The 1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

The Catamounts, led by first-year head coach Phil Hopkins, played their home games at the Ramsey Center and were members of the Southern Conference.

They defeated Appalachian State, VMI, and Davidson to capture the SoCon tournament title to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first, and only, appearance in program history.

16 seed in the West region, Western Carolina was narrowly beaten by No.

1 seed Purdue, 73–71,[1] in the opening round.