this season with the transfer additions of Matt Schmainda, a senior guard from Michigan Tech, and Pazmino, a graduate student guard who spent the past two seasons in Division I.
"It's been good, they've adapted quick to coaching and getting those reps together have built good chemistry with learning how each other plays and what their strengths are," says Williams. "As a point guard, being able to put them into positions for them to prosper is something that's a huge plus for the team."
"It's been a lot of fun, actually. Just being able to know that you're only limited by your own imagination within the system," says Schmainda. "So, there's no restrictions on what you can or can't do, to an extent. But you can be so creative with how you're finding space for Ty to get shots, or you're playing with Grayson to help him get downhill and create that advantage."
Not only does Pazmino have experience at the Division I level, but he has the kind every coaching staff would love to have, having been a member of Florida's national championship team in 2025 before playing last season at Nicholls State. Pazmino believes he can help bring the lessons he learned to Florida Tech and help bring them to where they want to be.
"At Florida, our preparation was the same every single day, day in practice, leading up to games, film rooms, scout, everything," says Pazmino. "Just being very consistent, staying even keeled. It was a good group of guys that had leaders, and kind of glued everybody together, no matter what the situation was. What I learned at Nicholls State is that it's a long season. It's always gonna be up and down, but you want to stay in the middle. So, you have to make sure the body's right, mind's right, and just doing the little things that you can do to give yourself that advantage to win games."
Schmainda was part of a Michigan Tech team that went 53-15 over the past two seasons, including an Elite Eight appearance last year. He's looking to bring the lessons he learned about commitment in multiple ways to Melbourne.
"I would say the margin for error for winning between elite teams and middle of the pack teams, there really isn't that much of a difference," says Schmainda. "It's the fine details that really separate the good from the great teams, and that's something that really stuck with me. I also learned there that people playing within themselves and knowing each other so well that you know what shots people are going to take, what rotations they're going to make defensively, and knowing each other and playing off each other that way is something I hope to continue to grow with here."
In addition to the Sunshine State Conference gauntlet, the Panthers will challenge themselves out of conference as well with the 2026-27 docket featuring seven games against teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament. On the slate this year includes a top-5 ranked Dallas
Baptist, three other teams who win at least 18 games in 2025-26 (Flagler, Lake Superior State, Valdosta State), an Auburn-Montgomery team who is expected to improve considerably this season as well as a Division I opponent in Florida Gulf Coast. Murphy has designed the schedule specifically to get the team ready for the battles that await them in league play and get them ready to peak at the right time.
"I would love to be the best team in November, but there's a there's a great chance we're not the best team in November," says Murphy. "There's programs with more continuity and more consistency. There are programs that are older than us, but our goal and our mission is to be trying to play the best basketball in February. Can we be the best team in February? That's kind of how everything's run through the lens of the scheduling, how we play, the process of getting better, what we emphasize in the preseason, what we'll emphasize as we start playing in November and December."
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