NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University begins the 57th season of men's basketball this weekend in Rocky Mount, N.C. The Captains play Greensboro College Saturday at 5:00 p.m., and then will take on North Carolina Wesleyan University Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be played at Everett Gymnasium on the NCWU campus. The Captains, who were 24-7 last year, advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament, and were ranked eighth in the nation in the final poll from D3hoops.com. CNU was ranked fifth in the country in the pre-season poll from the website.

John Krikorian's squad has reached the NCAA National Quarterfinals in each of the last four seasons, becoming just the fourth program in Division III history to achieve that feat. Krikorian begins his 14th season leading the CNU program, and now has a mark of 314-72 in 386 games at CNU (.813). Krikorian was named the National Coach of the Year by the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) after leading CNU to its first National Championship in 2023. Krikorian has led the Captains to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, and ten in 13 years since taking over. He has guided CNU to three NCAA Final Fours, and is now 26-8 in NCAA games.

Christopher Newport has won the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship all three seasons since the league developed from the Capital Athletic Conference, defeating Mary Washington in the conference tournament title game each season. 

The Captains return four starters and 14 student-athletes who were part of the program a year ago. Leading the list of returnees is fifth-year senior All-American Jahn Hines, who was a pre-season first team All-American selection by D3hoops.com. Hines, from Norfolk, is just the second Captain ever to achieve All-American status in three consecutive seasons, joining Lamont Strothers on the short list. The graduate of Norview High School is currently 11th on CNU's all-time scoring list with 1,509 career points in 94 games played (16.1 points per game for his career). He was selected the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference's Player of the Year for the second time in his career last year, and was also a member of the C2C's All-Tournament team. He averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game as well as 5.2 rebounds per contest and led the team in scoring in 12 games, and in addition to his scoring prowess, also led the Captains in assists (79) and steals (44).

Also returning as a sophomore is Toa Hollenbeck, who captured Rookie of the Year honors last year in the C2C. Hollenbeck, a native of Chesapeake and Grassfield High School graduate, became the first CNU player to receive conference Rookie of the Year honors since Marcus Carter following the 2014-15 campaign.

The Captains will be facing familiar foes in Rocky Mount to open the new season, with both Greensboro and North Carolina Wesleyan being former league-mates of CNU in the USA South Athletic Conference. Christopher Newport and the Pride of Greensboro will be meeting for the 99th time, and the Captains lead the all-time series with GC, 74-24. The game Saturday will be the first meeting of the schools since 2013. CNU and North Carolina Wesleyan will be playing for the 109th time, with the Captains holding a 69-39 edge over the Bishops. The schools last met two years ago at the Freeman Center.