HAMPTON, Va. (Jan. 7, 2026) … Good things come in threes. Wishes, wisemen and little pigs to name a few. For the Pirates three road contests will be followed by three home games.

The Pirates are in the midst of a three-game CAA road swing. Hampton traveled to UNCW on Saturday and play at Campbell on Thursday followed by a game at Charleston on Saturday.

The Pirates return to the Convocation Center to host longtime rival North Carolina A&T (Jan. 19), Monmouth (Jan. 22) and UNCW (Jan. 24).

Coach Ivan Thomas's team is 2-5 on enemy courts this season falling 49-45 at UNCW on last Saturday.

Hampton is just 1-4 at Campbell's Gore Arena/John W. Pope Convocation Center. But the Pirates came away with a 72-68 victory in their last visit to Buies Creek on Feb. 22, 2024.


Then on to Charleston to take on the Cougars. The Pirates have not beaten Charleston in five tries and are 0-2 at Charleston's TD Arena. In addition, the Cougars have won each game by at least 13 points.

The Game

In spite of their identical records, it will be a game of contrasts when Hampton (8-8, 2-1) meets Campbell (8-8, 2-1).

The Pirates are second in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) is scoring defense, yielding just 66.6 ppg. Hampton has limited opponents to fewer than 80 points in 13 of 16 games this season.

The Camels are third in scoring, averaging 80.5 ppg. Campbell exploded for 149 points in a win against Virginia-Lynchburg on Dec. 5.  Hampton has scored 170 points (56.7 ppg) --- in the last three games combined --- winning twice.

Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt and Michael Eley top the Pirates in scoring, each averaging 10.9 ppg. Daniel Johnson and Xzavier Long each score 9.7 ppg. Long leads the CAA in rebounding at 10.7.

Both schools shared membership in the Big South Conference before moving to the CAA. Hampton was a member from 2018-22 while Campbell held Big South membership from 1983-94 and again from 2011-23.

Ivan Thomas is in his second year at the helm of the Pirates inheriting a team that had posted five consecutive losing seasons. His first team finished a surprising 17-16, 8-10 in the CAA while posting a win in the CAA Tournament. 

Campbell's John Andrzejek is in his first season at Campbell after serving as an assistant coach at Florida. Last year, the Camels were 15-17, 10-8 in CAA play.