Transfer Portal 2026

[Rufus]

As a life long sports fan ( bball, football, baseball, ) and part time participant, the thing I've always heard is with all the testing and analytics etc and you can't measure the heart, desire, emotion, or drive whatever it is that compels a person. That's how you stumble upon a Tim Krumrie in the 10th round. With the players that's come here in the last few years they've been satisfied with getting paid to do what they've were recruited to do which is shoot the ball. From all that I've heard from CJC he want players that , #1 want to be here, want to be a part of a team, want to be developed as bball players and not just shooters, and so on. If he and CE are successful in identifying these players and these new recruits are genuine about their commitments I think it will show the first year. We have not seen players challenged, or disciplined, around 5/3rd for way too long. I don't know how you coach a team by letting them play the way they want to play and hope the outcome gets better. Terry Nelson said on his podcast the other day that when he left the program here one time to go back to Cali, he figured out that he had to play the role BH wanted and not how he wanted. I hope these players are willing to realize individually their shared potential. After five years we all can recognize when a player is playing to help the team or to promote himself.

[sedz]

Yeah I'm worried that the recruits we have now are not proven Power 4 players. I hope I'm wrong & the CJC can coach them up like Huggins did for many years. I'm optimistic & glad the coaching change happened.

Proven power 4 players are expensive. We're one of several teams mentioned with Georgetown 7'0" 260 sophomore Julius Halaifonua. He originally announced he was staying at GTown but entered the portal last week. Rumor is BYU offered him $4 mil and he's looking for the highest offer. And this is for a guy who averaged under 20 minutes a game because he can't stay out of foul trouble.

[GoBearcats31]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...mmitments-2026

74. Tyler Tejada

Pre-commitment analysis: Tejada was CAA Player of the Year in 2024-25 then put up better numbers this past season. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, and he was fantastic in the CAA tournament, putting up 31.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the course of three games. And in three games against NCAA tournament team Hofstra, he posted 22.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Outlook with new team: The incoming duo of Tejada and George Mason transfer Riley Allenspach will be one to monitor for new coach Jerrod Calhoun. Both players have size and skill and the ability to step out and shoot from the perimeter, though neither is much of a rim protector.


91. Tylen Riley

Pre-commitment analysis: A second-team all-conference selection in the American, Riley was a catalyst for a Tulsa team that won 30 games and advanced to the NIT championship. He averaged 15.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists, shooting nearly 39% from 3 (albeit on fewer than two attempts per game). He had 20 points against Auburn in the NIT title game.

Outlook with new team: Jerrod Calhoun stockpiled wing players in the first couple of weeks after the portal opened, including Myles Colvin (Purdue), Trevian Carson (North Dakota State) and Eric Mahaffey (Akron). Now he has a point guard who can create open looks for all three players. Riley loves to make plays off the bounce.

[bearcatjd]

Yeah I'm worried that the recruits we have now are not proven Power 4 players. I hope I'm wrong & the CJC can coach them up like Huggins did for many years. I'm optimistic & glad the coaching change happened.

[red_n_black_attack]

Yeah, and UC is not getting any of them. All that UC can do is to keep on recruiting. UC will land somebody.

High schoolers ready to play or projects?

[London 'Cat]

Anyone else feeling happy about each of the commitments, individually, but a bit concerned about how good this team might end up being? Obviously the roster is not finished and there is still time to add a big time player (noting Baba Miller, Dillon Mitchell and kind of Landers Nolley were guys who committed later), including a potential Corey Evans international special.

But the nature of a full roster turnover, which has largely brought in guys from the mid-major ranks, makes me wonder if they will just be "competitive" again next season or if there is higher potential. They don't have to be great in year 1, but maybe Calhoun will just be a wizard and build the perfect roster for his system. He seems to be saying all the right things and everyone is buying in. And I'm right there in feeling positive about the direction. But I'd also like to see UC be good and not have to wait another almost two years (March 2028) for something real to happen.

Chad Brendel seemed to suggest on last night's BCJ podcast that the floor is high (even if ceiling is unknown) and I hope that is right. You never know how the pieces will fit together, but perhaps I'm a bit skeptical just how many guys will translate up a level. And I'm typically a lot more glass half full, I believe, than many fans.

That is a legitimate concern, especially considering how the last 5 years went. UC had near complete roster turnovers each year, which never led to an NCAA berth. Rinse and repeat this year although with a new coach. I'm tempering my expectations mostly because I don't know that much about CJC and staff. Will they be able to get these guys to play as a team better than Wes and staff? That is the $3.1M question. I hope so but one never knows.

[sedz]

Anyone else feeling happy about each of the commitments, individually, but a bit concerned about how good this team might end up being? Obviously the roster is not finished and there is still time to add a big time player (noting Baba Miller, Dillon Mitchell and kind of Landers Nolley were guys who committed later), including a potential Corey Evans international special.

But the nature of a full roster turnover, which has largely brought in guys from the mid-major ranks, makes me wonder if they will just be "competitive" again next season or if there is higher potential. They don't have to be great in year 1, but maybe Calhoun will just be a wizard and build the perfect roster for his system. He seems to be saying all the right things and everyone is buying in. And I'm right there in feeling positive about the direction. But I'd also like to see UC be good and not have to wait another almost two years (March 2028) for something real to happen.

Chad Brendel seemed to suggest on last night's BCJ podcast that the floor is high (even if ceiling is unknown) and I hope that is right. You never know how the pieces will fit together, but perhaps I'm a bit skeptical just how many guys will translate up a level. And I'm typically a lot more glass half full, I believe, than many fans.

I agree with the high floor. We have a good group of guards and wings with skills that complement each other. They can get to the rim, draw fouls, create, and rebound. I'm a little worried about backcourt defense (metrics are not high on Riley or Colvin's defense), but they should be able to score. The ceiling depends not only on how they handle the jump in competition, but also how they handle a drop in usage. Can Tejada and Riley become more efficient if they aren't trying to force things by themselves?

I'm worried about interior defense. We have one offensive big in Allenspach and an unknown in Iweze. Rim protection has to be our number one priority right now. To truly have a high ceiling I think we'll need to bring in a good all round big like Halaifonua. Our current roster is #33 on Torvik. Addings Hastings or Halaifonua gets us in the top 30.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

We need a little star power. I'm not sure we're setting our sights high enough.

[GoBearcats31]

Anyone else feeling happy about each of the commitments, individually, but a bit concerned about how good this team might end up being? Obviously the roster is not finished and there is still time to add a big time player (noting Baba Miller, Dillon Mitchell and kind of Landers Nolley were guys who committed later), including a potential Corey Evans international special.

But the nature of a full roster turnover, which has largely brought in guys from the mid-major ranks, makes me wonder if they will just be "competitive" again next season or if there is higher potential. They don't have to be great in year 1, but maybe Calhoun will just be a wizard and build the perfect roster for his system. He seems to be saying all the right things and everyone is buying in. And I'm right there in feeling positive about the direction. But I'd also like to see UC be good and not have to wait another almost two years (March 2028) for something real to happen.

Chad Brendel seemed to suggest on last night's BCJ podcast that the floor is high (even if ceiling is unknown) and I hope that is right. You never know how the pieces will fit together, but perhaps I'm a bit skeptical just how many guys will translate up a level. And I'm typically a lot more glass half full, I believe, than many fans.

[leo from jersey]

so Riley comes to UC and immediately Tillery to Charlotte and Issacs to OU.

[SKell82155]

Yeah, there is a piece by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer, that reports UC contacted Luke Wilson as well as Bonke and Hastings. The report also mentions Sanders from Utah. Sanders, 6'8", is a sophomore forward that appears to have some offense to his game. Shoots 44.2% overall and 40.3% from three. Very weak FT shooter at 38.7%. Not sure about his defense. Any big that can shoot consistently with that kind of percentage from three will probably have a place on many teams. Interesting to see how the roster situation is evolving.

Dont understand how someone can shoot 40% from 3 but only 38% from free throw line, lol. Unless the sample size for 3
pointers is small, maybe.

[Rufus]

Did I read that Hastings committed elsewhere today?

[KevMan1976]

I'm getting anxious for the season to start already. Great pickup today, kudos to CJC and staff and welcome to all the "new" bearcats.

I am right there where with you. Look, we are admittedly entering uncharted territory—for want of a better expression. But while I, like many others, genuinely liked Wes, he proved ultimately that it just wasn’t the right fit.

I’m ready for a new cast of characters, and I’m banking on the idea that CJC has gone out and recruited a bunch of rough-and-tumble guys with a gargantuan chip on the shoulder.

I’m ready for toughness. I’m ready for fierceness.

I’m ready for a return to Bearcat Basketball.

Let’s gooooo!!

[Longtime Lurker]

In the realm of "reading of entrails," Jayden Hastings "liked" the post announcing Riley's commit....

[longtimefan]

We may need to look at international bigs.