Kent State senior front court player Rico Gillespie was named All-MAC Preseason 1st Team Tuesday as the league announced their preseason poll along with their all-conference teams. Kent State was picked to finish 3rd behind Akron and Miami, and if the Golden Flashes aspire to get to the top of the MAC in 2025-2026, they will need their ‘superhero’ to step up.
Gillespie was a monster the last 19 games last season after entering the starting lineup on January 21. He averaged 9.8 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 63.5% from the field over the final stretch of the season.
Kent State was 13-6 once Gillespie entered the lineup, and he had double doubles in all three of Kent State’s NIT games, and in six of the last ten overall.
If Kent State is going to contend for a MAC title this season, the Flashes will need the Benton Harbor, Michigan native to dip into his superpower.
“I tell him, sometimes it bothers him when I say it, but he has a superpower, like superman and batman, and it is his motor, and when he doesn’t allow the kryptonite to get in the way, he can be the best player not just in the league, but amongst the best players in the country,” KSU Head Coach Rob Senderoff said on Tuesday during MAC Media Day with The Field of 68.
An absolute beast on the glass down the stretch, Gillespie had season highs of 18 rebounds at Eastern Michigan on February 4 and matched it with 18 more at Western Michigan on March 4, including 14 on the offensive end. Again speaking to that motor he possesses.
“He’s one of the leading returning rebounders in the country,” Senderoff continued Tuesday. “To me there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be a guy who averages a double double this coming year and when he’s playing to his strength as a player, he is as good as anyone out there. There’s very few people that have the motor that Rico has so that’s not just a great attribute as a player, it’s unique. There’s just not many guys out there in the country that can play as hard, and run as fast and be as active as he has been and he has shown.”
Gillespie proved last season he can play alongside another big man. Kent State likes to at times play two frontcourt players at a time and will do so this year.
The big key to that is Gillespie’s ability to defend ‘4’ men at the other end. He can step out and guard on the perimeter if need be, and is able to switch onto guards at times and contain them off the dribble with his athleticism and length.
Gillespie is another testament to the player development system at Kent State and staying true to the process. Senderoff has very high expectations for him this season to step up and be consistent and lead as well.
Also added into that mix will be Gillespie’s ability to adjust to being at the top of every team’s scouting report on the Golden Flashes.
“Rico was on our NCAA tournament team, and played sparingly,” the 15th year Head Coach said. “His sophomore year which was his next year, he was just starting to get going and he got hurt and then last year, the back end of last year, he was as good as any front court player in the league. Now this year he’s a preseason all conference player who a lot is expected. I told him one day after practice, for most players it was a pretty decent day, for you it’s not. We have high expectations for him and he has a lot on his shoulders to help lead the new guys. We brought in a lot of freshmen and the returners that all have a piece of this.”
Gillespie has always been a hard worker, improving on his game each season.
“He works very, very hard. He spent a month in Vegas training with a guy named Joe Abunassar who is really considered one of the elite, elite NBA trainers in the world and he spent a month out there training with him,” Senderoff said on our ‘Back to School With The Flashes’ program in late August.
“They loved him, they loved how hard he works. He’s really a sponge in terms of his wanting to learn and get better.”
The 6-8, 230 pound forward only shot eight threes last year but he may step out a little more this year offensively.
“He will expand his game for sure,” Senderoff said in August. “He’s gotta find a balance, where his greatest strength is rebounding and he can’t forget that. But he will expand his game and he has the ability to. He’s really worked at it.”
Gillespie is hoping to lead his team back to the big dance this year, while producing at an all-conference level.
“I just feel like coach went out and got the right type of guys to go that far and buy in so that’s why I feel like we can get back,” Gillespie said Tuesday.