CHICAGO – UIC head men's basketball coach Rob Ehsan announced the first addition to the 2025-26 Flames' roster on Monday with the signing of junior guard/forward Mekhi Lowery (Bellwood, Ill./Oswego East/Towson).
 
"Mekhi is a dynamic and versatile player who has proven himself to be a high-level winner," Ehsan said. "He defends well at multiple positions and we believe he will be an important contributor for us. We're excited to welcome him home to Chicago's College Team as we keep building on the progress we made last year."

Lowery (first name pronounced Meh-KAI) is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound swingman who spent the past two seasons as a key contributor at Towson, helping the Tigers to 42 wins and the program's first outright Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) regular season title this past year. During his two seasons at the Maryland-based school, Lowery appeared in all 67 games, making two starts while averaging 4.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He also posted three double-doubles and scored a career-high 14 points twice, most recently against NIT runner-up UC Irvine on Nov. 30 at the Western Slam in Lethbridge, Alberta.
 
In joining the Flames, Lowery will be returning home to the Chicagoland area. A native of Bellwood, Ill., Lowery enjoyed an outstanding prep career at Oswego East High School, having been nominated for the 2023 McDonald's High School All-America Game after earning first-team all-state honors as a senior when he averaged 12.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. The program's all-time rebounding leader, he helped Oswego East to a 63-8 record and a sectional title during his final two seasons, and also spent time on the AAU circuit with the Young & Reckless program, helping that squad to 17 victories and two tournament titles.

During Ehsan's first season at UIC, the Flames finished with a 17-14 record and tied for fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. UIC also registered its best regular-season winning percentage (.567) since 2004 and picked up four Quad 1-2 wins (second-best in the Valley). The Flames also earned five wins over teams that competed in the postseason, including victories over Drake, Yale, Bradley and Illinois State, and produced the program's second-highest scoring offense (76.0 ppg. – fourth in MVC) in the past 30 years.
 
Details on season ticket packages for the 2025-26 Flames' men's basketball campaign will be available in the coming weeks. For more information, fans are encouraged to contact the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312.413.8421; athleticsticketing@uic.edu).
 
For more information on UIC men's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_mbb and @uicflames).