The month of November is coming to a close, and that means basketball season is right around the corner! Finishing 16-10, the Oratory Prep Rams fell to the Paramus Catholic Paladins in a heartbreaker during the first round of last year’s Sectional NJSIAA Tournament. This year, OP Varsity Basketball is hoping for a different result in the postseason. Unfortunately, forward/center Brandon Lissade—who was a key part of the team—is out for the season with a torn ACL. With a few seniors graduating last year—including star point guard Max Cook—OP’s returning seniors and rookie juniors must step up for the Rams to be successful and make a deep playoff run. Aside from the juniors and seniors, there’s also the chance for a few sophomores to make the team. One of them, guard Archie Mueller, shockingly made the team last year as a freshman, and will now almost certainly have to take on a much bigger role. Below is a preview of Varsity Basketball’s upcoming schedule for the 2025–2026 season.
Scrimmage 1: Bridgewater-Raritan — 12/8
(Finished 15-11 [.577] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Piscataway 60-56 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
To kick off the 2025–2026 season, Oratory Prep Varsity Basketball will host Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers. These two teams haven’t met in a while, so it is hard to say what will happen. Oratory only finished with one more win than Bridgewater-Raritan in the previous year, so we will see how this one goes.
Scrimmage 2: vs Pope John XXIII — 12/9
(Finished 5-20 [.200] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Seton Hall Prep 66-38 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
Just a day after their first scrimmage, the Rams will host Pope John XXIII. Oratory and Pope John last faced off in early 2023, where Oratory narrowly won 63-59. This time it’s just a scrimmage, but you can still expect a close contest.
Scrimmage 3: @ Chatham — 12/11
(Finished 20-8 [.714] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Colonia 57-54 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Semifinal Round)
In the third and final scrimmage, Oratory Prep will take on the Chatham Cougars. The Rams and the Cougars haven’t met recently in the regular season, but Chatham was dominated by the Rams in a 2023 scrimmage, 70-34. While Oratory won by 36, the Cougars’ record shows they aren’t a weak team, so be ready for a good matchup.
Game 1: @ Sayreville — 12/13
(Finished 23-5 [.821] in 2024–2025; Lost vs Freehold Township 58-52 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Quarterfinal Round)
The Rams will travel to Sayreville War Memorial High School for their first game of the season. Sayreville and Oratory also haven’t met recently, but Sayreville finished with a 23-5 record in the previous year. It will be a tough game for Oratory to win, but at the same time be a fun one to watch.
Game 2: @ Delbarton — 12/16
(Finished 18-11 [.621] in 2024–2025; Lost @ 70-51 Don Bosco Prep in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Quarterfinal Round)
OP is set to match up with one of its biggest rivals in Game 2—the Delbarton Green Wave. In a thriller last year at DeGaeta, stars Connor Lee, Brandon Lissade, and Ryan Fay helped Oratory Prep come back to defeat Delby 64-53. This time, however, Oratory will be playing at Delbarton School and will not have Lissade, so it will be interesting to see if the result will be the same.
Game 3: vs Rahway — 12/18; Game 15: @ Rahway — 1/20
(Finished 15-12 [.556] in 2024–2025; Lost vs Summit 63-49 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
Oratory Prep will go up against Rahway in its home opener and 15th game this season. Ryan Fay, Brandon Lissade, and Max Cook combined for 47 against them in a game last January, helping Oratory to capture a 62-60 win. Both of the games this year will probably be close, so make sure to go see them if you get the chance.
Game 4: @ Summit — 12/20; Game 16: vs Summit — 1/22
(Finished 12-14 [.462] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Mendham 38-32 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Quarterfinal Round)
The OP Rams will take on arguably their biggest rival—the Summit Hilltoppers—twice this season. Oratory also faced Summit twice in the 24–25 season, where they won 46-35 and lost 56-54. Games against Summit always get heated, so definitely go to see this one if you can.
Game 5: vs Hillside — 12/23; Game 18: @ Hillside — 1/27
(Finished 14-12 [.538] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Hoboken 65-61 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
The Hillside Comets are another team that Oratory will meet two times—once in December and once in January. The Rams were able to take down the Comets in both, winning 65-62 and 58-47. Oratory won’t have stars Brandon Lissade and Max Cook this time around, however, so let’s hope the Rams can still pull off two wins.
Game 6 (Christmas Tournament Game 1): vs Newark Academy — 12/27
(Finished 8-16 [.333] in 2024–2025; Lost @ St. Joseph [Montvale] 71-43 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
The Rams will start their annual Christmas Tournament with a home game against the Newark Academy Minutemen. The Rams blew the Minutemen out in their last three matchups in 2023, 2021, and 2019, scoring 60+ in each game and winning by 12 or more. Oratory and Newark Academy’s basketball programs have changed a lot since then, though, so the victory could go to either team.
Game 7 (Christmas Tournament Game 2): vs TBA — 12/29
Game 8: @ New Providence — 1/6; Game 19: vs New Providence — 1/29
(Finished 11-18 [.379] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Thrive Charter 65-44 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Final Round)
The Oratory Prep Rams will play the New Providence Pioneers twice this season—both in January. Similarly, the Rams met the Pioneers twice last year, winning 60-51 (January 14) and 76-65 (February 4). The February 4 game was Oratory’s highest scoring contest last season, and Ryan Fay also scored 26 points—his career high. If you happen to go to either of these games, expect a high-scoring shootout with many lead changes.
Game 9: @ Johnson — 1/8; Game 20: vs Johnson — 2/3
(Finished 21-4 [.840] in 2024–2025; Lost vs Point Pleasant Borough 67-52 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
Oratory Prep will take on Johnson twice this season: on January 8 and February 3. The Rams beat Johnson by 10 in an early 2025 matchup, winning 49-39. Despite this loss, Johnson won 84 percent of their games last year, so don’t expect an easy win for the Rams.
Game 10: vs Pingry — 1/10
(Finished 12-12 [.500] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Immaculata 58-54 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
Oratory will host the Pingry Big Blue for their 8th game of the season. In February of 2023, Pingry defeated the Rams in a close contest, 45-42. However, this matchup is almost 3 years later, so it’s likely going to be an entirely different game.
Game 11: @ Union — 1/13; Game 21: vs Union — 2/5
(Finished 9-19 [.321] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Ridge 50-49 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
Oratory Prep meets another big rival—the Union Farmers—twice in 2026. Last season, the Rams faced the Farmers in the Union County Tournament, where they fell 51-39. However, this is a completely new season, so expect a close one.
Game 12: vs Cranford — 1/15
(Finished 7-19 [.269] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Colonia 61-42 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
Oratory will go up against Cranford on January 15, 2026. Cranford did not have a great season last year, but only fell to Oratory 67-62 in both teams’ first game of the previous year. Brandon Lissade had his season high 28 points that game, and also brought down 12 rebounds. While Ryan Fay had 20 points, nobody else came even close. The Rams won’t have Lissade, so they are going to have to rely on more than just Fay if they want to walk out with the win.
Game 13: @ Ridge — 1/17; Game 14: @ Ridge — 1/18
(Finished 22-7 [.759] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Elizabeth 74-61 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Semifinal Round)
The Rams will have two January away games against the Ridge Red Devils—oddly scheduled just a day apart. Oratory was defeated by the Red Devils 65-51 on January 11, 2024 which ties Paterson Eastside for the Rams’ second largest defeat of the previous season. But with many seniors from each team graduating and many new players joining, this game could be much closer.
Game 17: vs Scotch Plains-Fanwood — 1/24
(Finished 19-7 [.731] in 2024–2025; Lost vs Irvington 58-47 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
On January 24, 2026, the Rams will take on Scotch-Plains Fanwood. Last year, on February 6, Fanwood defeated Oratory in a close game, winning only 45-42. However, Oratory was missing guard Connor Lee, a crucial part of their offense, so this season’s matchup could go either way.
Game 22 (Union County Tournament First Round): vs TBA — 2/11
Game 23 (Union County Tournament Second Round): vs TBA — 2/13
Game 24 (Union County Tournament Quarterfinal Round): vs TBA — 2/16
Game 25: @ Columbia — 2/17
(Finished 7-18 [.280] in 2024–2025; did not play in NJSIAA Tournament)
In its final away game of the 25–26 regular season, Oratory Prep will square off against Columbia. It has been a while since these teams last met, if ever. Columbia was not a great team last season, so let’s hope that Oratory can grab a win in Maplewood.
Game 26 (Senior Night): vs Mount Olive — 2/19
(Finished 10-16 [.385] in 2024–2025; Lost @ Hackensack 85-53 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament First Round)
The OP Rams host the Mount Olive Marauders for their big Senior Night game on February 19. Oratory dominated them in a February 15 matchup last year, winning 72-45—a 27-point difference. It was their second biggest blowout of the 24–25 season, but remember—it’s a brand new year.
Game 27: vs Madison — 2/21
(Finished 24-8 [.750] in 2024–2025; Won vs Hoboken 53-52 in NJSIAA Sectional Tournament Final Round; Lost vs Manasquan 67-56 in NJSIAA Group Tournament Final Round)
To conclude the 2025–2026 regular season, the Oratory Prep Rams will meet the Madison Dodgers. The Rams also faced the Dodgers in their last game of the 24–25 season, falling 67-45 in what was their biggest loss of that year. In addition, the Dodgers were the only team the Rams played last season that won their Sectional NJSIAA Tournament. However, with a very new Rams team, don’t expect this matchup to play out anything like last time.
After looking at every game, it is fair to say that Oratory Prep does not have an easy schedule this year. Out of the 16 announced unique teams they face, 9 finished at .500 or more in 24–25. Their total records add up to 232-198 (.540), meaning that each opponent has an average record of about 14.5-12.4. Two of these teams, Pingry and Madison, made it to their Sectional NJSIAA Tournament Final Round (Madison went on to lose in the NJSIAA Group 2 State Championship). Luckily, 12 out of the Rams’ 23 announced games will be at home, so they won’t have to spend much time on the road. With returning talent from their experienced seniors and many new players joining the roster, Oratory Prep Varsity Basketball is set to have a successful season in 2025–2026.
