UT Martin guard Dragos Lungu (No. 7) and AJ Hopkins (No. 11) exchange high-fives as the Skyhawks take the court in the Nov. 9, 2025 home opener vs. Kentucky Christian at Skyhawk Arena in Martin, Tenn. (Kaniya Anthony)

As both the men’s and women’s UT Martin Skyhawks basketball seasons have returned, the men have started hot while the women having struggled early.

The men’s team has started 3-1 with big road wins against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels and Bradley Braves, while the women’s team have started 1-2 with a win against the Fisk Bulldogs and losses against the North Alabama Lions and Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

Next for the men’s team is the Prairie View A&M Panthers on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. Next for the women’s team is the New Mexico Lobos in a game the UT Martin are heavy underdogs in on Thursday, Nov. 20.

With the arrival of both seasons, here are three players from each team to keep an eye on the rest of the way.

Men’s Team:

Andrija Bukumirović, Guard/Forward, Junior

Bukumirović is a 6-foot-7-inches, 20-year-old junior guard/forward from Sjenica, Serbia. Before he came to UT Martin, Bukumirović played for the Eastern Florida State Titans under UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman.

Last season Bukumirović played in 26 games which he started six and averaged six points a game. Through three games this season Bukumirović has averaged 20 points a game. Bukumirović as well has totaled the most minutes of anyone on the team with 80.

Bukumirović was named Ohio Valley Conference player of the week for week one after two impressive outings. One against UNLV where Bukumirović tallied a career high of 23 points and then in a game against the Kentucky Christian Knights where he had his second double-double as a Skyhawk with 17 points scored and 10 rebounds.

Dragos Lungu, Guard, Redshirt Sophomore

Lungu is a 6-foot-6-inches, 21-year-old redshirt sophomore guard from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Before he was at UT Martin, Lungu played at for the San Diego Toreros where in two seasons saw playing time in 37 games, and started in 15 of them.

In Lungu’s last season with San Diego he played in seven games where he averaged 3.4 points per game. Like Bukumirović, Lungu through three games has averaged 17.0 points per game and totals the second most minutes on the team with just over 75.

Alongside Bukumirović, Lungu also brought in an OVC award in week one, OVC Newcomer of the Week. Lungu won this honor with averages 20.0 point on 70% shooting, while he also brought in five rebounds and two assist per game.

Lamine Niang, Forward, Redshirt Junior

Niang is a 6-foot-9-inches, 23-year-old redshirt junior forward from Thiès, Senegal. He came to UT Martin, Niang spent two seasons for the Cal State Northridge Matadors, where he played in 18 games as a true freshman in 2022-23 and stats of 18 points, 26 rebounds, seven blocked shots, four assists and a steal in 109 minutes on the court.

In Niang’s last season with UT Martin he averaged 3.6 points per game. This season Niang is off to a slow start with an average of one point a game and he has played the least amount of minutes on the team with only 14. Despite the low amount of minutes, Niang was named by the OVC one of the OVC “Players to Watch.” The OVC revealed a list of  22 “Players to Watch” during its annual Basketball Media Day festivities.

Women’s team:

Grace Billington, Guard, Sophomore

Billington is a 5-foot-10-inches, 19-year-old guard from Moberly, Missouri. Before she came to UT Martin, Billington spent her freshman year at Murray State where as a true freshman found herself playing time in 14 games. In high school, Billington tallied over 2,000 points and was titled District Player of the Year twice.

In Billington’s freshman year at Murray State she averaged 1.7 points per game. This season Billington is second in scoring without starting and has averaged 14.5 points. Billington is also the youngest person this list of players to watch.

Kenley McCarn, Guard, Redshirt Junior

McCarn is a 5-foot-11-inches, 22-year-old guard from Melbourne, Arkansas. Before UT Martin, McCarn played at Melbourne High School where she led the Bearkatz to four-straight state titles from 2019-22 while she posted a combined record of 130-7 and finished her career with 65 wins in a row.

McCarn as a Skyhawk has put up an impressive resume with many awards under her belt. Those include:

• Yearly Honors
  • All-OVC First Team (2023-24)
  • All-OVC Second Team (2024-25)
  • OVC All-Newcomer Team (2023-24)
  • OVC Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team (2024)
  • OVC Preseason Player to Watch (2024-25)
• Weekly Honors
  • 2x OVC Player of the Week (11/15/22, 12/19/23)
  • 6x OVC Freshman of the Week (11/15/22, 11/22/22, 12/5/23, 12/19/23, 1/3/24, 2/13/24)
• Academic Honors
  • OVC Medal of Honor (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25)
  • OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25)
  • Athletic Director’s Honor Roll: (Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025)

Currently, McCarn leads the team in scoring and minutes with averages of 15 points per game and nearly 69 minutes played.

Norah Clark, Forward, Junior

Clark is a 6-foot-1-inch, 21-year-old forward from Springfield, Missouri. Before she attended UT Martin, Clark attended Nixa High School were she averaged 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game

Clark was the only UT Martin women’s player to make the OVC Women’s basketball watch list. So far Clark’s season has started a little slow only with averages of 4.0 points per game but has started in both outings for the Skyhawks.