CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago men's basketball opens exhibition pay on Sunday vs. crosstown rival DePaul. The Ramblers and Blue Demons tipoff at 1 p.m. in Gentile Arena. It's the first of two exhibition games Loyola will play at home this month.
 
Quick Hits

• Loyola returns just two letterwinners from last season's roster, Xavier Amos and Nic Anderson, while 14 newcomers join the squad for the 2026-27 season. The newcomers are made up by 12 transfers, one true freshman, and one international player.
• Xavier Amos was second on the team in scoring last year, averaging 11.1 points per game on 39.3 percent from the field. He had nine double-figure games, including a season-high 25 points at Saint Louis (March 4) with a career-high six made threes.
•  Nic Anderson stepped up for the injury-riddled Ramblers last season. He made 27 appearances and five starts. Anderson dropped a season-high 17 points in his first career start vs. George Mason (Jan. 13).
• With just Amos and Anderson back from last year, Loyola returns only 15.7 percent of its scoring (348 of 2,204), 13.1 percent of its rebounding (148 of 1,126), 6.1 percent of its assists (29 of 460), 15.7 percent of its steals (21 of 134), 12.8 percent of its blocks (16 of 125), and 14.5 percent of its minutes (964 of 6,625).
• Donald Hand Jr. is a four-year transfer from Boston College and expected to be an impact player for the Ramblers. Over the last two years, he started in 57 games while averaging 14.2 points per game. He put up his best averages as a redshirt junior with 15.7 points per game on 37.7 percent from the field and 70 made threes. He added 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
• Another new face to the Rambler squad is Dayan Nessah. Nessah played the 2025-26 season with Cleveland State, but he got his collegiate start at George Washington, bringing Loyola some A10 knowledge.  He played in 21 games as a rookie with the Revs, averaging 2.7 ppg and 1.5 rpg while shooting 52.4 percent from the field.
• Last year at Cleveland State, Nessah started in 27 games, while averaging 15.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, and 1.0 spg. He shot over 56 percent overall and had 21 double-figure scoring performances.
• Guillaume Grotzinger is the lone international addition to the Ramblers this year. The Dessenheim, France native played the 2025-26 season for Champagne in the France-ELITE 2 league. Grotzinger appeared in 32 games, averaging 14.5 ppg on 52.9 percent on two-point field goals. He added 4.0 assists.
• Jayden Dawson is one of the 12 transfers on this year's squad. Dawson returned to campus in August for classes and was granted temporary edibility. He is practicing with the team pending the final rulings on his permanent eligibility. Dawson was a Rambler from 2022-25.
• Dawson had a breakout season as a junior in 2024-25, averaging a team-best 13.9 points on 41 percent from the field. He shot over 36 percent from three, making 86 total on the year. Dawson started in 32 games for the Ramblers, dropped at least 10 points 23 times, scored 20 points six times, and surpassed 30 points once. Dawson was an A10 Second Team selection that year.
• Drew Valentine enters his sixth season as head coach and 10^th overall with the Ramblers. At the helm, he holds a 92-75 record.

Up Next
Loyola will close out exhibition action on Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. vs. Calumet College at home.