Isaac Celiscar

Q&A with former Yale forward Isaac Celiscar

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Isaac Celiscar (Yale Athletics)

Isaac Celiscar averaged 13.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per outing in 2025-26 for Yale as a sophomore forward en route to being named Second-Team All-Ivy. The Wnter Haven, Fla. native transferred to Baylor in the offseason. Ivy Hoops Online recently caught up with the 6-foot-6 swingman.

Ivy Hoops Online: How difficult was it to leave Yale?

Isaac Celiscar: Leaving Yale was an incredibly difficult decision. I would probably rank it as the hardest decision I ever had to make in my life. I valued the people there and the connections I had made over the two years. My relationship with the coaching staff, coach [James] Jones especially, and my teammates meant a lot to me. Those are people I will share a lifetime with!

IHO: What are the differences you have noticed to date in practices at Yale and Baylor?

IC: I can make the slightest mistake [at Baylor] and get called out for it. There’s a lot of similarities.

IHO: Are there differences between coaches Jones and [Scott] Drew?

IC: Honestly, coach Jones and Drew have a lot of similarities. Coach Jones is a little more laid back in coaching style. Other than that, I see a lot of similarities.

IHO: Thoughts on playing Yale this season in Waco in November (Nov. 10)?

IC: I am excited. When I got the news that we were playing them, I immediately let my family know. When I transferred, I didn’t feel like there was bad blood between me and everyone on the team. It was more of a mutual respect between my teammates and coaches there. I’m happy I will get to see them and compete against them again. Of course, I’ll be in different colors, and of course I want to win. Those are my brothers and the love will be there for sure.

IHO: How do you think this Yale team will fare in the Ivy?

IC: I feel they are still in a good place to compete for first place.

IHO: Talk about the composition of this Yale team.

IC: I expect the core of Riley [Fox], Jordan [Brathwaite] and Trevor [Mullin] to have a big year. And the freshmen that were on the bench last year to prove themselves. meaning Courtney [Wallace], Jack [Sullivan], Alvin [Loving] and Daniel [Ogunyemi]. And guys that didn’t really get an opportunity but could play like Jeannot [Basima] when the opportunity presents itself to step up. I feel like they will be a very good team. Coach Jones will make sure they’re good. Coaches [Matt] Kingsley, [Tobe] Carberry and [Brandon] Sherrod all will follow that up. Wishing them nothing but the best!

Q&A with Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones

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Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones is pictured in this undated photo. (James Jones’ X page)

Ivy Hoops Online recently caught up with veteran Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones to discuss summer developments and the upcoming season.

Ivy Hoops Online: You obviously planned to have Isaac Celiscar and Samson Aletan on your team in ’26-27 when you recruited them a few years back. What is it like without them? (Editor’s note: Celiscar, a rising junior, signed with Baylor after a Second Team All-Ivy selection in 2025-26. Aletan signed with Providence after three years at Yale and leading the Bulldogs in blocks and field-goal percentage in 2025-26.) 

James Jones: You can’t compensate for juniors and seniors. The transfer rules are different for us (Ivies). Hard to replace a junior and a senior.

IHO: Do you look at the [transfer] portal now more than previously?

JJ: Not really, because I never think that any of our guys will be leaving. It is also so hard to get a player into our school and to get one who is willing to pay to win a championship.

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Burning questions for Penn men’s basketball: Palestra Ivy Madness edition

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There is perhaps no juxtaposition which better sums up the current state of college basketball in 2026 than the fact that the NCAA’s transfer portal opened up as One Shining Moment was playing to officially close the books on the 2025-26 season.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,500 players have entered the portal. Of course, many of those names were known in the weeks leading up to the stroke of midnight on April 7.

The season has barely ended, but these next few weeks will be critical as Penn looks to protect its current stable of talent and reload with some new faces ahead of its Ivy League title defense. Below are just a few of the questions Quakers fans should be asking ahead of a pivotal offseason.

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2025-26 IHO Men’s All-Ivy Awards

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The Ivy League announced its major men’s awards Wednesday. But we know this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Ivy Hoops Online’s 2025-26 All-Ivy Awards, as determined by IHO’s contributors prior to the 2026 Ivy League Tournament:

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TJ Power lifts No. 3 Penn past No. 1 Yale in instant classic Ivy League Tournament final to earn NCAA berth

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Penn men’s basketball celebrates its 2026 Ivy League Tournament championship at Newman Arena on March 15, 2026.  (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

ITHACA, N.Y. – Now that’s a super Power.

In a game for the ages, junior TJ Power tallied 44 points to lead Penn men’s basketball past Yale in overtime, 88-84, to an improbable Ivy League Tournament championship at Newman Arena and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Power’s 44 points were a career high and tied an Ivy Madness record set a year ago when Harmoni Turner also tallied 44 points to lead Harvard women’s basketball to its first Ivy League Tournament title.

Power drilled seven of Penn’s 14 three-pointers in the monumental victory.

But the last one should never have happened.

Leading by three with five seconds left on the clock, Yale coach James Jones called timeout to set his defense as Penn prepared to inbound the ball under its own basket.

Everyone, including Penn coach Fran McCaffery, assumed the Bulldogs would foul rather than let Power shoot a three.

They were wrong.

Guarded by Yale swingman Casey Simmons, Power quickly dribbled the ball up the court and pulled up just beyond the arc on the right side and let the ball fly. It swished the net to tie the game at 75 with two seconds to go. After a last-second heave by Yale guard Trevor Mullin barely missed, the teams headed to overtime.

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No. 1 Yale men’s basketball holds off No. 4 Cornell to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

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Cornell and Yale men’s basketball tip off their Ivy League Tournament semifinal matchup at Newman Arena on March 14, 2026. (Ray Curren/Ivy Hoops Online)

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell senior Josh Baldwin entered the center circle for the opening tip Saturday morning at Newman Arena and just smiled at Yale’s Samson Aletan.

At 6-foot-5, Baldwin knew he had no chance to win the jump, but his insertion into the starting lineup has been integral to Cornell’s late-season success, particularly on the defensive end, where the Big Red made great strides to win eight of 11 and somewhat improbably get to Ivy Madness at all after an 0-3 league start. The most prominent of those wins was an uncharacteristic 72-69 slugfest over two-time defending champ Yale two weeks ago.

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Yale men’s basketball beats Columbia, clinches share of regular season title

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In the second game of an Ivy League back-to-back weekend, the Yale men’s basketball team put aside Friday night’s loss to Cornell and gutted out a 60-54 victory over Columbia at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday night.

“Great teams respond to adversity,” senior forward Nick Townsend, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, told SNY’s Lance Medow after the game.  “It’s good to get a win after that long ride from Cornell.”

The triumph for the conference leaders, coupled with Harvard’s 64-61 loss to Penn at the Palestra, gave the Bulldogs (22-5, 10-3 Ivy) at least a share of the Ivy League regular season title.

With wins by the Quakers and the Big Red, as well as a loss by Dartmouth, the Lions (16-11, 5-8), which have never appeared in the Ivy League Tournament, were officially eliminated from tournament contention.

Even if the Bulldogs and Crimson end the regular season tied for first, the former will have the No. 1 seed for Ivy Madness based on a better record against Penn.

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Last-second three gives Cornell men’s basketball key win over Yale

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With the clock ticking down and overtime likely, Cornell’s Jake Fiegen found a slight opening at the top of the arc and launched a last-second shot over the outstretched arm of senior forward Nick Townsend.

The senior guard’s triple hit nothing but the bottom of the net, leading the Big Red to a 72-69 upset of first-place Yale Friday night at Newman Arena.

Capping off the hard-fought victory, the boisterous Newman faithful stormed the court, showing their pride in a Cornell team that remains in the hunt for a spot in the Ivy League Tournament taking place on this same court in two weeks.

“We have such a great fanbase. Shoutout to the football team, shoutout to the everyone that was here,” senior guard Cooper Noard told ESPNU’s Derek Jones from courtside. “A super-special group they’ve got here tonight. I’m so proud of our fans, so proud of our team.”

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How Yale men’s basketball edged Penn sans Nick Townsend

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No Nick Townsend. No problem.

Yale men’s basketball had sophomore forward Isaac Celiscar and senior forward Casey Simmons, and that duo powered Yale to a 74-70 win over surging Penn at John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Yale (21-4, 9-2 Ivy) clinched a bid to the Ivy League Tournament.

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