Senior Ashton Janowski dunking a basketball at the team’s first practice of the 2025-26 season–full circle moment as he finished the last game of his collegiate career March 3.
Courtesy | The Hillsdale College Athletic Department

The Chargers were eliminated from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament in the quarterfinal round by the No. 1 seed Walsh University, falling 76-49 on March 3, ending the 2026 season. Hillsdale secured an 83-66 win against Northwood University Feb. 28 at home for Senior Day. The Chargers also fell earlier last week in a close battle against Findlay University 71-68 Feb. 26.

On the road in the quarterfinals, the Chargers quickly found themselves trailing Walsh, already behind 21-4 with ten minutes remaining in the first half. Walsh sustained a large lead, with Hillsdale never coming within closer than 13 points after the ten minute mark. Walsh dominated in the paint, scored 20 points off Hillsdale turnovers, and held all the Charger players to single digits in scoring. 

The Chargers finished the year with an 11-18 overall season record, going 8-12 in the conference. 

This was the last game for senior guards Ashton Janowski, Cole McWhinnie, and Jacob Meyer. Janowski and McWhinnie served as captains for the team this season, and combined for 1,653 minutes on the court this season.

“Leaving this team will be hard as it’s been such a big part of my life for the past four years,” Janowski said. “But I’m so grateful for my time here and the people I’ve been able to meet and play with and for. It was a great joy of my life.”

Although the season is now finished, assistant coach Jackson McLaughlin said he was very proud of the team’s performance against Northwood, a fitting celebration for Senior Day.

“We shared the basketball well, with 20 assists and handled their 2-1-2 zone very well,” McLaughlin said. “We also took care of the ball and disrupted two of the best players in the league, keeping them both below their season averages. It’s great to win a game like that and to honor our seniors for all they’ve contributed to our program.”

Hillsdale scored first against Northwood but the game remained close, the lead changing six times in the first half. At the end of the first half, the Chargers managed to secure a 7-point lead on Northwood.

In the second half, the Chargers held and increased their lead, defensively forcing Northwood’s shooting percentages down and capitalizing on the turnovers they forced, scoring 16 points off 14 Northwood turnovers.

Janowski led the team in scoring, with 16 points on the night, followed closely by McWhinnie with 12 points. Freshman guard Braylon Morris and junior forward Garrett Bolte also scored 12 each. Meyer scored 4 points for the team. 

Janowski said Senior Day was a special moment for him.

“Senior Day was bittersweet,” Janowski said. “I was filled with all the typical emotions — grateful for the opportunity to be here and play with my teammates I’ve had throughout this program; reminiscent of all the good and bad days, games, and moments; sad that it was all coming to an end; shocked at how fast it all went. It was a cool ceremony, though, and I was glad we got the win to make it the perfect senior day I had envisioned.”

Against Findlay, the Chargers struggled with turnovers, which were ultimately the difference-maker for the game. Findlay dominated in points off turnovers and second chance shots, scoring 27 points from Hillsdale turnovers and 11 points from second chances. They also put up 14 fast break points to Hillsdale’s 5. 

The game came down to the final minutes, as Findlay finally tied Hillsdale at 62 with just under three minutes remaining. The Chargers brought the game within one point with five seconds remaining, but after fouling Findlay to stop the clock, they were unable to get a final shot off in time to tie up the game.

Junior forward Caleb Glaser said that the turnovers were the main reason for their loss.

“It was a tough loss and it hurt because we were at home and they are our rival team,” Glaser said. “Overall, we were really solid on offense when we managed to get past half court, but it was the struggle of getting there against their press that hurt us, and it was a similar story on the defensive side. Even a couple less turnovers might have made the difference in the game.”

Janowski reflected on how he saw the team grow during his time at Hillsdale.

“My time during Hillsdale has seen it all: good, bad, ugly,” Janowski said. “I think a lot has remained the same as far as the program is concerned. We have the same standards and the same core values and each year the big test is living up to those standards that the people who came before us have set and that’s the exciting part of every day, because you are always striving to improve and be better than you were the day before.”