The Green Bay Phoenix roster will look a little bit different as the calendar flips to 2025.

The program has picked up an extremely rare in-season addition but also has reportedly seen a pair of players leave the program.

Yonatan Levy, a 6’9” forward from Hod HaSharon, HaMerkaz in Israel made his Phoenix debut on Thursday night in the team’s 74-51 loss at Wright State.  He joins the program after playing two seasons of professional basketball for Hapoel Eilat in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.

He has also represented the Israel as part of the Israeli national team at the 2021 FIBA U20 European Challengers competition as well as the FIBA 3X3 Nations League. 

Despite being 23 years old, he will be considered a freshman this season and have three more years of eligibility after this season.

In 19 appearances, Levy averaged 4.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game last year with Hapoel Eilat and the team finished with a 7-17 record.

Offensively, he plays mostly inside the arc but did step out and attempt the occasional three pointer.  In fact, just over 25% of his shot attempts last season came from behind the arc, however he made just 23.8% of those attempts.

His big body could be a massive boost on the offensive end and provide a true post presence. The Phoenix have struggled in their five out offense since the injury to the nation’s leading scorer Anthony Roy.  At age 23, Levy also provides a veteran presence – despite being here just a few days and technically being listed as a freshman.

More importantly for Green Bay, he is an efficient rebounder ranking second on his team at 10.6 rebounds per 36 minutes last season with Hapoel Eilat.  The Phoenix continue to be one of the worst rebounding teams in the country ranking 349^th out of 355 in rebound margin according to NCAA official stats.

Levy scored 5 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and also chipped in 2 assists and a block in 23 minutes of action in his Phoenix debut on Thursday despite arriving at the UW-Green Bay campus just a few days prior.

Unrelated to the Levy arrival is a reported pair of players leaving the program after the first semester – Isaiah Miranda and Muodubem Muoneke.

WFRV-TV’s Kyle Mahlzan was the first to report that Isaiah Miranda had left the program back on 12/29.  Scott Venci of the Green Bay Press-Gazette subsequently confirmed Miranda’s departure.

The 7’1” big man was a high risk, high reward type pick up late in the transfer portal. A four-star recruit and a top-50 national prospect coming out of high school, Miranda initially committed to NC State and was at Oklahoma State last season before his arrival at Green Bay. 

“If you’ve seen Zay you know he’s a spectacular talent, he does not lack talent,” head coach Doug Gottlieb told The Portal Report back in the summer.  “I think if we can get him out there and get him consistent, talent-wise there hasn’t been a player like him in the Horizon League ever.”

“Seven-foot one, 215 pounds, fastest player on the team, and he can shoot the three.  He’s steadily really progressed for us this summer.”

“He’s a guy who knows he’s got to do some work and show that he can be consistent in order to prove some people wrong and we think he can do it here.”

Instead of progressing further or proving people wrong with the Phoenix, Miranda is now searching for a fourth school to continue his career at or may be done with college all together.

He played in 7 games for Green Bay and just 58 total minutes averaging 4.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in that span.

In addition to Miranda, Venci also reported on Thursday night that Muoneke had left the program. 

The 6’5” walk on from Cypress, Texas appeared in 8 games for Green Bay and scored 10 points in 30 minutes of action. 

Despite these reports, both players still appear on the roster on the team’s official website as of this post.

Photo via gbphoenixmbb/IG