SoCon Hoops Summer Series 2026: Furman's Portal Haul Tops The New 11-Team SoCon

With the transfer portal now over, it's time to look at the overall recruiting hauls at each of the now 11 Southern Conference programs after the dust as settled. There will be some teams that add late commitments, but the majority of what is going to happen has already transpired. It's at least enough of a canvas cast out by each coaching staff to give us a good idea of what the overall talent level will be for each team heading into 2026-27.

With 75 players having decided to move on from the Southern Conference and into the transfer portal, never before has the league been faced with more of a collective loss of production off of each roster, and that has forced coaches to begin the off-season process a little later than in the past.

It's nothing new to the league, which saw 68 move on from last season and the year before, 63. The trend is getting higher, and that's something that has become an epidemic throughout the landscape of college basketball this season. In case you were wondering, according to the analytic service Evan Maya, the Southern Conference ranked fifth in the number of outgoing transfers among 31 conferences from this past season.

There will also be a new member of the Southern Conference this season, as Tennessee Tech (13-18, 8-12 in OVC/9th Place in OVC) is slated to become the 11th Southern Conference member next season, and it will become official on July 2, 2026.

With that said, Tennessee Tech throughout its history as an athletics program, has been known more for its success on the college football gridiron than anything it has done on the college basketball hardwood. The Golden Eagles' football program was able to break through and win the OVC-Big South on the gridiron, which saw them qualify for the FCS football playoffs for the first since 2011 and for just the second time in school history, winning a school-record 11 games last season under second-year head coach Bobby Wilder.

If that was a successful experiment and went as well as it did, why not basketball? After what was a pretty dismal 2025-26 season, which saw the Golden Eagles stumble to just a 13-18 mark, including just an 8-12 mark and a ninth-place finish under the direction of seventh year head John Pelphrey, Director of Athletics Casey Fox decided to shake things up one more time, firing Pelphrey and bringing in one of the up-and-coming coaches in college basketball, in Tobin Anderson. 

The ninth-place spot in the standings meant that the Golden Eagles missed the OVC Tournament. A year earlier, Pelphrey had helped guide TTU to a fifth-place finish only to lose their opening game of the OVC Tournament to No. 8 UT Martin (L, 70-67).

Anderson spent last season as an assistant at South Florida where he was instrumental in helping the Bulls make an NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the regular-season and tournament in the American Athletic Conference and finished off the campaign with a 25-9 overall record, including a 15-3 regular-season conference mark in the American Athletic Conference.

Anderson is most remembered for his achievements during his time as the head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson, leading the Patriots to the second-ever No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as FDU would end up upsetting No. 1 seed Purdue, 63-58, in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. 

Anderson was then hired at Iona, where he spent just two seasons before getting unceremoniously fired as the program's head coach after somehow not meeting expectations in such a short time. He posted a 33-34 record in two seasons at the helm in New Rochelle, NY.

Staying in the state of Tennessee, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Chattanooga Mocs, which was arguably the most disappointing team in the league this past season. The Mocs looked nothing like a preseason favorite--with or without injuries.

How could the reigning SoCon regular-season champions and NIT Champions have fallen such a far distance in just a short time. The short answer is this: Injuries aside, the Mocs lacked the type of connection we're accustomed to seeing under Dan Earl-coached teams. Injuries had a major effect on the balance of the team all-around last season, as frontcourt injury after frontcourt injury meant having to remove the redshirt from talented forward Josh Bowman (3.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG), forcing him into action much earlier than he likely anticipated in his UTC career.

With season-ending injuries to Sean Cusano (4.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG/only played in 6 games), Sebastian Hartmann (7.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG/only played in 7 games), and nagging injuries to Latif Diouf (4.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG) and Collin Mullholland (7.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG) severely limiting the front court, as it meant that almost the entire offensive and rebounding load had to be almost exclusively handled by Bowman and Makai Richards (3.4 PPG. 3.1 RPG).

That led to some rather appalling rebounding numbers this past season, and a stark decline in almost every statistically measurable stat underneath the basket from a 2024-25 season, which even without Frank Champion in the opening portion and latter thirds of the season, was still both efficient and rebounded the ball extremely well en route to a school-record 29 wins. 

Guys like Garrison Keeslar, Cusano, Mulholland, Richards and even Bash Wieland (even though he was a wing guard) were clutch and especially good on the backboards during that awesome NIT run.

In 2024-25, Chattanooga ranked 135th in defensive rebounding percentage (29.0%), which is actually pretty good. In 2025-26, the Mocs finished the season ranked 240th in that same category, allowing teams to get 31.7% of the rebounds on their offensive end of the floor. That was due in large measure to the lack of overall size and depth at the disposal of Earl and staff. That left the team very much out of balance, with most nights having to rely on a steady diet of talented guards to make perimeter shots to ultimately get wins.

Add to that, with the injuries that had mounted, there was no central figure in that Earl diverse motion offense and by that I mean the fulcrum--a passing big in the high-post--that could make you pay as a shooter or with a perfectly timed backdoor pass for a layup. There was in essence no Frank Champion, Jan Zidek, or Jake Stephens to rely on in that role, with Mulholland having seen a majority of his season compromised due to pain limitations. 

With that said, it led to things going south in a hurry in 2025-26. The good news is that most of that bad mojo has either graduated or moved on to the portal. Mulholland and Hartmann moved to the portal, while Richards is out of eligibility. Bowman and Cusano will be the lone returning bigs for the Mocs in 2026-27.

The backcourt issues weren't on the offensive end, but rather more of a defensive issue. Teams had easy access to the paint more often than not because of Chattanooga's lack of defensive focus. Outside of Teddy Washington Jr., the Mocs played perimeter defense at spots in most games, but far too often they were leaving an undermanned and oftentimes outmanned Mocs team in the low-post exposed and at the mercy of opposing bigs, and that would cause issues throughout the season. 

The good news is  that, for better or worse, most of that talent has moved elsewhere in the portal. The most notable loss in the backcourt from this past season is obviously Jordan Frison, who ended up being UTC's best portal "get" by far from the 2025-26 season.

Frison is now the latest guard from the SoCon ranks to join the Wichita State program, as he follows in the footsteps of former ETSU guard and 2025 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Karon Boyd, as well as former All-SoCon guard and UNCG Spartan Kenyon Giles. 

Both Boyd and Giles had huge success this past season in Wichita, as Boyd started all 36 games and averaged 10.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG, while Giles finished out his campaign at WSU as the single-season record-holder for three pointers made (125), attempted (331), threes made per-game (3.47) and threes attempted per game (7.0), as well as finishing the season leading the Shockers in scoring at 19.1 PPG.

It's safe to say that the Shockers head coach--Paul Mills--likely sees a lot of the same in Frison. Despite UTC's struggles on the defensive end of the floor,  Frison was a player that had the kind of offensive capabilities to take over a game in the same way that Giles provided last season  for the Mocs. 

Frison finished out his one season at UTC by garnering Third-Team All-SoCon honors last season for the Mocs after leading UTC at 16.4 PPG, while also adding 3.3 RPG and a team-leading last season. He finished out his one season in the Scenic City by posting 25 double-figure scoring performances in the 29 total games he suited up for the Mocs this past season. 

He garnered SoCon Player of the Week honors in the final week of the regular-season, as he put the cherry on top of that performance with a career-high 33 points in the regular-season finale, 86-79, win over VMI. 

Like Giles, Frison also shot the ball well from three-point range, which was another reason that the Shockers came calling with checkbook ready. In his one season with Chattanooga, Frison connected on a blistering 45.1% (46-of-102) from three-point land. I see Frison being an instant offensive impact player for the Shockers in 2026-27.

Other losses include a pair of grad transfers, in Teddy Washington Jr (9.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG) and Jikari Johnson (7.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG), with neither player living up to maybe some of the preseason expectations that were bestowed upon each. Fair or unfair, that is one of the realities of getting paid, as your work is more there to be readily scrutinized.  

Billy Smith (9.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG) showed flashes in his final season of his playing career with Chattanooga, as did Brennan Watkins (10.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 45.6% from 3pt range), but both were a bit of a liability on the defensive end of the floor, especially when the opposition had especially athletic guards and wings. 

The good news for Mocs fans is the return of Tate Darner (9.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG), who had an outstanding season running the point guard spot for Chattanooga, and he will be joined in the backcourt by Houston Holland (2.0 PPG, 1.6 RPG), who really established himself as another of UTC's more reliable three-point specialists. Cusano returns in the frontcourt, while big things are expected out of redshirt freshman guard Zach Bleshoy, who missed the season with an injury. 

Collin Mulholland just couldn't deal with his pain issues, and it was hard for him to ever find the rhythm he had a year ago. His basketball career will continue in the Mountain West, as he has joined the Utah State Aggies.  Sebastian Hartmann has moved on as well and will suit up for Kansas City next season. The Kangaroos play in the Summit League. 

Both Southern Conference champion Furman and runner-up East Tennessee State appear to have once again had especially strong hauls, while others like newcomer Tennessee Tech, The Citadel, Mercer and Wofford appear to have put together a good mix of both freshmen signees and portal additions that should help make them competitive with the top of the league once again.

UNCG was able to retain Dionte Neal, who originally re-opened his recruitment after Mike Jones was fired, and has now since re-committed to UNCG. The Spartans had maybe the most turnover of any team in the league after the coaching change, with Chane Bynum being the only player that remained on the Spartans' roster following the coaching transition.

Pretty much all of UNCG's outgoing talents like KJ Younger and Justin Neely now have new homes, while new head coach Jerrod Haase has likely been the most busy of any of the coaches in the league of late bringing in new guys. 

While the ones mentioned above have had more or less positive recruiting hauls on paper, programs like Western Carolina, Chattanooga and Samford have brought in classes that, for the most part, haven't moved the needle all that much, although at all three places there are excellent tacticians leading each, and with the developmental piece playing such a big role at all three, even though some of the signings might not have the wow factor initially, that will come later on after they get acclimated into these respective systems. 

Here's is an overview of some of the portal gets along with an early outlook for the league, and an in-depth look at Furman's recruiting haul and what returns for Bob Richey's Paladins in 2026-27. I will be doing this for all 11 SoCon teams this season. I hope you will enjoy these throughout the off-season as we impatiently await the start of another SoCon hoops season. My hope is that these will get you through the off-season. I know I will need something to get me through. Enjoy

A Sampling of the Significant SoCon Production Lost To Portal:

G--Alex Wilkins (Furman--to--Kentucky)

G--Kahmare Holmes (Wofford-to-Depaul)

G--Nils Machowski (Wofford-to-UConn)

F--Cayden Vasko (Wofford-to-Central Florida)

G--Baraka Okojie (Mercer-to-George Mason)

C--Armani Mighty (Mercer--to--Pitt)

F--Justin Neely (UNCG--to--Colorado)

G--KJ Younger (UNCG--to--Texas State)

F--Christian Moore (The Citadel--to--Butler)

G--Linus Holmstrom (VMI--to--Youngstown State)

G--Cord Stansberry (Western Carolina--to--Missouri)

G--Tahlan Pettway (Western Carolina--to--UNC Wilmington)

F--Marcus Kell (Western Carolina--to--Furman)

Ranking The SoCon Portal Hauls/Freshman Recruiting Classes

1. Furman (22-13/10-8 SoCon/6th/SoCon Tournament Champions)

    Top Portal Find: F-Marcus Kell (Western Carolina)

    Top Freshman: G-Jerrin Samuel (Winder-Barrow HS/Winder, GA)

    Biggest Portal Loss: PG-Alex Wilkins (Kentucky)

    Best Returning Player: G-Abijah Franklin 

2. Tennessee Tech (13-18, 8-12 OVC/9th in OVC)

    Top Portal Find: G-Trent Mosquera (LeMoyne)

    Top Freshman: PG-Kamai Samuels (Putnam Science Academy/Montreal, Canada)

    Biggest Portal Loss: PF--JaJuan Nicholls (Southern Utah)

    Best Returning Player:  F-Mekhi Turner--or--G Ty Owens

3. East Tennessee State (23-11/13-5 SoCon/1st/Regular-Season SoCon Champions)

    Top Portal Find:  PF--Marqus Marion (Wake Forest)

    Top Freshman:  G-Colt Busse (Archbishop Spaulding HS/Baltimore, MD)

    Biggest Portal Loss: F Blake Barkley (Grand Canyon University)

    Best Returning Player: F-Jordan McCullum 

4. Wofford (19-13, 11-7 SoCon/2nd)

        Top Portal Find: PG Jacob Daniels (Lander)

        Top Freshman Recruit: G-Jyi Dawkins (Ben L Smith HS)

        Biggest Portal Loss: G-Kahmare Holmes (DePaul)

        Best Returning Player: F-Brian Sumpter or G-Chace Watley

5. Mercer (19-13, 11-7 SoCon/4th)

        Top Portal Find: SG--Dawson Barr (Embry Riddle)

        Top Freshman Recruit: PF-Dimitrije Kovacevic (Kosarkaski klub Beograd/Doboj, Bosnia-Herzegovina)

        Biggest Portal Loss: C-Armani Mighty (Pitt)/PG--Baraka Okojie (George Mason)

        Best Returning Player: G-Quinton Perkins II

6. Chattanooga (13-18, 8-10 SoCon/8th)

        Top Portal Find: SF-Anthony Swift (Nebraska-Kearney)/PF-Tyler Houser (Delaware)

        Top Freshman Recruit: PG-Christian Matos (Sunrise Christian Academy)

        Biggest Portal Loss: PG--Jordan Frison (Wichita State)

        Best Returning Player: PG-Tate Darner

7. UNCG (15-19, 9-9 SoCon/7th)

    Top Portal Find: G-Brock Mishak (West Texas A&M)

    Top Freshman Recruit: G-Dionte Neal (Reidsville HS)

    Biggest Portal Loss: F-Justin Neely (Colorado)

    Best Returning Player: F-Chane Bynum

8. Samford (18-14, 11-7 SoCon/3rd)

    Top Portal Find: PG--Brandon Fussell (Montevallo)

    Top Freshman Recruit: C-Lawson Lee (Battle Ground Academy)

    Biggest Portal Loss: F--Dylan Faulkner (Clemson)

    Best Returning Player: F-Cade Norris

9. Western Carolina (15-16, 10-8 SoCon/5th)

    Top Portal Find: PF--Isaiah Manning (Sam Houston State)

    Top Freshman Recruit: PG--Jacob Zhu (Calvary Christian Academy)

    Biggest Portal Loss: F-Marcus Kell (Furman)/G-Cord Stansberry (Missouri)

    Best Returning Player: F/C Samuel Dada

    

10. The Citadel (11-22, 7-11 SoCon/9th)

        Top Portal Find: G--Marcus Banks (Shepherd)

        Top Freshman Recruit: PG-Ja'Yon Alexander (SPIRE Academy)

        Biggest Portal Loss: F-Christian Moore (Butler)

        Best Returning Player: F-Kenyan Davis

11. VMI (6-26, 1-17 SoCon/10th)

    Top Portal Find:  None Signed

    Top Freshman Recruit: PG--Trap Johnson (Belton High School)

    Biggest Portal Loss: SG--Linus Holmstrom (Youngstown State)

    Best Returning Player: F--TJ Johnson/G--Rickey Bradley Jr.

An Early Look at 2026-27

It's hard to get an overall ranking for how I think the order of finish will go as of yet, but I would expect the way I have them ranked in the recruiting at the beginning of the summer to be similar to how I would have those teams in the preseason, though not entirely. 

While I like Tennessee Tech's recruiting haul--both freshmen and portal finds--I don't think they are the team I would pick second in the league. At least not at this point. I do think the Golden Eagles are headed for a top five finish in the league standings if I had to guess. 

With that said, I will give an uneducated guess as to how I think it will all shake out when it comes to favorites to win the regular-season, as well as in Asheville. Remember, for the first time ever we have had No. 6 seeds punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in Asheville. Both Wofford and Furman more shockingly finished the regular-season in sixth spot than it was shocking for either team to win the tournament. Both teams had the talent and the experience to do so each of the past two years.   Below is the top six order I have for the league in 2026-27.

1. Furman--Paladins have lost a lot but still return enough talent to be a factor even if most of their portal "gets" and freshman recruits are missed. I'd venture to guess that should the Paladins be able to avoid injuries this season, they'll be the favorite to not only win the regular season, but also to repeat the feat in Asheville in 2026-27. Furman made some early noise in the portal when it secured the services of All-SoCon forward Marcus Kell to be one of the newest Paladins in 2026-27. Ironically, it was Kell that was celebrated on the final day of the regular season in Cullowhee, as WCU blistered Furman, 86-67, which provided the Paladins all the motivation they needed to then turn around and be successful in Asheville the very next weekend. 

2. East Tennessee State--With coaching turnover being more a thing at the mid-major level now more than ever, expect Brooks Savage have the Bucs back in the mix once again this coming season after having led the Bucs to title game appearances in two of his three seasons as head coach, while assembling a dominant Bucs team throughout much of the 2025-26 regular-season, as he would lead ETSU to its first SoCon regular-season crown since Steve Forbes' final campaign in Johnson City in 2019-20. ETSU will have one of the top players returning in the league, in Jordan McCullum, who will be an early candidate for preseason SoCon Player of the Year. Adding a little more intrigue to the mix is the fact that Savage hired former Wofford head coach Dwight Perry as an assistant for the upcoming season. 

3. Wofford--Kevin Giltner heads into his second season as the head coach of Wofford's program with a little more peace of mind and time to implement more of his plan after having to take over in such a whirlwind last season. He lost much of a class that he didn't recruit, but one that he helped develop and mold in a conference title contender in year one after the Terriers had been picked to finish ninth by the league's nine other head coaches. Wofford not only had one a pair of the top portal signees last season, in Nils Machowski and Cayden Vasko, who have both moved on to power six programs, but the Terriers also had one of the top freshman signing classes, thanks to the league tourney title a year earlier. With that said, two of Wofford's most prized freshmen return, in guard Chace Watley and the always exciting Brian Sumpter, who is a 6-7 forward that plays above the rim.

4.  Samford--Lennie Acuff is the type of coach that you expect to have his team in the mix for a conference title each year he decides to coach before eventually retiring on his terms in Homewood. It took some time to get things going, but when they got going, it was dynamic and the Bulldogs became a team that, under Acuff, no one wanted to face in the tournament in Asheville. 

After starting the season 3-6, the Bulldogs won eight of their final nine games to capture the No. 3 seed. Though the Bulldogs lost to Furman for the second year in a row in the tournament, many felt that the Bulldogs would have won the tournament if Furman had not. With that said, there is a rebuilding project in Homewood, starting with figuring out how to replace a dynamic duo as prolific as both guard Jadin Booth and forward Dylan Faulkner were. 

That project will likely revolve around one of the more versatile wing forwards returning to the league for the 2026-27 season, in Cade Norris. Others like forwards Judson Bjornstad and big man Will Shaver will give the Bulldogs at least something to work with in the paint in terms of returnees. 

5. Mercer--A coach that seemingly has made the case for his own versatility in both the X's and O's department, as well as navigating all things transfer portal-related is Mercer's Ryan Ridder. Ridder led the Bears to their best season and highest finish in the SoCon since the 2019-20 season, and that included leading the Bears to a 14-1 mark at Hawkins Arena last season. 

He had to replace Ahmad Robinson and reliable big man Alex Holt after the 2024-25 season and then not only replaced them, but reloaded with even better talent in the form of Baraka Okojie and Armani Mighty this past season, and that led the Bears to the doorstep of a 20-win campaign. 

Quinton Perkins II returns off a season that saw him average 8.9 PPG in his first season after coming on board from Indian Hills CC.  With the addition of prolific shooting guard Dawson Barr from Embry-Riddle, expect the Bears to once again have among the most dynamic backcourts in the SoCon.

6. Tennessee Tech--For a program that hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1963, the dedication to win now and not later in a more accomplished league is certainly something notable. But the Golden Eagles aren't coming to the SoCon to ease into their new surroundings, they're arriving with a loud warning signal to the rest of the league. 

It started with the hiring of Tobin Anderson by Casey Fox, who has been on the job a little less than a year as the new AD in Cookeville.  This has a chance to be an impactful hire for Fox, who could put a stamp on his career at Tennessee Tech as a part of his legacy whenever he moves on, and like Fox, Anderson has approached his new job with the same type of gusto and enthusiasm. 

Despite losing its top three scorers, Anderson has attacked the portal and brought in one of the top hauls on paper at least. The crown jewel that might be a player to build around is 6-4 shooting guard Trent Mosquera, who averaged 13.5 PPG last season this past season, garnering Second-Team All-NEC honors.

7. Chattanooga--We know Dan Earl can coach, but last season, injuries and some misses in the portal led to a dramatic decline. The rebuild isn't likely going to come overnight. The Mocs have looked mostly to Europe to find the answers, as well as finding another AWOL VMI Keydet along the way, as head coach Dan Earl looks to tap the secret reserves one last time by bringing in Tyler Houser, who won't play until next season.  

Howser spent a couple seasons, averaging 14.2 PPG and 5.4 RPG in the most recent one before having it cut short due to injury. Tate Darner and Zach Bleshoy will give the Mocs a solid shooting tandem in the backcourt, while Josh Bowman will look to develop his overall game beside Sean Cusano, who will be the veteran leader underneath in 2026-27 with the departures of Collin Mulholland (Utah State) and Makai Richards (no more eligibility).

8. The Citadel--The Citadel has some momentum and despite losing arguably their three best players, in wing forwards Christian Moore and Sola Adebisi, as well as Braxton Williams in the backcourt, the Bulldogs have entered the transfer portal with the momentum of last season's strong late stretch, bringing in three former SoCon guards, in Marcus Banks (former WCU Catamount), Eddrin Bronson (former Furman Paladins guard) and Chase Cormier (former Wofford Terrier). The Citadel set a record for overtime wins (4) this past season, as well as winning posting its most SoCon wins--7--since the 2009-10 season. There is reason to believe that, if this Bulldogs team stays healthy, they could be a dangerous team in Asheville next March.

9. Western Carolina--It has to be discouraging to be a head coach at Western Carolina. It was hard enough for Jason Gray or Mark Prosser to keep players in Cullowhee without NIL money as an influencer to leave town, but without the promise of big-time bucks that other programs in the Catamounts' own league can offer, it's hard to keep the best players around for enough time to grow the program in a meaningful way. 

Kerwin Bell has encountered the same issue as WCU's football coach but managed to put a winning product out the past four seasons and one that is knocking at the door of a SoCon title. While WCU football is looking for its first SoCon title in 46 seasons in the SoCon, if the Catamounts were to break through and win one under Craft, it would mark the second title in program history. The only time WCU has been to the NCAA Tournament came in 1996, as WCU celebrated the 30-year anniversary of that feat just this past season. 

Marcus Kell (Furman), Cord Stansberry (Missouri), Abdul Fanta-Kabba (Denver)and Tahlan Pettway (UNC Wilmington) have all moved on, and if that wasn't bad enough, talented shooting guard Jyi Dawkins decommitted from Western Carolina and committed to Wofford last month. 

The good news is the "Nigerian Nightmare", Samuel Dada is back, and his size and athleticism is a solid piece to build around in the paint for Craft and staff. 

10.  VMI--Following 15 wins and a seventh-place finish in the league a year ago, VMI and head coach Andrew Wilson underwent a season that could best be described as one of the most bizarre in program history, with SoCon Player of the Year and league leading returning leading scorer Rickey Bradley Jr. not even playing a game. 

That would essentially force TJ Johnson to most of the work, alongside talented shooter Linus Holmstrom (Youngstown State) and erratic, but talented point guard Tan Yildizoglu running the show as the point guard. Only TJ Johnson remains, however, both Bradley and veteran defensive force AJ Clark have announced they would be returning for the 2026-27 season, giving VMI fans a morsel of hope.

11. UNCG--The Jerod Haase era is ready to begin at UNCG, although there is some real concern among Spartans supporters that it might also coincide by a descent back into the doldrums of the SoCon cellar, which is where Wes Miller spent half his time as coach trying to dig out of the mess left by Mike Dement over the course of his five years in charge. Miller built a sustainable product before leaving for Cincinnati, and while Mike Jones might not have been the right choice, when Miller left, as there were plenty of capable Miller assistants ready to help sustain the program, Jones certainly was a good hire and a good basketball coach, nonetheless. 

After winning 20 games in three out of five seasons, UNCG's 0-4 performance in Asheville was too much to stomach for new Director of Athletics Brian Mackin, who was well-acquainted with friend Jerod Haase during the time the two spent together at UAB. 

Haase was hired after a two-year hiatus following being fired at Stanford in 2024, and the best thing he has done so far is getting one of the top guards in the southeast--Dionte Neal--to recommit to UNCG after initially decommitting. The two-sport star is an instant impact player in the SoCon. He won't have much help, however, and say what you want to about Jones, but the program was going to be in a better spot under his leadership off a promising run in the tournament than it will be starting over under Haase. That's too hard to do at a place like UNCG...At least in the immediate. Just ask Wes Miller.

Breaking Down the Defending SoCon Champions

1. Furman (22-13, 10-8 SoCon/6th in reg season/Tourney Champs)

Portal Losses/Portal Adds and Returners: Furman had some significant losses due the graduation and most directly, the transfer portal, with freshman phenom point guard Alex Wilkins (Kentucky) and center Cooper Bowser (Arkansas) both ending up at SEC schools, and guys like Tom House, Charles Johnston and Ben Vander Wal having moved on as a result of graduation. 

Bob Richey has gone out and put together what appears to be another solid class from the transfer portal, as he looks to sustain the Paladins' success off a championship season, despite having some significant departures.

The Paladins put together quite the postseason run last March, which culminated with Furman cutting down the nets for the second time in a four-year span, as the Paladins knocked off ETSU, 76-61 in the SoCon Tournament title matchup, as Furman played in the championship game on Monday night for the fourth time in the past five seasons. 

The 2025-26 Paladins were drastically different from the Furman team that the Paladins put out on the floor for the 2025 title tilt against Wofford, with the most notable change being how much better Furman was on the defensive end of the floor. The Paladins ranked just behind ETSU as the best defensive team in the conference in 2025-26, and that was enough to get Furman to where they had hoped to be last season, which was with a title trophy in hand and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

However, that wasn't to be, as Wofford scored 92 points in a 92-85 win over the Paladins, and the Terriers became the first No. 6 seed in league history to become league tourney title winners. Furman, which gave up a season-high 92 points in that 2025 loss to the Terriers, vowed it would improve defensively, and the first move was to go out and make some key hires to ensure that would be the case. 

Coach Richey brought in Joe Pierre II as one of several key off-season acquisitions to the sidelines for the Paladins. Clint Karlsson and Koty Kimble were also brought on staff, as Karlsson worked with big men and Kimble handled scouting and helped with coordinating the Furman offense. Pat Estepp was essentially the associate head coach for Furman, with Chad Warner having moved on to Niko Medved's first-ever staff at Minnesota. 

Furman had a lot of continuity back for the 2025-26 season, but didn't have its two best scorers, in PJay Smith Jr. and Nick Anderson, who were both out of eligibility after having been Furman's two top scorers having moved on. 

The Paladins turned the defense around, and despite the injuries that plagued the 'Dins throughout the season combined with the Paladins started a true freshman point guard for the first time under the direction of head coach Bob Richey, Furman found a way to capture finish up with a 22-13 record, which included a 10-8 mark in league play, as the Paladins became the second-ever No. 6 seed to claim a Southern Conference regular-season title. Furman even put up a solid fight as the No. 15 seed against No. 2 UConn in the NCAA Tournament before dropping what was an 82-71 contest to the eventual national runner-up.

The one harsh reality that might be facing both Furman and the Southern Conference in the immediate future is the fact that with the expansion of the tournament to 76 teams, the SoCon might be one of the mid-major leagues shoehorned out of the tournament as a result of the final 12 spots in the big dance now being determined with a play-in round. If the same format had been applied to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, then the Paladins would have had to have beaten Siena in a battle of No. 16 seeds for the right to play Florida. 

With that said, there is always the hope that the league as a whole is better so that whomever the league champion is doesn't have to worry about such a scenario. However, the odds of that actually happening seem to be less now than they ever have been.

Furman did some things differently than we are accustomed to seeing them do in order to be able to finish out the season the way they wanted to. The Paladins weren't a great three-point shooting team but were overall a solid offensive basketball team. 

According to KenPom, the Paladins finished fifth overall in the league in total offensive efficiency (108.3), while completing the campaign finishing second in overall defensive efficiency (109.6).

As far as the Paladins shooting the ball from the perimeter, the Paladins finished the 2025-26 season having connected on 311 threes in 35 games, shooting them at just a 32.8% (311-of-947) clip over the course of the season. 

However, while the Paladins struggled as a whole from deep in 2025-26, it was only how they shot it in Asheville that mattered. For the second-straight season, the Paladins were on fire from deep over the course of three games in the Harrah's Cherokee Center, knocking down a combined 30-of-67 in the tournament, which converts to an impressive 44.7% clip over the course of those three games. 

Despite losing six regulars from last year's roster, the Paladins appear to be the early favorite heading into the 2026-27 season as well. Furman lost a generational talent in freshman phenom Alex Wilkins. The 6-5 point guard from Mattapan, MA., was arguably the best freshman player to suit up in the league since Davidson's Stephen Curry back during the 2005-06 season. 

Wilkins is coming off a season which saw him set a new freshman scoring record (622 pts) and was able to lead the Paladins in scoring average 17.8 PPG and assists average 4.7 APG, as he was able to lead the Paladins to a second title in four years with his play at the point guard spot. 

His 21-point effort against UConn in the NCAA Tournament allowed Wilkins to expand his horizons even further, which is why Wilkins will be on the Kentucky Wildcats' roster next season. With Eddrin Bronson (5.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG) opting to enter the transfer portal to continue his career at The Citadel, as he will be eligible immediately after graduating Furman this past spring. 

With that in mind, Furman's staff went to the portal and got a reliable point guard that they had known about in the recruiting process initially, bringing in Luka Toews from Boston College. Interestingly, Toews spent his first two seasons of his collegiate career as a point guard at Boston College, and he comes out of the same AAU program as Alex Wilkins, which is the Middlesex Magic. 

The 6-1, 190-lb guard originally hails from Tokyo, Japan, and he will be given the reins of Furman's unique motion offense next season, as he is what coach Bob Richey calls a "natural fit" for the point guard role, with his feel for the game and his ability to shoot the three-ball. 

In his two seasons with the Eagles, Toews averaged 4.2 PPG and 1.8 assists-per-game over 53 contests in two seasons, including shooting a solid 36.8% from three-point land. After seeing action in 24 games off the bench during the 2024-25 season, Toews found himself more involved last season at Boston College, as he logged action in a total of 29 games, which included making 20 starts and averaged 6.3 PPG and 1.6 RPG, while issuing out 2.2 APG. 

He also shot nearly 40% from three-point land this past season, as he knocked down 31-of-79 shots from long-range, which converts to a strong 39.2% from three-point land. He finished the season with eight games in double figures last season at Boston College.

Toews enjoyed his best performance with the Eagles this past season against Fairleigh Dickinson, as he scored a career-best 21 points in a win, while registering 14 points and dished out eight assists in ACC play in a win over Florida State. Toews was selected to represent the Japanese National Team in the 2025 Nippon Cup last summer. 

Toews is part of a growing trend across college basketball, which has seen international players coming to the United States to continue their basketball career. For Furman, Toews became the second player with a background that extends well beyond the United States, and he isn't the only one in this current recruiting haul. 

Toews joins Charles Johnston, who recently graduated and spent two years as a big part of Furman's program, helping the Paladins secure a title this past March. Johnston, who was from Sydney, Australia, helped the Paladins to win 47 games over the past two seasons. 

Unlike Wilkins, who was a superior talent that got a chance to start right away, as he would overcome the learning curve with some mistakes along the way, Toews brings experience and a better shooting ability from the perimeter than Wilkins had into the starting role next season. However, it's also a trade-off in that Furman won't have the size or quickness off the dribble, as well as quite ability to get to the hoop in Toews, which Wilkins gave the Paladins last season if the play broke down.

While Toews addresses the problem as a result of losses at point guard, the Paladins also must figure out starting anew underneath the basket, where all three starters--Ben Vander Wal, Cooper Bowser and the aforementioned Johnston have found new homes or have graduated. 

Western Carolina transfer forward Marcus Kell

The most significant piece to losing those three underneath the basket is the fact that the Paladins lose some of that big-time size, which saw the Paladins rank as the sixth-tallest team in college basketball last season, and allowed them to be competitive with a big-time program like UConn in the NCAA Tournament--at least in theory. 

As a team, Furman finished out the 2025-26 season ranking third in the league in total rebounding average (37.5 RPG), while ranking second in defensive rebound average (26.9 DRPG) and fourth in offensive rebounding average (10.7 ORPG). 

With that in mind, Furman's next strategic move was to figure out the next piece of the puzzle next season in the paint. 

The good news for the Paladins was the fact that while Cooper Bowser decided to move on to Arkansas after improving each of his three seasons as Furman's center, his brother Cole Bowser, who wasn't even supposed to play this past season but would be forced into action due to the injury issues for the Paladins last season. 

The younger Bowser also proved to be a major piece of Furman's championship puzzle during the 2025-26 season, as he finished out the season by logging action in 20 total games, which included making six starts. 

The 6-6, 200-lb rising sophomore, who posted a career-best 13 points and 13 rebounds in a road win at UNCG last season, also shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter as a pick-and-pop guy, connecting on 36% (14-of-39) from long-range last season. Bowser will be in line to start at that wing guard/small forward spot that Ben Vander Wal occupied last season. While the Paladins will miss Vander Wal's defense and rebounding ability on both ends, the trade-off is what I think Bowser will end up giving the Paladins on the offensive end of the floor, most notably as a perimeter threat.

That left the Paladins staff needing to address the four and five positions in the portal, which they do effectively. First, the staff made quite the splash by procuring Marcus Kell from Western Carolina into the fold as a graduate transfer, which will make him eligible to play right away for Furman next season. Kell is quite the pull for Furman's basketball program, and he is a guy that was originally looked at in the recruiting process by the Paladin coaching staff.

It comes with a bit of irony that Furman played at Western Carolina on what was Marcus Kell's recognized senior day at WCU, as he likely had made his plans known that he would be transferring with a year of eligibility remaining. That likely didn't go unnoticed by the Paladin coaching staff. The Catamounts went on to hand Furman its second-worst margin of defeat of the season, as well as its worst in Southern Conference play, as the Catamounts completed the regular-season sweep of Furman, with an 86-67 win in Cullowhee.

Furman would learn a great deal from that loss on the final day of the regular-season and would be able to use that loss to Kell's Catamounts as fuel heading into the SoCon Tournament in Asheville. Now, it will be Kell joining up with Furman and wearing a different shade of Purple, as the Paladins look to defend their SoCon crown during the 2026-27 season. 

Over the past couple of seasons, Kell's play would become somewhat of a modern phenomenon in Cullowhee, as under Craft's care, the Fort Mill, S.C., product would end up developing into an all-conference basketball player.

Ironically, it was a game against Furman in early February of 2025 that would see Kell burst onto the scene for WCU.  In that game, which ended up being an overtime loss to the Paladins, Kell finished off a strong performance by scoring 29 points, connecting on 8-of-17 shots from the field, which included a 5-for-9 effort from three-point land in what was a game played at nearby Bob Jones University, as Furman played all its games away from Timmons Arena during the 2024-25 season due to a renovation project. 

Despite the disappointment of a losing to the Paladins, that would help birth the legend of Marcus Kell in the hills of Western North Carolina, as he went from being a little-used puzzle piece under Justin Gray to being a relied upon scoring threat and all-conference caliber player under Craft's leadership. 

Kell would finish out the season with impressive numbers, as he would start 16 of 30 games for the Catamounts during the 2024-25 season, as well as posting double-figure scoring performances in each of his final 12 games of the season. In fact, he would register 14 of his 16 double-figure scoring games in Southern Conference play, with his signature performance coming on two weeks after his 29-point effort in the 84-75 overtime loss to Furman. He would end up playing a career-high 38 minutes for WCU in the nine-point setback. 

Against eventual regular-season league champion Chattanooga, Kell would put together another outstanding scoring performance, netting what was and still is a career-high 31 points in what was a narrow 91-86 setback in the Scenic City. In that contest, Kell would finish off the game by scoring his 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field, which included a 4-for-7 effort from three-point land. The performance probably should have been enough to garner him a third-consecutive SoCon Player of the Week accolade. 

In his 12-straight games in double figures to close the season, Kell scored 217 of his total 352 points for the 2024-25 season, and scored 244 of his total of 352 points for the season against SoCon opposition. He finished his redshirt sophomore season averaging 11.7 PPG and posted 5.5 RPG. He averaged an impressive 14.7 PPG in league games and his 44 threes on the season ranked him fourth on the Catamounts team, while shooting a team-best 38% (44-of-116) from three-point range of regularly used players. His 164 rebounds in 2024-25 ranked him second on the team.

The 2025-26 season would see more accolades come Kell's way as a result of what he was able to do in his breakthrough campaign. His attitude, work ethic and commitment were ultimately what helped him really become a foundational and sustaining player for Tim Craft in his first two seasons at WCU. In many ways, Kell should be given the credit for helping Craft salvage and begin to build something in Cullowhee.

In his final season in Cullowhee, Kell would help the Catamounts to a seven-win improvement and to the doorstep of a Southern Conference championship game. In his final season with the Catamounts, Kell would end up averaging 13.6 PPG and finishing up averaging 4.8 RPG. However, his shooting from long-range wasn't as accurate during his final season in Cullowhee, as he would finish out the 2025-26 season, with one less three-pointer made (43), while shooting 29 more threes (145) than he did last season.

Kell figures to factor in at Furman as Johnston's replacement at the four spot. Furman will be a tad better offensively with Kell, given he's a better perimeter threat and more of a three-level scorer than Johnston was, but the rebounding and defensive trade-offs are pretty even in all honesty. Chuck was probably better on the glass collectively on both ends of the floor, but Kell was awesome offensively on the glass in each of the past three seasons for the Catamounts, so there might be a slight upgrade for Furman in terms of what they are getting on the offensive glass in Kell. 

Replacing Cooper Bowser might have been the toughest position to both evaluate and find for the Furman staff, which was also influx at the end of the season. Ultimately, Furman has shown a couple of changes in philosophy in terms of what we have seen with the past two recruiting classes, and that is Furman has been able to find guys a little closer to home; while also finding ones that exceed the borders of the United States.

Furman added Jordan Butler out of South Carolina. The 7-1 center will give the Paladins even more size than what they had with either the 6-11 Charles Johnston or the 6-11 Cooper Bowser, and it will also give the Paladins an outside shooting element once again. Butler runs well and has the potential to add a rim protection element to the fold, especially both twin towers from a year ago.

Butler also returns to his hometown, as he played his high school basketball at nearby Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, and the 7-0 center hails from Mauldin, S.C.  Butler's two stops prior to Furman were at Missouri and South Carolina, where he struggled to find a proper fit at a pair of programs that have spent most of their time rebuilding in the always-tough SEC. Butler spent three seasons at both Mizzou and with South Carolina, as he was with the Tigers for two seasons and South Carolina for one, as he won just 33 games during that span. 

There is some good news and that is the fact that the program he joins--Furman--has won 62 games over that same span, almost doubling both South Carolina and Missouri's win totals over the same span.  The big man will have a chance to step in right away and be a potential impact player.

In recent seasons, we've seen some big men transfer down from higher levels and into the SoCon to go on to put together successful turnaround stories, with the most recent of those being a guy like Armani Mighty from Mercer. After averaging 0.8 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 5.1 MPG over 51-career games at Boston College, and spending a season injured at Central Michigan, Mighty decided it was time for a change of scenery and he transferred to a place and into a league where he could have almost an immediate impact on the hardwood. 

During his one season at Mercer, Mighty garnered All-SoCon second-team honors and finished out the season with an impressive 16 double-doubles. Mighty's 16 double-doubles also ranked second in the league, with 10 of those coming in SoCon play, which also ranked second. Replacing a player like Mighty underneath will be a tough undertaking for Ridder and staff, and it's arguably tougher than even having to replace Okojie at point guard. 

Few will forget the performance delivered by Mighty in Mercer's 77-67 win at VMI in mid-January. The 6-10 native of Toronto, Ontario finished with 18 points and 25 rebounds. That was a monstrous performance by Mighty ranked as the top rebounding performance by any player in the league all season, and it set a new Cameron Hall record for most rebounds ever, surpassing former Bears forward Calvin Henry's record mark of 22 boards inside the same facility, which was set on Dec. 9, 2006.

Mighty isn't the only one that has had that type of effect in the Southern Conference in the recent past, with guys like former ETSU transfer Jalen Haynes (transferred in from Virginia Tech prior to the 2022-23 season),  The Citadel's Quentin-Millora Brown (transferred in from Vanderbilt prior to the 2023-24 season) and Wofford's BJ Mack (transferred in from South Florida prior to the 2020-21 season) all making notable impacts at their respective destinations. 

Butler will have that kind of potential with his one season of eligibility remaining with the Paladins. Like Mighty, Butler doesn't have an extensive track record of notable work on the hardwood during his whirlwind three seasons spent at both Mizzou and South Carolina. In the 2025-26 season, he finished up seeing action in 25 games with the Gamecocks, averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG, respectively. Butler played for his father during his time at Christ Church, and his sister also played at South Carolina. 

One element that he will give the Paladins that maybe Bowser didn't possess as much will be a mid-range game, as well as the ability to step out and be a threat from long-range, which is much like Johnston was able to do for the past couple of seasons for the Paladins.

Mighty's 16 double-doubles also ranked second in the league, with 10 of those coming in SoCon play, which also ranked second. Replacing a player like Mighty underneath will be a tough undertaking for Ridder and staff, and it's arguably tougher than even having to replace Okojie at point guard. 

Army transfer Jaxson Bell

The final pickup out of the transfer portal for the Paladins heading into the 2026-27 season is Army transfer and combo guard Jaxson Bell.  The good thing about the addition of Bell is that he has the ability to play both wing guard, as well as the point guard spot. 

Bell spent the past couple of seasons playing for the Black Knights, and like Butler, didn't find much success playing in the Patriot League for a program that has never made an NCAA Tournament appearance. 

Thanks to new assistant coach hire and former prolific three-point shooter Jordan Lyons, who was recently hired as an assistant by head coach Bob Richey off Navy's staff where he was each of the past two seasons, the Paladins were able to secure the services of Bell for the 2026-27 season. Bell posted 17 points in a late-season game against the Midshipmen. 

The 2024-25 season wasn't bad, as Bell helped the Black Knights to a 17-16 mark, however, saw action in only three games in his freshman season in West Point, averaging 1.0 PPG and 0.7 RPG. Though Army wasn't very good during his sophomore season, finishing just 11-21 overall and just 5-13 in Patriot League play, it would be Bell that would see his individual flourish. 

The combo guard would log action in 30 total games, which included eight starts and ended up ranking second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG. The 6-2 guard reached double figures in 20 out of 30 games he logged action in this past season, while registering two double-doubles on the season. 

One of the stats that likely stuck out to both Lyons and head coach Bob Richey was the fact that Bell was Army's most accomplished three-point threat this past season, connecting on 35.9% of his shots from downtown. 

All told, Bell finished the 2025-26 season knocking down 52-of-145 shots from long-range, and was also an especially impressive free throw shooter, having finished the season shooting 81.0% (93-of-115) from the charity stripe.

Bell was at his best over the latter portion of the season for the Black Knights, as he averaged 14.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG over the final seven games of the campaign. The cherry on top of that strong finish to the end of the season for Indianapolis, IN., product was a 22-point effort against Lafayette in an 82-77 loss to end the regular-season. 

The super sophomore poured in his 22 points on an 8-of-12 shooting performance, which included a 3-for-5 effort from long range. Bell scored a career-high 24 points just before Christmas in what was a thrilling 95-85 overtime win over Binghamton. In that contest, Bell shot 66.7% (6-of-9) from the field and 71.4% (5-for-7) from three-point range. He also totaled an impressive six rebounds in the home win two days before Christmas. 

Bell will add another scoring piece in the backcourt, with the Paladins all the sudden having some nice options, and that's not even including the incoming freshmen expected to make an immediate impact next season. 

While the staff loves his ability to shoot and to score from all three levels on the floor, it's his overall strength at 211 lbs, as well as his ability as an excellent rebounding guard on both ends of the floor that gives Furman an even added luxury. Bell will likely find himself as one of Furman's best rebounding guards of the Bob Richey era. 

Overall, this group of four players from the transfer portal adds scoring, rebounding, size and maturity. The next step will be getting this group in order as a cohesive defensive unit. The good news about the current additions is the fact that with at least three of those additions.

As far as what returns for the Paladins, there are seven players returning to the fold from 2025-26, with six of those expected to all factor into the plans this season. Several of those players expect to make some big jumps in terms of overall production.

A trio of those that are expected to blossom into all-conference caliber players in just their second respective seasons in the program are both combo guards Abijah Franklin and Collin O'Neal, as well as small forward Cole Bowser. Both have some pretty big-time potential. Though head coach Bob Richey hasn't made direct comparisons between Franklin and former Paladin legend Mike Bothwell (2019-23), the type of trajectory that the local product Franklin is on is similar to that of Bothwell. 

There are some comparisons there, too. Both were elite scorers as preps prior to their arrival at Furman, and both started to show glimpses of at points during their rookie seasons at Furman. For Franklin, it was ability as a defensive player that allowed him to see plenty of time in key moments for Bob Richey's Paladins in 2025-26. 

His efforts at slowing Samford guard and SoCon Player of the Year Jadin Booth in Furman's 86-81 quarterfinal win over the Bulldogs were most notable, and his offensive play in a pair of games against Wofford this season, which included a career-high 14 points in the 74-70 home loss to the Terriers in January was notable. 

Richey will expect Franklin to make that big jump in year two, which has been prevalent with so many guards he's coached in his nine seasons at the helm of the Furman program.  The Wren High School product finished out his true freshman campaign showing plenty of improvement as a shooter. He went 11-of-26 (42.3%) from three-point range during league play after having started the season just 3-for-21 (14.2%) from long-range. 

Look for Franklin's perimeter jumper to see even more improvement in the 2026-27 season, as I look for him to be one of Furman's more feared perimeter shooters and overall offensive threats. Think of the jump that Kahmare Holmes made from his first season at Wofford until his sophomore season at Wofford, and I see that similar type of transformation in Franklin for the Paladins. 

With his 6-5 frame, Franklin was already one of the more athletic players on Furman's roster this past season, and with some added muscle, he can be a real presence at multiple positions and will have a sound understanding of Furman's motion offensive intricacies in year two. 

A nasty run-in with the flu bug ultimately kept Franklin out of the lineup for four games, which bridged January and February, and it took a few games for him to fully get back into playing shape and into rhythm. By the time the Paladins arrived in Asheville for the SoCon Tournament, however, Franklin was ready to provide some key play on both ends to help the Paladins reach their ultimate goal. 

Collin O'Neal was on a similar trajectory as that of Franklin in his rookie season with the Paladins, which saw him moving at a more rapid pace of improvement and acclimation to the college game than even that of Franklin. However, a knee injury in early December in a home win over Harvard through that journey off course, and even though he worked his way back to return in a little under two months, it was no surprise he never really reached the level of play he was at prior to the injury.

With an off-season to fully undergo therapy, O'Neal is another player that will look to take a big step forward in his sophomore campaign in 2026-27. 

The 6-4 guard out of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, TN., is the latest gem found by the Paladin coaching staff in that part of Tennessee, as he joins the likes of PJay Smith and JP Pegues before him. 

O'Neal is strong, and like Franklin a good on-ball defender, as well as being extremely athletic. It will be interesting to see if O'Neal is as explosive athletically as he was prior to the injury last season, as he was tentative to really show the full extent of that athleticism he has been blessed with upon his return following his injury last season.

With that said, it was also probably a wise move by O'Neal to not try and risk another injury in his rookie campaign. Paladin Nation really got a chance to see some good stuff from the freshman guard from the outset of the season, as he played well in Furman's exhibition loss to Alabama to officially reopen Timmons Arena. Things really began to come together for him during Furman's Thanksgiving Tournament in Orlando as part of "Imagination Bracket" in the ESPNEvents Tournament, which saw him get on a heater and go 4-of-4 from three-point range in the opening half of Furman's 72-65 championship game loss to eventual NIT runner-up Illinois State, as he finished with a career-high 12 points.

With his confidence starting to really blossom, O'Neal posted nine points the next time out in a road win at Elon before having posted seven points in the opening half of a game against Harvard before leaving with a knee injury.  He finished the season averaging 5.1 PPG and 5.5 RPG, while shooting 36% (14-of-39) from three-point range.

The third of the four freshmen slated to return for the 2026-27 season wasn't even expecting to play in the 2025-26 season, however, had Cole Bowser redshirted the season, I am pretty sure Furman would not have ended up cutting down the nets in Asheville like they were able to do. 

The 6-6, 200-lb wing out of DeMatha Catholic showed he is a completely different type of player than his brother Cooper, but every bit as tenacious athletically and on the defensive end of the floor. The younger Bowser was a pick-and-pop guy, and he was especially efficient as a three-point threat from either of the corners.

The rising sophomore from Bowie, MD, logged action in 20 games last season, which included making six starts. 

Sophomore wing forward Cole Bowser

His first of those six came in a crucial early-season test at reigning regular-season champion Chattanooga. 

It looked like a stroke of genius from head coach Bob Richey to remove the redshirt at that very moment, as Bowser finished off a strong performance by posting six points and a team-best 13 rebounds, as the Paladins claimed a big 78-67 road win over the Mocs to help off-set their first league loss at home against Western Carolina. 

Bowser's ability to shoot the three along with his athleticism and ability on the defensive end of the floor will be two added bonuses next season. Like O'Neal and Franklin, it's an expectation that Bowser will be an added offensive weapon and potential double figures scorer. He can play either wing guard or small forward, which looks like the most adequate fit for him with the graduation of Ben Vander Wal.

Vander Wal's graduation leaves the door open for the Paladins to find a new guy to fill the role of "glue guy" and two that could very well fall right into that category in the 2026-27 season are forwards Davis Molnar and Mason Smith. 

Both Molnar and Smith were part of that unfortunate injury bug that bit the Paladins last season, as both went down with season-ending knee injuries. Molnar didn't even play one second of the season, as he went down with his season-ending knee injury in Furman's 96-71 exhibition game loss to Alabama in late October. 

Molnar has been a part of a pair of Furman teams that have won a ring, while having not actually played in either the 2022-23 or 2025-26 seasons. If he can successfully help the Paladins to another title this season, it would mark the first time since the early-mid 1970s that a Paladin has been a part of three championship teams. 

It was an unfortunate blow for Molnar, who had worked his way into being an expected significant role player as a part of Furman's 8-9 man rotation heading into the season. Known as one of the hardest workers in Furman's entire lineup, the Fayetteville, N.C., product was coming off a 2024-25 season that saw him start to become a regular energy-type "glue guy" off the bench for the Paladins. 

Furman redshirt senior forward Davis Molnar

The 6-6, 215-lb redshirt senior is the last remaining member of that 2022-23 title winning team for the Paladins, and though he didn't see time last season, he's likely to be in the mix for some major playing time once again in the upcoming season.

During the 2024-25 campaign, Molnar finished off a solid campaign in which he saw action in 33 games, averaging a little over ten-and-a-half minutes per game.  Molnar came up big in several games for the Paladins during the 2024-25 season, scoring a season-high nine points in Furman's narrow 73-70 home win over East Tennessee State. 

Molnar was also key off the bench in Furman's home win over Samford, scoring only one field goal on a steal and layup on the other end, as that play would be the catalyst of an in-game turnaround for the Paladins, sparking some needed momentum just before the midway point of the second half in what would turn out to be a 75-73 home win for the 'Dins. 

With just under 11 minutes left, Molnar intercepted a errant pass from Josh Holloway to increase Furman's lead back to 12, at 56-44. Some clutch play on the defensive end to go with four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench helped pave the way to a narrow escape for Furman.

One of the things that I'll be looking to see from Molnar this season will be if he can see a continued improvement on his outside shot. In 53 career games for the Paladins, the redshirt senior is just 6-for-30 (20.0%) from three-point land. If he can do that, it will make him even a more versatile threat off the bench for Furman this season. I look for Molnar to be one of the most improved players as a part of the rotation.

Another player that figures to compete to be a part of Bob Richey's 8-9-man rotation in 2026-27 will be Mason Smith, who logged action in seven games this past season before seeing his season prematurely cut short due to a season-ending knee injury suffered in Furman's 74-70 home loss to Wofford. 

Mason Smith is a player that originally committed to Mercer, but opted to switch his allegiances to Furman following the firing of Greg Gary.

It's taken some time, but Smith, who is entering his third season in the program, appears to finally have worked his way into a regular-spot in the rotation. 

With so many injuries hitting the Paladins at one time during the 2025-26 season, there was a window of about three games for Smith to show how much he was gaining in confidence and how much he was finally noticing and stepping into his role within the rotation before the unfortunate injury against the Terriers occurred. The way Smith had started that mid-January afternoon against the Terriers, it looked as though the Huntersville, N.C., product might have been on his way to a career afternoon.

With Smith's growth in confidence, he was playing with a spark on both ends that seemingly ignited the rest of the team. Much like Molnar, Smith could be an energy guy for the Paladins in the 2026-27 season, as he appears to have found his niche on the team after taking about a year-and-a-half and some injuries to help make one for his spot in the rotation.

Coach Richey has certainly not forgotten what Smith was able to do over a small sample size last season. In games against Wofford and Samford combined last season, Smith snagged 14 rebounds and was 4-for-8 from three-point range before the injury against Wofford cut his season short. Smith's 11 rebounds in Furman's 77-73 win at Samford were every bit as important as Alex Wilkins' 28 points. 

Smith has seen action in 24 games through his first two seasons with the Paladins. He undoubtedly would have played a key role last season down the stretch in conference play had his season not been cut short due to the knee injury.

With his lanky frame, Smith is deceptively athletic. He's tough to keep off the offensive glass for that reason, and his sneaky athleticism is something that stood out for me about his game last season in limited floor time. In some ways, Smith has similar elements to his game to that of former Furman standout wing guard/forward Clay Mounce (2016-21). 

The final piece to puzzle returning for Furman heading into next season might be 6-9 rising sophomore Owen Ritger. Ritger was very much a work in progress last season, but the 6-9 rising sophomore from Atlanta saw enough time last season to get a taste of the college game.

Ritger has several areas to work on, with needing to add some strength and work on his footwork as an offensive player in the post being the most notable two things I noticed last season.

Ritger has good arch on his shot and can shoot both the mid-range and long-range jumper, which is something that coach Richey loves to find in his big men. Ritger has potential to break into the regular rotation in 2026-27, but he will need to add some strength and muscle to his frame. 

That said, he has a good enough jump shot and jump hook to be an effective low-post scorer for the Paladins in the future, but not sure if that will be next season or in his final two seasons, however. 

Ritger is going to be very good down the road, but whether its at Furman or not, I think by the time he enters his final two seasons as a college basketball player, Ritger will be an all-conference caliber post should he opt to stay at the mid-major level, whether that is at Furman or elsewhere.

Freshman Additions: 

Dating back to his time as a young assistant at Charleston Southern, Furman's Bob Richey has been able to find some top scoring talent. From guys like Saah Nimley and Jamarrio Warren at CSU to guys like Stephen Croone, Devin Sibley, Jordan Lyons and Alex Wilkins as both an assistant and head coach at Furman, Richey's eye for guard talent and shooting ability is unmatched.

It would be hard to imagine the Paladins finding a player that could match the one that had the opportunity to move on to Kentucky after just one season in the program, in Alex Wilkins, and yet here we are where that could potentially be the case with the two incoming signees, in both 6-5 combo guard Jerrin Samuel and 6-2 point guard Cam Elwer slated to suit up for the Paladins next season.

Samuel is a scorer that can play multiple guard spots on the floor and is rated as the top shooting guard in the state of Georgia. The all-state performer is coming off a senior campaign which saw him average 27.3 PPG, 12.4 PPG, 2.6 APG and he chose to continue his basketball career at Furman among his 25 offers, while also receiving interest from power five programs like Tennessee and Virginia Tech among several others. Samuel chose Furman over the likes of mid-major power programs like Bradley, Ohio, Northern Iowa, Tulane, Yale, Liberty and Chattanooga to name just a few. 

Samuel scored 1,963 points in his career at Winder-Barrow High School, which ranks second in program history,  and he will factor into the rotation immediately, likely as a backup behind either Cole Bowser or Abijah Franklin, with Army transfer Jaxson Bell expected to be the backup at the other wing guard/small forward spot. He was a first-team Class 5A All-State selection in the Peach State as a senior, as well as being a finalist for "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Georgia. 

Samuel will be one of the more athletic players on Furman's roster upon his arrival to play for the Paladins next season, as he was a multi-sport athlete during his time at Winder-Barrow, where he was also an outstanding performer in track and field, as well as being a scholar in the classroom, as noted by offers by both Harvard and Yale during his recruitment.

What Samuel is on the basketball floor is an elite level three level scorer that could very well have the same trajectory as that of Alex Wilkins. 

While he won't be playing the point guard spot, Samuel should be in line to play a major role for the Paladins next season, and is a combination of being an extremely accurate perimeter and mid-range shooter, a creator off the dribble, with the athleticism to humble a defender on the way to or at the rim, however,  his biggest strength as a player may actually be his elite rebounding ability.  

He shot better than 40% from three-point range in his career, and is on par with some of the most accurate three-point threats in recent memory, including PJay Smith Jr., Nick Anderson, and Alex Hunter.

Samuel is one of the most underrated mid-major recruits heading into the 2026-27 season, which is why he could see his star rise as soon as his rookie season in Greenville. Unlike Wilkins, however, I don't think he will start immediately, but it might be only a matter of time before he starts seeing major minutes. 

While Samuel is a big-time commitment, Cam Elwer's addition to the fold for Furman will only add to the already well-established narrative of shooters that want to play for head coach Bob Richey.

The 6-2 point guard out of St. John High School in Delphos, OH., is a three-star recruit and like Samuel, will have a chance to contribute right away. He played a smaller level than what Samuel did during his prep career, however, Furman has had plenty of success finding guards that could shoot it and score it out of this part of Ohio, with Mike Bothwell, Geoff Beans and Jon Davis III being the most notable that come to mind almost immediately. 

To give you an idea of just how prolific a scorer Elwer was during his time at Delphos, he finished his career ranked sixth all-time in state history in points scored, surpassing some guy named LeBron James out of Akron along the way with (2,768) career points at season's end. 

He ended the 2025-26 season averaging 29.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 4.4 APG. His 29.3 PPG scoring average was ranked 57th in the nation according to MaxPreps, and was also ranked 36th among seniors around the country in scoring average. 

Also according to MaxPreps, Elwer was fourth nationally per 32 minutes in points per game and was ranked as the fifth-best player in the state of Ohio.

Elwer's ability to score points and score them in a hurry were evident throughout his prep career at Delphos, dropping a school record 53 points in a game as a senior, and comprehensively, was a three-time All-State selection in Ohio, helping his prep program St. John to a four-year mark of an incredible 91-14, including a 29-0 mark as a senior. He was the runner-up for Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio in his junior and senior campaigns. 

The final freshman signee for Furman is also its most recent one, as 6-9 power forward Nikos Koulsianis committed to Furman in early May out of the famed Montverde Academy in Florida. 

Originally a native of the Czech Republic, the 6-9 forward comes to Furman with a highly-skilled overall game, with perimeter shooting ability combined with good ball-handling ability, as well as being a good distributor for all positions on the floor.  What will give him the potential to see the floor right away though? 

Khoulisianis' ability as a rim protector on the defensive end, as well as his ability to shoot the three are two areas that will get him on the floor sooner rather than later. With his skill level being what it is, his progression and understanding of Furman's complex offensive scheme is the biggest obstacle for the young U18 Czechia National Team member to overcome because it's definitely not an issue of talent or lack thereof.

Early Outlook for 2026-27

With success comes departures in both personnel and on the bench, which is a problem that Bob Richey would welcome with each passing season if things are going to continue to go this well. With that said, it's been a case of the "rich" getting "richer" when it comes to acquiring talent. Richey told the SoCon to hold his beer last season when he found Alex Wilkins to replace PJay Smith Jr. 

He also told them to hold his beer following a dismal 17-16 season in 2023-24 when he went and got the likes of Nick Anderson, Tom House and Charles Johnston from the portal after losing the likes of JP Pegues, Alex Williams and Marcus Foster from a program that fell well below expectations in defending its 2022-23 SoCon title. Both Johnston and House proved instrumental in helping Furman cut down the nets for the second time in four seasons in Asheville. 

It's no accident that Richey and staff were going to have a tough hill to climb this season, losing both Alex Wilkins and Cooper Bowser to SEC programs, while Tom House, Charles Johnston and Ben Vander Wal are out of eligibility. Heck, even Eddrin Bronson went his seperate way, transferring out to stay in the league to play at The Citadel, where he will be eligible immediately.

Not only did Furman lose players, it also lost coaches. Joe Pierre II joined Kyle Getter's staff at Cal Baptist, while Kotie Kimble departed for Thad Matta's staff at Butler after only one season, and Klint Carlson returned to his alma mater Northern Iowa, joining Kyle Green's staff in Cedar Falls. 

That left the door open for Jordan Lyons to make his return to Furman, as the legendary player for Niko Medved and then Richey from 2016-20 is an NCAA all-time record holder for made threes in a game, tying two other players with 15 made threes in a game, which he did as a junior in 2018-19. He served as a grad assistant on the Furman staff in 2022-23, helping the Paladins to garner a SoCon title ring for the first time in 43 years. 

Lyons then followed that up by joining Navy's staff to garner experience for a couple of years, which included helping the Midshipmen to an outright Patriot League regular-season title for the first time in 29 years, as well as helping Navy qualify for an NIT appearance. Now he's ready to return with a more involved role on Richey's staff.

Lyons is one of two announced additions to the Furman staff so far in the off-season, with Riley Conroy being the other. Conroy, who is the son of current The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy, and he joins the Furman staff from Richie Riley's staff at South Alabama where he has spent the previous three seasons as an assistant.  Conroy helped the Jaguars to back-to-back 21-win seasons and an NIT appearance this past season, while the 2024-25 season, he was part of a staff that secured a share of its first Sun Belt title since the 2008 campaign.

As for Furman's personnel additions, the Paladins might have done as well as they ever have on the recruiting trail, combining talent from the portal with returning talent, as well as the trio of freshmen signed so far, with two of those having been secured back in early November.

There hasn't been a repeat SoCon title winner since Wofford won consecutive crowns in 2014 and '15, but the early returns are strong for Furman to repeat its title run of a year ago, as well as claiming its third time in five seasons. 

Starters Lost: (5/6)--PG-Alex Wilkins (17.8 PPG, 4.7 APG/transferred to Kentucky); C--Cooper Bowser (13.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 76.6 FG%/transferred to Arkansas); F--Ben Vander Wal (7.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 25 steals, 17 blocks/out of eligibility); G--Asa Thomas (11.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 38.2% 3pt shooter/transferred to Illinois-Chicago); F--Charles Johnston (9.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 11 double-doubles/out of eligibility); Tom House (8.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 52 made threes/out of eligibility)

Others Lost: (1)--Ed Bronson (5.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG/transferred to The Citadel)

Best Returning Player: G-Abijah Franklin (4.4 PPG, 1.8 RPG)--or--F-Cole Bowser (5.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG)--or--G-Collin O'Neal (2.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG)

Potential Breakout Player in 2026-27: F--Mason Smith (3.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG)

Best Transfer Portal Get:  F-Marcus Kell (Western Carolina)

Potential Glue Guy: F-Davis Molnar (DNP in 2025-26, missed season with lower body injury)

Best Freshman Addition: G-Jerrin Samuel (Winder, GA/Winder-Barrow HS)

Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A+

Coming Soon...

Be sure to check back in a few weeks, as mid-major madness takes a look inside the newest member of the Southern Conference--Tennessee Tech--as I hope to be able to catch up with new head coach Tobin Anderson to discuss his outstanding recruiting class.