Men's Basketball Adds Trio for 2025-26 Season
Central Connecticut State University head men's basketball coach Patrick Sellers announced the addition of a trio of student-athletes to the program for the 2025-26 season. Nico Ashley (Lees-McRae College (DII), Daniel James (Portland (OR) Community College) and Ja'Kobe Williams (Edward Waters University) will come to CCSU for the upcoming season.
Ashley is a 6-foot-7 forward who helped the Bobcats go 13-16 overall and 10-10 in the Conference Carolinas in 2024-25. A native of Elizabethton, TN, Ashley was named to the Conference Carolinas All-Defensive team following a 2024-25 season in which he was third in the league with 34 blocked shots. Ashley averaged 9.5 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per contest for the Bobcats in 23 games. Ashley scored in double-figures in 11 games and had a season-best mark of 12 rebounds, while rejecting a season-best five shots in a game. In 82 career games, Ashley finished with a program-record 93 blocks over three seasons and averaged 8.9 points per game. He also shot 60.0 percent from the field and collected 5.0 rebounds per game. He posted single-season school-records shooting 71.4 percent from the field and swatting 74 shots (2.5 per game) in 2023-24. Ashley played in 18 games as a freshman at Motlow State, averaging 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.
"Adding Nico will provide an exciting dimension to our Central Connecticut program," said Sellers "He has impressive athleticism that he uses on both ends of the court. He is able to affect the game defensively and then able to run the floor and finish on the other end. We can't wait to have Nico join the Blue Devils and bring his contributions to help us continue our success."
James is a 6-foot-8 forward who spent the 2024-25 season at Portland Community College in Portland, OR. A native of Bologna, Italy, James played in 30 games and made 22 starts for the Panthers. He led the team with 10.9 rebounds per game and was second on the squad in scoring at 14.2 points per game. James played 24.6 minutes per game and shot 58.2 percent from the floor overall, while converting 17-of-51 (.333) of three-point attempts. Defensively, James totaled 37 steals and 26 blocked shots. James scored in double-figures in nine straight games to close the season, including a personal-high of 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting along with 21 rebounds in 29 minutes at Mount Hood. James grabbed 10+ rebounds in 15 contests and had seven games with two or more blocked shots. He helped the Panthers advance to the NWAC Elite Eight, going 20-10 overall and 12-4 in the region, while winning a NWAC South Region championship. Following the season, James earned Northwest Athletic Conference All-Region First Team honors and he was named NWAC All-Academic.
"Daniel is an exciting addition to our Central Connecticut program," said Sellers "He has fantastic size and athleticism, and can provide a formidable presence in our frontcourt rotation. We look forward to Daniel's development with the Blue Devils and contributing to our continued success."
Williams is a 6-foot-3 guard who led Edward Waters with 4.2 assists per game, while also scoring 13.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, along with 2.0 steals per game. He surpassed the 1,000-point plateau during the season and helped the Tigers enjoy their most successful season since 2014-15. Williams ranked among the leaders in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in a multitude of categories; sixth in assists, ninth in steals, 15th in scoring and 17th in rebounds, while ranking seventh in minutes per game in the conference. He scored 20 or more points in a game six times and following the season he was selected to play in the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic, held at Holcombe Rucker Park in Harlem, which features 40 of the best players from nearly 30 HBCUs from the CIAA, MEAC, SIAC, SWAC, and NAIA conferences. Prior to Edward Waters, Williams spent time at Virginia Union, where he averaged 6.7 points per game, 2.6 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in one season. Coming out of high school, Williams spent two seasons at Paine College, where he averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 boards and 3.4 assists.
"We're extremely happy to welcome Ja'Kobe to the Central Connecticut program," said Sellers "He is an experienced athlete who can create plays for himself and score at all three levels, as well as, create shots for his teammates. We look forward to Ja'Kobe joining the Blue Devils and getting to work for the upcoming season."
In 2024-25, CCSU won 25 games overall and tied for the top spot nationally with 12 road victories. The Blue Devils won 20 games in consecutive seasons for the first time as a DI program with a 25-7 mark and won a NEC regular season title with a 14-2 mark in league play. Central posted non-conference wins at Saint Joseph's and UMass, and finished non-conference play with an NEC-record-tying nine victories. CCSU led the NEC in offensive efficiency while ranking second in defensive efficiency during league play and posted a +9.8 scoring margin in conference action which was the highest by an NEC team in 13 years.
