ETSU (23-12, 13-5 SoCon/2025-26 SoCon Regular-Season Champions)
Brooks Savage has begun to mould ETSU basketball back into a program that can be and probably will be a perennial Southern Conference title contender as long as he is at the helm. There was a little bit of a concern that he might not be at the end of the 2025-26 season, as he led the Bucs to 23 wins in his third season as the head coach.Those 23 wins and a regular-season outright SoCon title were enough to begin to see Savage's name surface within some coaching circles, and he was in the mix for the head coaching job at Georgia State before signing an extension through the end of the 2028-29 season back in late April.
The 23 wins were the most for ETSU's basketball program since that historic 2019-20 squad under then head coach Steve Forbes, which won a school-record 30 games, as well as claiming the SoCon tournament title for the second time in a four-year span. That was the goal for the 2025-26 Bucs, however, ETSU would come up just short of making it a third SoCon tourney title and NCAA Tournament appearance since rejoining the league in 2014-15, as Furman was able to post a 76-61 win over Savage's Bucs.
The 2026-27 championship loss to the Paladins wasn't as much about ETSU necessarily playing that bad, but more about how well Furman played. The Bucs had claimed both regular-season meetings with Furman, which included their first win at Timmons Arena since the 2016-17 season. The Bucs also swept regular-season meetings with Furman and Chattanooga for the first time in program history.
ETSU's hoops tradition is still often a topic of conversation at plenty of Johnson City's most popular watering holes, and while the 23-win campaign in year three was a great start for Savage, as he won 19 in the previous two, the pressure to get back to the Big Dance will only get more, intense now as the fans got a taste of championship success again last season.
The Bucs will always attract talent because of that tradition and their unique fan support, which rivals the rabidness of Big Blue Nation at Kentucky relative to the SoCon, without some of the antics that pulled by Kentucky fans when the team isn't performing up to expectations. If there is an admirable trait about Bucs fans in comparison to UK's fanbase, it's that they continue to stick behind the team without being critical when things aren't going according to plan. That also makes recruiting a little easier for Savage and staff.
ETSU has won 247 total games since returning to the SoCon in 2014-15, and that includes having won 135 total Southern Conference games, which ranks second in total wins behind only Furman (256 wins) over that same span, while the 135 SoCon wins would rank the Bucs third behind only UNCG (143) and Furman (137) over the past 12 seasons.
The 247 wins over the past 12 seasons means that the Bucs are on average winning 20.5 games per season since returning to the SoCon hardwood prior to the 2014-15 season. ETSU's basketball program really started its rise in the mid-major ranks in the mid 1980s and that has continued over about over the better part of the next four decades no matter which conference the Bucs have called home.
Now the Bucs have their sights set on ending up back in the championship game on Monday night in Asheville, seeking a different outcome this time around. With most of the staff back in place, the Bucs have another big opportunity ahead of them in 2026-27.
As expected in today's age of college basketball, most of that talented cast that helped the Bucs to 23 wins and get back to their title-winning ways this season, has either moved on into the transfer portal or is out of eligibility.
Like Furman, the Bucs had some big losses. Gone is leading scorer Brian Taylor II, who finished off the campaign averaging 14.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG, as well as scoring in double figures in 28 of 34 games for the Bucs in 2025-26, enjoying a season-high 28 points in ETSU's Valentine's Day home loss to Samford. Taylor finished connecting on 34.2% (53-of-152) from three-point range this past season, as well as shooting 46.4% (182-of-392) from the field as a whole.
Cam Morris III (37 blks, 39 steals), who was the SoCon's Defensive Player of the Year, graduated from ETSU and was the Bucs' best player through the opening half of league play before he seemingly ran out of gas, and was perhaps playing at less than 100%. Like Taylor, the UMass Lowell transfer is out of eligibility.
That is also the case for Jaylen Smith, who was the SoCon's Sixth Man of the Year and had notable performances off the bench in helping lead the Bucs to come-from-behind wins over both East Tennessee State and North Alabama this past season. Smith originally committed to Kent State and then shortly thereafter re-opened his recruitment and has now ended up at Kansas City (UMKC) out of the Summit League.
Smith posted a key 13 points off the bench in ETSU's 75-71 overtime win over Furman, while 14 off the bench in a clutch 78-74 win over the Lions, which saw the Bucs overcome as much as a 19-point deficit early in the second half to get the win.
Smith also posted a season-high 28 points in ETSU's impressive non-conference win over Central Arkansas. There has been no word on where Smith will land in the portal as of yet with his one year of eligibility remaining. He finished out his only season in the Bucs Blue and Gold averaging 9.1 PPG and 2.6 RPG and also finished the season as a 34.4% (52-of-151) shooter from three-point range.
The player that did the most for his transfer portal stock with the Bucs this past season was Third-Team All-SoCon performer is Blake Barkley. Barkley was tied for team-high scoring honors this past season, as he finished out the campaign matching Taylor's 14.6 PPG average.
Barkley also earned SoCon All-Tournament First Team honors for his performance over the duration of three days in Asheville. Barkley spent a year in Johnson City after transferring in from Northwestern prior to the 2025-26 season.
Maybe the biggest loss heading into the off-season is point guard Al Strothers, who is out of eligibility. In an era when everything is structured towards being transferring for bigger and better perceived opportunities, Strothers is a player that stayed the course and ended up being a major part of ETSU's run to a regular-season title this past season.
His final campaign ended by seeing him average 4.1 PPG and 2.1 RPG, tying Smith with a team-high 100 assists for the season. Strothers was ETSU's quickest player on the perimeter, as well as being the team's best on-ball defensive player.
So where does this ETSU team go from here? The Bucs have appeared to once again start things off strongly in the portal, securing an outstanding group of both portal and freshman additions as signees for the campaign ahead.
Portal Losses/Portal Adds and Returners:
Retaining players in this day and age has become something of a treasured artform for head coaches throughout mid-major basketball, and though the Bucs lose most of their production and leadership from a year ago, the ones that have stuck around will be among the best to return in the league this coming season.
In Jordan McCullum, the Bucs have retained at least one player that can be a challenger for Southern Conference Player of the Year candidate heading into his junior season in 2026-27. McCullum had an outstanding first season in the Bucs Blue and Gold, as he started 32 of 34 games and he is ETSU's leading returning scorer from last season, as he averaged 8.3 PPG and 3.7 RPG last season.
McCullum averaged almost 22 minutes-per-game this past season and shot an impressive 53.3% from the field in his first season in Johnson City. He was also right at 70% from the charity stripe, while shooting just 20.1% from three-point range last season. Head coach Brooks Savage will hope both of those latter shooting averages improve this coming season.
His most significant performance for the Bucs last season came against Chattanooga, as he posted a career-high 24 points at Freedom Hall on Feb. 11. He finished off his first double-double as an ETSU player on Nov. 21, 2025 against Morehead State, as the Harriman, Tenn., product went for 13 points and 14 rebounds against his former school.
All told, McCullum posted 14 double-figure scoring efforts last season, and his 24-point performance in the mid-February win over Chattanooga was part of a stretch which was McCullum's best of the season, as it capped a string of four-straight double-figure scoring performances.
McCullum's most valuable asset, however, might be his play on the defensive end of the floor, and with his athleticism, was able to rank second on the team in blocks last season, swatting away 31 shots, which was only six behind Cam Morris III, who led the team with 37 swatted shots.
Brayden Crump and Maki Johnson represent a couple of more players, who saw time last season and like McCullum, could be significant pieces that enhance what could be an even better portal haul than the one procured by Savage and staff last season. Crump suffered a season-ending injury in the non-conference play.
Crump, a transfer in from Elon, saw action in 11 games before suffering his season-ending injury, averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG. The 6-8, 220-lb product of Morganton, N.C., shot a solid 50% from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc, however, the three-point percentage is probably a little deceiving, as he is probably a little better perimeter shooter than his percentage might indicate.
Crump is also a decent athlete and had some solid performances prior to the injury that ended his season prematurely, finishing with three double-figure scoring performances prior to suffering his injury, which includes a season-high 15 points in a win over Tusculum.
Maki Johnson is a player that continues to show his overall development to different areas of his game, and last season, it was a more well-rounded scorer on the offensive end of the floor, as well as really improving his on-ball defense. He's been rewarded for his loyalty and hard work at ETSU, and he's become a fan favorite in Johnson City.
Last season, Johnson averaged 5.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.1 SPG in 34 appearances. He finished the season shooting 41.5% from the field, and is a player that will provide the type of veteran leadership that coach Brooks Savage will lean on this season. Johnson is best known for his ability as a three-point marksman, as he shot 38.5% from downtown last season. He finished the season an impressive 52-of-135 from three-point range. His improved play on the defensive end last season will likely lead to even more increased minutes this season and he could even compete for a starting spot.
Those players represent the lone Bucs that return to the fold off of last season's regular-season title winning team. With that said, coach Brooks Savage and staff have put together another portal haul of players that should make the Bucs a force in the SoCon once again in 2026-27, as ETSU should be a team considered as one of the favorites to repeat their regular-season title of a year ago, along with being a very candidate to be among the few teams that could potentially cut down the nets in Asheville come early March.
One of the top additions from the transfer portal for ETSU heading into the 2026-27 season is 6-9 forward Marqus Marion, who comes to the Bucs from Winston-Salem, where he was most recently with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons playing for former Bucs head coach Steve Forbes.
Marion is the type of player that head coach Brooks Savage hopes can have a similar impact to that of Blake Barkley last season. After redshirting his first season in Winston-Salem, Marion was able to find time in 20 games last season for the Demon Deacons, recording more than 240 minutes off the bench for Wake Forest.
In early-season matchups against both Morehead State and Michigan, Marion showed his power and athleticism as an effective rebounding presence on both ends of the floor, as he collected six boards in each of those contests.
The Skovlunde, Denmark product not only brings a high basketball IQ and good athleticism to the front court, he also brings the skill level and shooting ability into the fold that seemingly all Europeans bring into the fold, which he combines with the good old American athleticism part of it.
In his first season with the Demon Deacons back in 2023-24, Marion saw action in 21 games as a first-year player, showing the kind promise and potential that could make him a regular with the Demon Deacons. In many ways, Marion's arrival and ultimate falling out of favor as a player had less to do with his talent, and more to do with the portal craze not leaving room on the roster nor the time spent to develop him into the complete ACC frontcourt player that he might could have become given the time spent to develop his complete game.
However, that's become something less likely to happen at the highest level of college basketball now, which is why you see many guys going to a smaller mid-major to hone and develop their skills before moving into the big-time level of college basketball.
Marion's time at Wake was more bad timing than anyhting else, and that's why ETSU will no doubt benefit from having a guy like him in the fold. Much like Barkley, he'll be given free reign and against lesser talent in the SoCon, should also develop an offensive profile similar to Barkley's. I'd argue even that Marion's arrival might even dare I say see the Bucs be slightly better at power forward this season than with Barkley at the position last season.
His best performance during his first season in Winston-Salem came in a game against Georgia, as he posted five points and eight rebounds in what turned out to be a heartbreaking 80-77 loss in Athens. He averaged 11 MPG in his first season at Wake Forest.
Prior to his arrival at Wake Forest, Marion was four-star prospect coming out of Skolvunde, Denmark according to On3, as well as being a Top 50 power forward prospect according to 247Sports. He garnered a silver medal with the U18 Danish National Team at the FIBA Division B European Championship in the summer of 2022.
Set to join Marion in the front court out of the transfer portal for the Bucs next season is Wingate transfer Kendall Campbell. The 6-8, 230-lb senior will be a load underneath the basket. Campbell was only at Wingate for one season, having spent both of his previous two seasons just up the road at Elon.
In his junior campaign at Wingate in 2025-26, Campbell was one of only two players to start all 29 games, finishing out the season by averaging 12 PPG and 4.7 RPG, while shooting 55.8% from the field in 26.2 MPG. Campbell also proved to be a solid threat from three-point range, finishing out the campaign shooting an impressive 36.2% from three-point range.
In his previous two seasons at Elon, Campbell logged action in a combined 58 games where he would start only three games in two seasons for the Phoenix. His best performance in two seasons with Elon came during the 2023-24 campaign against Radford, as he posted a season-high 15 points against the Highlanders.
Another wing that could figure into the front court or in the backcourt because of his major versatility is 6-6 Tyran Mason out of UT-Arlington, who is an addition that Savage thinks could have a breakout season in the Bucs rotation in 2026-27. Mason spent the previous two seasons at Arlington and prior to that, spent the 2024-25 campaign at North Texas.
In his one season at Arlington in 2025-26, Mason ended up averaging 6.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG as one of the top players off the bench for the Mavericks. He saw time in all 32 games last season for the Mavericks, averaging 18.5 minutes-per-game off the bench. He would finish the campaign by shooting a solid 47.7% from the field, including a 31.7% from three-point land. He also shot 68.6% from the charity stripe last season.
Mason posted seven double-figure scoring efforts in his sophomore season with the Mavericks and posted a career-high 20 points in just 28 minutes against Utah Valley in what was an 81-60 loss in early February in Orem. Mason narrowly missed a double-double in the regular-season finale against Abilene Chrstian, as he finished that contest with 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
In his rookie campaign at North Texas in 2024-25, Mason saw action in only four games as a true freshman with the Mean Green.
The talented wing guard/small forward will have two years of eligibility remaining in Johnson City if he chooses to remain a Buc for his senior season.
With the likes of McCullum and Crump returning for ETSU next season, the task wasn't as tall for Savage and staff to find front court production and depth to go with it like the Bucs have had to do each of the past two seasons. In fact, there was more of a concentration on the backcourt, and scoring production and depth from the portal in this particular haul for the Bucs.
While Johnson returns, Jaylen Smith, Brian Taylor II, Gabe Sisk, Milton Matthews III and Allen Strothers have all moved on in the portal of have graduated with no eligibility left. In Savage's first season at the helm in 2023-24, he procured a pair of guards that would end up putting the Bucs in a position to win the SoCon title on Monday night in Asheville, despite heading into the tournament as the No. 7 seed.
Quimari Peterson, who would go on to garner the SoCon Player of the Year honor in 2024-25, teamed with Ebby Asamoah (Delaware) and the scoring exploits and shooting ability of each would end up being enough to help the Bucs go on a run to the title game before running out of gas in the title game following a valiant effort in what was a 76-69 loss to top seed Samford.
In much the same way that Asamoah and Peterson would shine as guards in Savage's first star backcourt tandem in that inaugural portal haul to Johnson City back in 2023-24, there are some players within the most recent haul of players from the portal that could produce similarly big numbers in 2026-27.
 |
| New ETSU Guard Jayden Cooper |
One of those key scoring additions is 6-2 guard Jayden Cooper out of South Alabama, where he was one of the key players for head coach Richie Riley's Jaguars. The Pike Road, AL., product will have one season of eligibility remaining and he would end up starting 31 of 33 outings for the Jaguars last season, and ended up filling out several different categories, including averaging in double figures, posting 11.6 PPG to go along with 2.6 RPG, 1.0 APG and 1.1 SPG.
Cooper is a player that gets it done on both ends of the floor, excelling as an offensive scorer on one end, while being impactful on the defensive end of the floor. Cooper will be a guy that comes in and will be a factor on the defensive end right away as one of ETSU's best on-ball defenders in 2026-27.
With the Jaguars last season, Cooper ended up connecting on 41.2% of his shots from the field and was second on the team with 55 made threes.
Another thing to like about adding a guy like Cooper into the fold is that he's been in a program that has been a winning one, in South Alabama, as the Jaguars have back-to-back 21-win seasons. The Jaguars were even NIT participants this past season at the expense of an ETSU team that many felt, including myself, should have been in that particular NCAA sanctioned tournament.
Cooper will be a guy looked instantly to provide for ETSU as an offensive threat in the backcourt for ETSU next season. In Cooper's first season at South Alabama, he averaged just 3.8 PPG and recorded a pair of double-figure scoring performances, which included a season-high 17 points and four rebounds against Troy.
He actually started his career at NCAA Division II Faulkner, where he would show his talents right away during the 2023-24 campaign, as he was voted as the Southern States Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, while also garnering first-team all-conference honors. In his rookie campaign, the Pike Road, AL product averaged 20.7 PPG, highlighted by a career-high 39-point effort against Dalton State.
BJ Ward (Southeast Missouri State), DeCarl Payne (John A. Logan JUCO), and Trevor Hennig (Weber State) round out an impressive transfer portal haul for the Bucs in the backcourt. Ward is a 6-0, 195-lb senior that is the latest talent to come from SEMO to the Southern Conference, joining Teddy Washington Jr. from last season, who transferred into the Mocs program after helping the Redhawks to a remarkable turnaround story only to fall short in the OVC title game against SIU-Edwardsville.
Like Washington, Ward is another potential impact player in the SoCon, and at least I would imagine from coach Brooks Savage's perspective, he is a player that can be a game-changer for ETSU right away on both ends of the floor.
During the 2025-26 season at SEMO, Ward was one of two Redhawks that started all 33 games and finished the season averaging 10.9 PPG and 2.1 RPG, while distributing the basketball especially well, contributing 3.7 assists-per-game. His 122 assists on the season ended up ranking him fifth in the OVC last season, while his 3.7 helpers-per-game ranked him sixth in the league.
A native of St. Louis, MO, Ward finished the season shooting 38.9% from the field per game, while connecting on 50-of-143 from long range last season, which was good enough for a 35.0% shooting clip for the season from long-range.He connected on 101 threes each of the past two seasons for the Redhawks, and totaled 105 threes made in three seasons in Cape Girardeau.
In his junior season with the Redhawks just last season, Ward ended up enjoying his best game of the season in a big win over Western Illinois, finishing not far from triple-double territory, with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Ward also had 21 points against Morehead State, while finishing with 20 points against SIU Edwardsville.
All told, Ward scored in double figures in 18 starts last season, garnering second-team All-OVC recognition. In three seasons in Cape Girardeau, Ward logged action in 95 games, which included making 67 starts.
A player that could be set to join both Ward and Cooper as a viable scoring threat in the backcourt for ETSU this coming season is Weber State transfer shooting guard Trevor Hennig. The 6-4, 185-lb junior will have two years of eligibility remaining at ETSU after arriving from Ogden, Utah and the Weber State basketball program.
Speaking of Weber State, Hennig comes from one of the most decorated basketball programs in the Big Sky Conference, as the Wildcats have totaled 16 NCAA Tournament appearances in their history, with Hennig essentially moving from one program with a reputable conference title winning tradition to another.
Like Ward and Cooper, Hennig is a player that comes to Johnson City off a campaign which saw him average in double figures in the previous backcourt he was a part of, as Hennig averaged 10.0 PPG and saw action in 26 games, with seven starts, helping the Wildcats to a 16-16 mark as a sophomore in 2025-26.
In the 2025-26 season opener against West Coast Baptist, Hennig got his sophomore season off to a strong start, posting 20 points in what was a 92-point (130-38) win. He also finished the season with a trio of 19-point scoring efforts, which came in games against Utah Tech, Utah State and Montana State. All told, Hennig finished his sophomore season in Ogden with a total of 13 double-figure scoring efforts.
In his rookie season as a Wildcat back in 2024-25, Hennig played in all 34 games, which included starting the final 11, averaging 7.8 PPG, totaling 15 double-figure scoring efforts, which included 12 in Big Sky play. He shot 47.8% from the field last season, including 30% from three-point land on 18-for-60 shooting from long-range. In two seasons at Weber State, Hennig connected on 40 threes, shooting them at a 30.8% (40-of-130) clip.
DeCarl Payne rounds out the portal additions for the Bucs in the backcourt, as he came to Johnson City from John A Logan College, which is a program that ETSU is most familiar with, having procured talents like Devontavius Payne and Quimari Peterson to name a couple of the more prominent ones.
In fact, Payne is part of a direct lineage to play at ETSU from John A. Logan, where his older brother Devonatavius Payne actually helped the Bucs to the 2016-17 Southern Conference Tournament crown. Payne hopes to become the latest of the greats in Johnson City to come from that particular program to play at ETSU.
Payne might have a chance to exceed what even his older brother was able to do in Johnson City in the very near future, where he will have two years of eligibility remaining. During his sophomore season at John A. Logan, Payne garnered All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference honors, playing in 29 games, which included nine starts.
Payne finished out his sophomore season averaging in double figures, posting 10.6 PPG and 2.2 RPG for the Region 24 runners-up. He finished his sophomore campaign connecting on 42% of his shots from the field, including 39% from three-point land and ended up making 46 of his long-range efforts last season. Payne also proved to be an excellent shooter from the charity stripe last season, connecting on 84% of his shots from the free throw line.
In his freshman campaign with the Vols, he logged action in 32 games, including 11 starts and averaged 9.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 1.5 APG, shooting 47% from the field and 40% from three-point range, having made 40 triples.
Payne does a little bit of everything well, and he's a guy that you can't leave open from three, as he has an outstanding shot selection and shot discipline from long range. Those types can be the toughest kinds to guard from the perimeter.
Freshman Additions:
There will be a healthy mix of both freshmen and portal additions during the 2026-27 season for ETSU. Just like the recruiting from the portal, the Bucs put more emphasis on the backcourt than the front court, bringing in two newcomers at the guard spots, in Colte Busse and Ben Maller, while Elton Smith is the lone big man to join the program. If you included freshman guard Maddox Huff, who redshirted last season, there are three young, viable options in the backcourt to give ETSU some quality young depth.
ETSU has recruited a lot from the portal under Brooks Savage in his first three seasons as the head coach, but with the foundation and groundwork laid for a successful and sustainable winning culture, Savage and staff can now start to feed that culture by recruiting from the high school ranks.
As a whole last season, Freshmen classes around the league played a larger role than maybe they ever have, and it's a new trend among mid-majors to play that young talent as early as possible, but it can prove to be a two-edged sabre, as many of the freshmen that played such a vital role at places like Furman, Western Carolina, Wofford and UNCG last season, they ended up transferring out to bigger programs for much more money. With that said, most coaches around the league will tell you that it's absolutely a chance you have to take.
ETSU isn't a stranger to this even before the transfer portal. Pretty much everyone remembers a guy like DamarI Monsanto and how important he was to ETSU's squad back during the 2020-21 season. As a redshirt freshman, Monsanto absolutely took the league by storm, as he averaged 10.6 PPG and shot better 45% from three-point range as a freshman. After Jason Shay was unceremoniously fired at the end of the season, Monsanto moved on to Wake Forest with Shay. He might have stayed had Shay not been let go.
One of the unique players to watch this season for the Bucs is likely the player that decided to redshirt last season--Huff--who has a chance to be an absolute impact player next season for ETSU. Huff enjoyed a standout career at Harlan County High School in Baxter, KY.
To give you an idea of how good Huff is, he was the first player from Harlan County High School to be selected to play in the Kentucky-Indiana series, and he comes to ETSU off a final season as a prep basketball that saw him average 29.4 PPG and 7.9 RPG, leading the Black Bears to a 25-9 overall record and a third-straight district title as a senior.
For his efforts in his senior campaign at Harlan County, Huff garnered 13th Region Player of the Year honors by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches. Huff can flat out shoot the basketball, and that, if anything, could give him his greatest chance to garner a spot in Savage's rotation as soon as the 2025-26 season.
In a state known for good shooters, Huff led them all, as he finished out his senior campaign by leading the Bluegrass State in total made three-pointers, knocking down 151 triples in his final campaign as a prep.
Another especially impressive freshman coming into the ETSU program that the Savage and the ETSU staff are excited about is 6-4 guard Colt Busse, who is another impressive freshman talent the Bucs staff signed back in mid-November.
Busse comes from a great region of basketball talent, as he arrives from Baltimore, MD, after starring at at Archbishop Spalding in Severn, MD last season. The combo guard has excellent ball handling ability to go along with his proficiency as a shooter.
Busse helped Archbishop Spalding to a 20-14 record this past season. Busse finished his senior campaign with 73 made threes, accounting for a majority of his 115 made field goals last season. Busse has a chance to be a real impact player and will join Huff and Johnson as three primary perimeter threats for ETSU in the coming season.
Another combo guard to join the ETSU program for the upcoming 2026-27 basketball season is Ben Maller, who comes to Johnson City all the way from Mountain View, CA. The 6-4, 204-lb prepped at Prolific Prep in South Florida in 2025-26 where he played for head coach Ryan Bernardi. Prior to his time in South Florida, Maller was a three-year letterwinner at Mountain View High School. Maller played multiple sports during his prep career and is yet another player that can be plugged in to a game and affect it with his shooting ability.
The final addition to the roster during the offseason is talented freshman power forward Elton Smith, who joins the Bucs program from Columbia, S.C. and spent a year prepping at Dynamic Prep and OTE FaZe in Irving, TX., under head coach and former NBA big man Jermaine O'Neal before finding his way to ETSU. He averaged 5.1 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 13.8 MPG off the bench for Overtime Elite.
In his high school career at Cardinal Newman HS in Columbia, Smith was a two-time SCISA All-State selection, as well as being a 4A two-time All Region 1 performer. He helped Cardinal Newman to the 4A State title.
ETSU Bucs Early Outlook for 2026-27
The Bucs have enough talent, at least on paper, to be a serious contender for a Southern Conference title once again this season, and will enter the conference slate as one of the favorites to win what would be a second-straight Southern Conference regular-season title.
The Bucs will be a little different in makeup once again this season, as it will be a team that will be stacked with most of its scoring talent and shooting prowess in the backcourt. The Bucs will rely on the veteran leadership of newcomers BJ Ward (SEMO) and Jayden Cooper (South Alabama).
Much like the Bucs had last season with Brian Taylor II and Jaylen Smith, in Ward and Cooper, the Bucs will have both scoring ability, as well as perimeter shooting ability. Ward and Cooper are also dynamic off the dribble, and both can be three-level scorers.
The x-factor might well be DeCarl Payne due to his ability both off the dribble and as a shooter. Payne is a guy that could also prove beneficial as a perimeter defender this season. That is something that will always be a hallmark of ETSU teams under Savage, and that is their ability defensively, especially pushing effective bigs off the block in the low-post, as well as guarding the three-point line, as Savage knows that the three-point shot is a way of life for most teams in the Southern Conference.
Offensive shouldn't be a problem with this new roster of players, and as with any new crop, it will be the defensive buy in that will ultimately determine where this team ends up, but Savage and staff have stockpiled enough talent to win the league once again this season.
One of the biggest takeways for me in observance of how ETSU and Brooks Savage himself were different last season was the character of his team and the players really seemed to embrace playing for one another. In those three years after Forbes left and before Savage took over, there was a lot of individual basketball being played in Johnson City, and it showed with what was allowed to transpire off the court, and that translated to how the game was played on the floor.
Since Savage, he has assembled an outstanding staff, which now includes more head coaching experience, with former Wofford head coach Dwight Perry joining former New Orleans head coach Chris Arkenburg, who was already on staff, and that has set the culture right in Johnson City.
This season, it was more apparent than ever that a culture of faith and commitment was different in Johnson City than it had been in previous seasons, and it even had an effect on head coach Brooks Savage, who got choked up speaking about this very thing after ETSU's dramatic come-from-behind win over Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament this past March.
The humility by coach Savage in that moment for the head coach to speak about that was a different side of Savage that few of us had witnessed, and it also was extension of and evidence of just how good the culture is in Johnson City.
Bucs Breakdown:
Starters Lost: (4/5)--PG-Brian Taylor II (14.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 53 made threes, 35% from 3pt range/out of eligibility); Cam Morris III (13.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG/SoCon Defensive Player of the Year/out of eligibility); Blake Barkley (14.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 59% FG PCT/Transferred to Grand Canyon); Allen Strothers (4.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.1 SPG/out of eligibility)
Others Lost: (4)--G--Jaylen Smith (9.1 PPG, 2.9 APG, 2.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 52 made threes/transferred to Kansas City); G--Milton Matthews III (4.0 PPG, 1.4 RPG/out of eligibility); G/F--Gabe Sisk (3.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG/transferred to Malone); F--Isaiah Sutherland (3.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG/transferred to Wisconsin-Green Bay)
Best Returning Player: F-Jordan McCullum (8.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG)
Potential Breakout Player in 2026-27: Brayden Crump (6.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG)
Best Transfer Portal Get: G-BJ Ward (SEMO) or F-Marqus Marion (Wake Forest)
Potential Glue Guy: G-Maki Johnson (5.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG)
Best Freshman Addition: F-Elton Smith (Cardinal Newman HS/Columbia, S.C.)
Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment