SoCon Hoops Summer-Fall Preview Series 2026: The Citadel's Renewed Hope Entering 2026-27

 

   THe citadel (11-22, 7-11/9th in socon)   

It's how you finish and now how you start. That statement is true of any endeavour that anyone sets out to challenge themselves against in life. Any journey that features a competitive goal at the end of said challenge is has an ultimate end that measures your job at achieving whatever goal or standard is to be met.

During the 2025-26 basketball season, that journey must have seemed like a lost cause at points along the way for The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy and his Bulldogs basketball team, but if it did, he never wore a look of concern or self-doubt and that belief and positivity despite the rough first couple of months would eventually pay off over the better part of the last month of the 2025-26 season and extended even into Asheville and the Southern Conference Tournament.

Just how far had The Citadel's basketball program come over the course of the season? It had gone from losing a Southern Conference home opener by 26 points to eventual regular-season champion East Tennessee State to putting up a valiant effort in the Southern Conference quarterfinals before losing to that same Bucs team, only this time by just seven (L, 83-76) in a gutsy performance in which they made ETSU earn their trip to the next round.

There was a lot going on between Dec. 30 and March 7, and what was happening was a team that bonded and improved right before our eyes, and the man at the center of all of it was Ed Conroy. He had to have the believe and buy in before any of the players did, seeing the finishing product from a disassembled mess of random parts at the beginning.

There were a few glimpses of what The Citadel could be in non-conference play, however, like the performances against both College of Charleston and South Carolina in the non-conference. But those were exceptions to the rule--at least early on in the season. The Bulldogs lost an 82-78 contest at the College of Charleston in a game that would see the Cougars post a 41-10 advantage in free throw attempts, as they would end up outscoring the Bulldogs 31-6 from the charity stripe. 

The Bulldogs, however, would end up hitting a snag early on in conference play with some tough road contests, as the Bulldogs would start off league play. Following the lopsided home loss to ETSU, the Bulldogs would lose conference games at home vs. Wofford (L, 95-86), on the road at Mercer (L, 101-63) before snapping what had been a 25-game losing streak in league games with a 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina.

That win would be followed by a narrow overtime loss at UNC Greensboro (L, 69-66 OT) and then a road win over VMI (W, 82-68) broke another long SoCon losing streak, as the Bulldogs got 12 points off the bench from guard Marco Gonzales and another 11 points from point guard Eze Wali, as the 'Dogs snapped a ()-game SoCon road losing streak.

The came perhaps the most significant win of the season for the Bulldogs, as The Citadel welcomed eventual SoCon Tournament champion Furman paid a visit to McAlister Field House and it would really be a game that would see Ed Conroy's team start to collectively believe in what it could do when it functioned as a cohesive unit all on the same page.

The Bulldogs would overcome as much as a 19-point deficit early in the second half but would eventually force overtime and come up with a remarkable 77-75 win, which ended up being one of the biggest wins of either era Conroy has been in Charleston. In terms of its importance as a SoCon win, the victory was as important as the 2023 win over the Paladins or dare I say right behind the February of 2009 win over Steph Curry's Davidson team. 

Four-straight points on a layup and alley-oop catch for a slam would extend Furman's lead to 19 with just under 13 minutes left, at 53-34.

With 9:58 remaining, Christian Moore connected on a three, which was the second in succession for the Bulldogs, cutting Furman's once 19-point lead to 13, at 55-42, prompting a Paladin timeout. Furman maintained a 12-point lead heading into the under eight media timeout, with the Bulldogs briefly cutting it to 11 on an alley-oop from Gonzales-to-Adebisi to make it a 55-44 game, however, Wilkins answered with a top of the key three on the next trip down to extend the lead back to 14 before Braxton Williams finished a layup on the other end to slice the lead back to 12. 

After Franklin connected on a pair of free throws to get the Furman lead to 14, the Bulldogs hit back with five-straight to get within double digits, as Williams connected on a triple to make it a 60-51 game with 6:21 remaining. Following a bail out foul on Johnston against Gonzales going to the basket, the Paladin lead dwindled to seven with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, at 60-53, with the true freshman guard out of Chicago knocking down both charity shots. 

Johnston then turned it over and then picked up his fourth foul with 5:16 left. With just under five minutes left, the Bulldogs continued to chip away, and a three-point play the old-fashioned way, following a rebound and putback by Williams with 4:50 remaining got the Bulldogs to within two possessions, at 60-56, which was as close as the Bulldogs had been on the scoreboard since the 8:03 mark of the opening half, trailing just 25-22 at that particular point in the contest. Williams' three-point play completed what had been a 10-0 spurt for the Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs were able to trim Furman's lead to one over three times over the next 7:53 of the game before eventually pulling even. The points that allowed the Bulldogs to finally pull even and force overtime came, fittingly, on an effort play, which saw the Bulldogs out-work the Paladins by coming up with an offensive rebound and then converting it into points and were rewarded for their hard work by a Furman foul, which allowed for the completion of a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 10 seconds remaining. 

It appeared Furman might survive when Cole Bowser converted a layup in the paint to give the Paladins a 67-64 lead with 1:14 remaining. However, a costly offensive rebound allowed by the Paladins would lead to a three-point play from The Citadel's Sola Adebisi with 10 seconds remaining, which tied the game 67-67, with Wilkins missing a jumper at the buzzer as the two teams headed for an extra five minutes of basketball for a third-straight season in Charleston.

In overtime, a foul by Cole Bowser as Williams drove to the basket put the Valdosta State grad transfer at the line for a pair of free throws. He would connect on a pair of charity shots 30 seconds into the extra five minutes of basketball to give The Citadel a 69-67 lead, which was its first lead since a 20-19 advantage at the 9:51 mark of the opening half. 

After a Charles Johnston dunk tied it off a hook-pass alley-oop from Wilkins, the Bulldogs answered with a Moore triple to take a 72-69 lead with 3:11 remaining. Furman got within one when Wilkins was fouled and then proceeded to knock down both one-and-one free throws to trim The Citadel's lead to one, at 72-71.

Williams and Vander Wal traded layups to leave the margin at one, and after Gonzales missed a three for the Bulldogs, Wilkins would be fouled going to the basket once again, and this time the freshman from Mattapan, MA., knocked down both of the two-shot bonus free throws to give Furman a 75-74 lead with 1:21 left. 

Furman couldn't defend without fouling the rest of the way, and the Bulldogs were able to convert 3-of-4 foul shots over the final minute, with Adebisi and Williams combining for the final three points of the game from the line, giving the Bulldogs a 77-75 lead and ultimately the win. 

The Bulldogs were only getting started with their journey of big league wins that would define the latter half of the 2025-26 season. Late-season road wins at Chattanooga (W, 78-71 ) and at Wofford (W, 93-90 OT) would see the Bulldogs enter the Southern Conference Tournament with plenty of momentum.

Once the Bulldogs arrived in Asheville, it became apparent that this was going to be Sola Adebisi's "one shining moment." In the final game of the regular-season, Adebisi posted a career-high 27 point in a road win over Wofford, and the win brought significance with it, as the Bulldogs secured their seventh SoCon win of the season, which was the most since the 2009-10 campaign. 

In the tournament, the ninth-seeded Bulldogs faced off against the eighth-seeded Mocs and it would end up being one of the premier games of the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament. But when it was finished, the Bulldogs had held on for a thrilling 88-85 win over the 12-time SoCon Tournament champions.

Sola Adebisi was at it again, finishing just one of his career-high 27-point effort against Wofford, as his 26 points were key in helping the Bulldogs to another breakthrough win for the program. Adebisi connected on the Bulldogs' 15th triple of the evening with just nine seconds remaining, and that would prove to be the dagger, as the Bulldogs held on for a thrilling 88-85 win, weathering a Chattanooga potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer by Colin Mulholland to hold on for the win and move into Saturday's quarterfinal round. 

For Adebisi, it was part of an all-around performance in the game, which saw him finish with seven rebounds and three blocks to go with his 26 points. Adebisi was one of four Bulldogs in double figures, with Kenyan Davis' 20 points off the bench for the Bulldogs being equally as important as Adebisi's 26-point effort. Davis was on a burner all night, as he connected on 6-of-10 shots from the field, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. 

Valdosta State graduate transfer Braxton Williams added 17 points, while wing Christian Moore added 14, as the Bulldogs lived to fight another day in Asheville. The Bulldogs shot 54.2% from the field and 

Facing top-seeded East Tennessee State 16 hours later would be the reward for the win over the Mocs, and while the Bulldogs fought valiantly, The Citadel would eventually begin to run out of gas in the second half, but never let the Bucs get fully comfortable in what would turn out to be an 83-76 season-ending loss for Conroy's group of hardwood warriors. 

With the end of the season, it also meant the end of some careers in Charleston, with Sola Adebisi, Christian Moore and Braxton Williams having all moved on. Also having moved on are other veterans like Dante Kearse and point guard Eze Wali, and like most, the Bulldogs are now forced to try and recapture that momentum and synergy that it had over the final month of the season, delighting us all with their exciting play in Asheville last March. 

Portal Losses/Portal Adds and Returners:

While much has moved on for The Citadel basketball moving into the 2026-27 season, there are still some old heads around for Conroy's Bulldogs moving into the 2026-27 season, not all is lost from last season.

One of the key returnees to the fold this fall will be Kenyan Davis, who will be one of the veterans called upon to lead a very different group of players heading into the 2026-27 season. Davis ended up being a key part of the puzzle for the Bulldogs last season, especially when it came to getting results in Asheville.

The 6-5 wing is a can play multiple positions, and when he gets on a role shooting the basketball, watch out. It was very much what we witnessed him do in the Bulldogs' opening round win over Chattanooga last March. 

Davis ended the season by logging action in all 32 games for The Citadel, which included making eight starts. He ended the season by connecting on 36.4% of his shots from the field, while connecting on 26.5% from three-point range. 

He will be one of the unquestioned leaders for the Bulldogs, but one of the things he has lacked so far in his career with the Bulldogs is consistency. Davis captured lightning in a bottle with his couple of performances in Asheville last March, as he posted games of 20 points and 11 points in the SoCon Tournament against both Chattanooga and East Tennessee State, respectively.  He went 8-for-13 from three-point range over the course of two games in Asheville in the SoCon Tournament. 

Prior to the tournament, Williams had only three double-figure scoring games the entire season, posting 11 points in the season opener against Erskine, while adding 17 against West Georgia and 13 in a win over North Greenville. 

Another key cog returning for the Bulldogs in the 2026-27 season will be Marcos Gonzales, who mostly played in a backup role at the point guard spot for the Bulldogs last season.  He appeared in 29 games off the bench for the Bulldogs, finishing the campaign averaging 4.4 PPG and 1.6 RPG. He shot 43.6% from the field and 61.9% from the charity stripe last season. 

Gonzales posted a season-high 20 points off the bench in a win over North Greenville, while also making a key impact off the bench for the Bulldogs off the bench in a win over VMI, as he contributed 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in what was an 82-68 win at VMI last season. He was also especially solid in the win vs. Furman, contributing nine points off the bench in what was a gutsy 77-75 win over the Paladins just four days after his big performance in the win over VMI. 

Gonzales wouldn't end up being much of a threat shooting the ball from the perimeter, as he went just 6-for-21 (28.6%) from long-range during his freshman campaign for the Bulldogs. He finished the season with 44 assists and 18 steals, showing he has the potential to be a complete player for the Bulldogs, as his minutes increase, which should begin this season.

It will be interesting to see what Ed Conroy does with Furman transfer Eddrin Bronson, who played both off the ball and some point guard for the Paladins over two seasons of action in Greenville. During his time with the Paladins, Bronson saw action in 69 games, including 10 starts over the course of three seasons. He shot 35% from the field, which included a 31% clip from three-point range. 

As a junior during the 2025-26 season, he started seven times and made 34 appearances for the Southern Conference champion Paladins, averaging 5.4 PPG. Bronson enjoyed his best performance of the season in Furman's regular-season finale loss at Western Carolina, as he posted 16 points, which also matched his career-high.

During his sophomore season, Bronson posted outstanding performances against Mercer, Kansas and North Texas. He posted a his then career-high 16 points off the bench in what was an impressive 79-74 road win at Mercer. Bronson also proved to be one of Furman's best on-ball defensive performers over the past couple of seasons, and will add what figures to be a pretty good perimeter defense in the coming campaign. He added 15 steals and 12 blocks in the 2025-26 season, and 32 steals and 15 blocks over the course of his playing career in Greenville. 

Joining forces with Bronson from a fellow Palmetto State rival of the The Citadel's is Chase Cormier, who spent a couple of seasons at Wofford (2023-25) before playing at Iona last season. Cormier spent his freshman season at Northeastern before making his way to Spartanburg. The well-traveled Cormier most recently saw action in 32 games last season with the Gaels, averaging 2.0 PPG and 0.7 RPG, posting 11 assists and 11 steals on the season.

Cormier is another player that, like Bronson, will enhance the Bulldogs defensively on the perimeter, with that being a strength of his game at all three places he has been. 

Also like Bronson, Cormier was a bit inconsistent as a scorer, but in a more trusted role to be an offensive threat rather than a role player, Cormier might thrive in such a structure. The same can also be said of Bronson. Both Cormier and Bronson will have a lot of confidence placed them by the Bulldogs coaching staff to produce consistently on the offensive end of the floor. 

His best season offensively came during the 2023-24 campaign at Wofford, as Cormier scored 212 points and averaged 7.1 PPG and ranked third on the team in made three-pointers, connecting on 52 triples for the season. 

Additionally, the 6-2 Cormier added 54 rebounds, 31 assists and 16 steals to finish off a solid sophomore season. However, with his minutes going to be affected due to some off-season additions, Cormier requested a redshirt just prior to the 2024-25 season in order to transfer. The Terriers would end up winning the SoCon as a the No. 6 seed, and while Cormier was still on the roster, never played a minute the entire season for Wofford. Cormier will be hoping to regain that 2023-24 and then some in his final season with the Bulldogs. 

Combo guard Colin McKenzie also joined The Citadel from another Palmetto State program, as he comes just an hour down the road from Orangeburg and South Carolina State to play for a different type of Bulldog. McKenzie logged action in only six games with one start for South Carolina State last season, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.8 RPG. His only performance of note came against North Carolina A&T, as he posted nine points on a 4-of-7 shooting performance against the Aggies. 

McKenzie is a player that, like Bronson, has a chance to make an immediate impact this coming season and will be given the "green light" so to speak when it comes to shooting the three-ball, which is his specialty. The 6-6 McKenzie is a native of Charleston and will be looking to finish out his career on a high note playing for the Bulldogs. 

Another player that has a chance to be a solid addition off the ball is 6-2 guard Marcus Banks, who comes to the Bulldogs' program out of NCAA Division II Shepherd University, where he spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career. 

During his time with the Rams, Banks saw time in 90 games, including having made 65 starts over the course of three seasons, and garnered All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors and averaged 13.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG. In his three seasons at Shepherd, Banks posted 1,241 points, 342 assists, 122 steals, and 16 blocks. Banks will have a chance to compete for a starting job at one of the off-guard.  Jameson Heck, who saw action in only four games last season, rounds out the backcourt options for the Bulldogs.

The frontcourt has also seen a major overhaul with the departures of Sola Adebisi of Simeon German underneath. One of the more intriguing additions is fifth-year, 6-11 center Joe Hurlburt, who spent his first three seasons playing at both Colorado and Davidson. 

Hurlburt was at Davidson in each of the previous two seasons, seeing action in 36 games over the course of two seasons, which included making one start. Hurlburt averaged 1.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG. He saw action in 28 games with the Wildcats in his first season in 2024-25 but saw only eight games last season. Hurlburt started his career at Colorado. 

He will give the Bulldogs some size and is decently skilled underneath, and he could potentially the same type size and player underneath that Quentin-Millora Brown gave the Bulldogs a couple of years back after he transferred in from Vanderbilt. 

Ramel Bethea is a 6-9 forward that could be another guy that could a player that figures into the plans this season in the paint for Conroy's Bulldogs. Bethea comes to Charleston from Green Bay and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He saw action in 30 games for the Phoenix last season, making five starts. He is athletic and will be the most comparable player on the roster to Adebisi.

Bethea shot a blistering 74.6% in limited action with the Phoenix, recording 15 points and eight rebounds in a win over Haskell last season. Bethea's athleticism will allow him to be a rim protector, having swatted away 38 shots and posted 10 steals in that limited action. He finished off the 2025-26 season by averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG. 

He stared his career at MiraCosta College where he averaged an impressive 12.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG in his freshman season back in 2024-25. He enjoyed his best career performance against Palomar, as he connected on 11-of-11 from the field, finishing up with 27 points. In my estimation, Bethea looks like a player that could end up starting before it's all said and done. 

Cassius Bonjarksy was a player that was on the roster last season for the Bulldogs as an option in the paint. The 6-7, 230-lb forward will most likely be an option at power forward this coming season. The native of Almere, Netherlands logged action in 19 games in his first full season with the Bulldogs last season, shooting 57.1% from the field and 70.0% from the charity stripe in limited action. His best offensive performance of the 2025-26 season came in the road loss to West Georgia, as he posted eight point in the road loss to the Wolves. 

Bonjarsky started his career at Garett College before playing a season at New Mexico Military Institute before making his way to The Citadel in the spring of 2024, sitting out his first season before logging his first action as a Bulldog last season. Bonjarsky isn't a big-time scoring option and will likely be used more for his ability defensively as well as his rebounding ability.

Another player to watch that comes to Charleston via the transfer portal is 6-7 Tyler Mrus, who comes to the Bulldogs program from BYU, as The Citadel will mark Mrus' fourth school in fourth school in five years. Mrus, a native of Bothwell, WA., actually started his career at Alaska-Fairbanks before spending the next couple of seasons at Idaho. 

During his time with the Vandals, Mrus played in 33 games over two seasons, which included making 31 starts.  He ended up averaging just below double figures, finishing out the 2024-25 season posting 9.7 PPG in 29.4 MPG. 

While shooting only 38.2% from the field, Mrus ended up being a strong threat from three-point range, as he finished the season shooting a solid 38% from three-point land. He finished the season connecting on 73-of-192 three-pointers for the Vandals. He also finished the 2024-25 season as a 76.6% shooter from the charity stripe. 

In his one season at BYU, he logged action in 27 games and averaged 9.6 MPG and posted a season-high 15 points in a win over Pacific, finishing the evening perfect from the field, as he went 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point land.  

Logan Menafee and Aidan Alexander return in the paint and both logged limited action last season for the Bulldogs, will both look to garner more significant roles underneath for The Citadel this coming season.

Freshman/Walk-On Additions

The Bulldogs' coaching staff went out and recruited the services of four newcomers expected to play impactful roles for Ed Conroy's 2026-27 The Citadel Bulldogs this fall, bringing in a couple of guards and a couple of big men.

Ja'Yon Alexander is a 6-2 guard that comes to Charleston and The Citadel by way of the SPIRE Academy in Rochester, N.Y., where he was noted for both his athleticism and shooting ability while he was a prep. He will fit nicely as a wing guard and finished out his prep career by scoring 1,000 points and shot close to 40% from three-point range during his time at SPIRE. He is also a noted defender, earning first-team all-defense honors as a prep.

The Bulldogs also welcomed in 6-6 wing Aaron Ekwere from Finland during the off-season, and coaches believe he a player that can help out the Bulldogs depth on the wing right away. Much like the 6-7 Tyler Mrus, Ekwere brings a highly-skilled game into the fold for the Bulldogs. He can also step out and is an effective outside shooter and during his time in Finland as a prep, Ekwere helped Drive Academy win three-straight national titles.

He also helped represent the Finnish National Team at the U18 and U20 levels, competing with the U20 Finnish National Team at the 2025 FIBA Eurobasket, averaging 16.9 PPG and 5.7 RPG. He also is an exceptional passer as a wing, as evidenced by his 2.1 assists-per-game.

Following that competition, he continued his development with Pantterit Helsinki, which included dropping half-a-hundred in the Finnish playoffs. Coaches feel like that they have found a diamond in the rough, in Ekwere, would can play multiple positions, including small forward, but most likely will play as a wing guard with his skill and ability as a shooter.

Jack Seiders is a 6-7, 190-lb forward that comes to The Citadel from Austin Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. Seiders was named the District 26-6A Offensive MVP and was selected to the 6A All-State team and was rated as one of the top 10 small forwards. Seiders also spent a season at the Darrow School in New York before deciding on committing to The Citadel.

During his final season at Austin-Westlake, he averaged 18.8 PPG and averaged 7.8 RPG, as he helped Westlake High School to a 10th-straight district title, shooting 53% from the field over his four-year prep career. Seiders will add some immediate frontcourt scoring ability and depth, as he will play at small forward for the Bulldogs in 2026-27. His scoring ability will allow him to compete for major minutes right away.


Finally, the most intriguing addition to the fold as a freshman might be 7-0 Yaw Ansong out of the African nation of Ghana. The 7-0, 220-lb Ansong played his prep basketball at Union Catholic in Virginia, and he will give the Bulldogs both size, skill and some rim protection in the paint. He projects as adding depth at center behind 6-11 Joe Hurlburt. Ansong is also part of the Ghanian youth national team and played in his country before opting to move to the United States to continue his development.

   THe citadel outlook for 2026-27   

The Citadel opens its 2026-27 season earlier than most teams in college basketball, as the Bulldogs will be part of the LINKU Invitational on Sept. 27, which will take place outdoors on Daniel Island, with the Bulldogs set to take on cross-town rival College of Charleston in a game that will be streamed on the ESPN+ platform and is slated for a 2 p.m. EST tip-off time.

It's all about building excitement and momentum coming off last season's strong finish, which saw the Bulldogs win their most conference games (7-11) since winning 15 games in Conroy's first tenure as the head coach in Charleston, when the Bulldogs went 15-5 in the league and finished off one of it's greatest seasons in their 114 seasons as a program.

The watchword this season will be "elevation" for a program that is routinely picked towards the lower third of the league and has never made an NCAA Tournament appearance. There is a quiet confidence throughout the low country about this team and what they could do in 2026-27. The question is what will elevation look like. Most would likely agree that would involve avoiding the play-in round of the Southern Conference Tournament.

One of the notable "elevations" has already taken place, and that is off the floor, where the Bulldogs have seen an uptick in both their portal recruiting, as well as when it comes to procuring talent from the high school ranks.

Players like Furman's Eddrin Bronson and former Wofford guard Chase Cormier are a testament to that. A lot of that improvement is a direct result of Conroy's hiring of assistants Brady Schuck and Andrew Glover, who have helped upgrade the overall talent of the team, which was easily noticeable last season.

Now it's about building almost a brand new team for a brand new season and what that will look like. That is the challenge that every mid-major program now, but it obviously looks much different at places like VMI and The Citadel, as it requires a little creativity and some luck when building your roster.

What that looks like long-term is still hard to know, but what I do know is that in the immediate, this is a Bulldogs basketball team that won't be finishing last in a new expanded 11-team league. The Bulldogs have enough shooting quality and scoring talent at guard to ensure that won't happen in 2026-27. In fact, I would be shocked if the Bulldogs don't compete for one of the top six or seven spots in the league and an opening round bye in the SoCon Tournament.

   Bulldogs  Breakdown   

Players With Starting Experience Lost: (7)--F Sola Adebisi (Started all 30 games he played in; 10.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 59.7 FG%, 33.3% 3PT FG%, 36 stls, 37 blks); F Braxton Williams (started 24 of 33 games he saw action in; 14.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 40.0 FG%, 34.2% 3PT FG%, 77.7% FT%; team-best 79 made threes); F Christian Moore (Started 23 of the 31 games he saw action in; 11.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 43% FG%, 38.7 3PT FG%, 63 made three-pointers); G Carter Kingsbury (Started 30 games in 31 games he played in; 8.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 67 assists, 44 FG%, 74.4% FT%); G Eze Wali (Started 32 games of the 33 games he played in; 5.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, team-leading 76 assists, 33 steals, 35.6% FG%); G Logan Applegate (Started three of the 33 games he played in; 6.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 36.8 FG%, 31.8% 3PT FG%, 49 made threes); C Simeon German (Started 15 of the 28 games he played in; 1.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 43.6 FG%, 11 blks).

Others Lost: (3)--F Dante Kearse (3.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 41.5% 3PT FG%, 22 made threes); G Gabe Hernandez (2.0 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 37.8 FG%); G Rowan Irelan (saw action in five games, 1.8 PPG, 0.6 RPG)

Best Returning Player: G Kenyan Davis (4.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG)

Potential Breakout Player in 2026-27: Marcos Gonzales (4.4 PPG, 1.6 RPG)

Best Transfer Portal Get: G-Eddrin Bronson (Furman)

Potential Glue Guy: G-Kenyan Davis (4.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG)

Best Freshman Addition: F/G Aaron Ekwere or F Jack Seiders

Overall Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: B+