CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Rising senior forward Thomas Batties II and rising senior guard Xavier Nesbitt are set to serve Harvard Men's Basketball as captains during the 2026-27 season, Tommy Amaker, The Thomas G. Stemberg '71 Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Men's Basketball, announced at the team's annual banquet on Monday.
 
A Second Team All-Ivy selection this past winter, Batties II averaged 12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 blocks per game, and 33.1 minutes per game on the season, while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 45.3 percent from 3-point distance, and 87.2 percent from the free throw line. He ranked sixth in program history for 3-point percentage in a single season (45.3 percent). In Ivy only play, Batties II posted 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 35.8 minutes per game. He led the Ivy League in both 3-point percentage (45.3) and in blocks per game (1.5). Batties II enters the 2026-27 season with 804 career points, 384 career rebounds, 132 career assists, and 97 career blocks.
 
A CSC Academic All-District selection this past season, Nesbitt gained selection as an Allstate NACDA Winter Good Works Team nominee. In 2025-26, he played in 28 games, including all 14 Ivy League contests, standing as one of six members of the Crimson to compete in every league game. A winner of the program's Charles Ogletree J.D. '78 Humanitarian Award as a sophomore, he has played in 64 career games for the Crimson over his first three seasons.
 
As a team, Harvard posted a 17-12 overall record and 10-4 mark in Ivy League play this past year, finishing in second place in the Ivy League standings for its best finish since the 2019-20 season. The Crimson qualified for the Ivy League Tournament for the first time since 2020 and competed in the event for the first time since 2019 as the 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID-19. For the year, the Crimson led the NCAA in free throw percentage (79.9 percent) and led the conference in scoring defense (66.7).