The 2018–19 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

in the

2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2018. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded with the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 8, 2019. Pract ...

. The Keydets were led by fourth-year head coach

Dan Earl Milan Daniel Earl (born December 10, 1974) is an American college basketball coach who is currently head coach for Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball. He is originally from Medford Lakes, New Jersey and attended Shawnee High School (New Jersey), ...

and played their home games out of Cameron Hall in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, their home since 1981, as members of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

. The Keydets finished the season 11–21, 4–14 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the SoCon tournament, they defeated Western Carolina in the first round before losing to top-seeded Wofford in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

The Keydets finished the 2017–18 campaign with a 9–21 overall record, and a 4–14 mark in SoCon play to finish in ninth place. The nine wins were three more than the previous season under Earl. They lost in the first round of the SoCon tournament to

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

. It was the fourth consecutive season that VMI had failed to advance in the Southern Conference tournament.

Preseason

Departures

The Keydets lost only two seniors from the previous year's team in Fred Iruafemi and Armani Branch. Iruafemi was the team's fourth-leading rebounder and averaged 2.4 points per game. Branch did not play the entire year as he was sidelined with an injury and received a medical redshirt. He chose to transfer and spend his final season of eligibility at Norfolk State.

Coaching changes

On July 3, 2018, VMI head coach Dan Earl announced the addition of Steve Enright as an assistant coach. Enright came from

Bridgewater College Bridgewater College is a private liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Virginia. Established in 1880, Bridgewater College admitted both men and women from the time of its founding and was the first four-year liberal arts college in Virginia to ...

where he had served for three years on the Eagles' coaching staff. He was also an assistant under head coach

Dan Hurley Daniel S. Hurley (born January 16, 1973) is an American men's college basketball coach who is the head coach of the UConn Huskies. In 2023 and 2024, Hurley led UConn to back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships. He previously coached ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Enright replaced Steve Lepore, who left for an assistant coaching position with

Eastern Kentucky Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

after three years of service under Earl.

Roster

Ref:

Depth chart

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Southern Conference tournament

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 VMI Keydets basketball team VMI Keydets basketball seasons VMI VMI Keydets bask VMI Keydets bask