Year 1 coach progress reports: Where is Will Wade’s roster? LSU has no players as portal closure nears

Will Wade’s second tenure as LSU’s coach is off to an inauspicious beginning as the Tigers enter his fourth week on the job without a single public commitment for their 2026-27 roster. LSU is the only high-major team that did not have a player in the fold as of Monday, which leaves Wade and his staff with significant work to do at a point when many of the sport’s top free agents have already announced their destinations.

Of the top 100 transfers in the CBS Sports/247Sports rankings, 76 are off the board. The Tigers are in the mix for No. 4 ranked transfer Allen Graves from Santa Clara and No. 32 ranked transfer Paul McNeil from NC State, but there is competition for both. Duke is among those recruiting Graves, who has also declared for the NBA Draft.

Though Wade and McNeil have a preexisting relationship from this past season at NC State, North Carolina has also been in contact with McNeil, who has not ruled out a return to NC State. 

It’s no surprise to see that Wade isn’t stocking up on former NC State players after he was critical of the Wolfpack’s 2025-26 roster amid a 20-14 campaign defined by late-season struggles and a First Four exit from the NCAA Tournament. But it is surprising to see the Tigers without a single commitment as Wade approaches one month on the job.

Acquiring talent has never been a problem for Wade, who is now in his sixth head coaching tenure at just 43 years old. This roster construction will be different though. It will require a high-wire act to assemble a competitive team from the narrowing amount of top-level talent ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for players to enter the transfer portal. 

Here are the updated progress reports for all the high-major coaches in new jobs.

A lot of work left

LSU (Will Wade)

We are talking about Will Wade here. Typically, talent acquisition would be the least of your worries with Wade at the helm. But so far, it’s been quiet in terms of actual commitments. It will be interesting to see what Wade has up his sleeve in the weeks ahead.

Early grade: F

Georgia Tech (Scott Cross)

Troy transfer Victor Valdes is following Cross to Georgia Tech after leading the Trojans in scoring (14.8) and assists (4.2) last season. The 6-7 guard is the only proven transfer in the fold thus far. But the Yellow Jackets also landed a commitment from Kayden Allen, the No. 50 prospect in the Class of 2026. The New York wing is one of Georgia Tech’s 10 highest-ranked commits of the 247Sports era and is the type of player Cross couldn’t land at Troy. Those are nice pieces, but there is still work to do if the Yellow Jackets are going to get out of the ACC cellar in Cross’ first year.

Early grade: C

NC State (Justin Gainey)

A couple of important backcourt pieces are on the way as highly productive mid-major transfers Preston Edmead (Hofstra) and Christian Hammond (Santa Clara) enter after playing key roles on NCAA Tournament teams. The rest of the Wolfpack roster is a work in progress, but Gainey and his staff have been working the portal aggressively. If Wolfpack fans need a lift, just go check out how Will Wade’s roster build is going at LSU.

Early grade: C

North Carolina (Michael Malone)

All eyes are on Henri Veesaar, the star big man who might be a preseason All-American if he returns to college basketball. If Veessaar stays with the Tar Heels, this grade will quickly rise. Keeping the 7-footer and potentially adding a high-octane guard like Utah transfer Terrence Brown Jr. would constitute major positive developments for a UNC roster construction that thus far is highlighted by the addition of Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas, a big-bodied point guard with NBA upside.

Early grade: B-

Getting there

Providence (Bryan Hodgson)

In our first edition of first-year coach progress reports, I sang Hodgson’s praises for his strong early work and then noted that Providence “still needs some size and another knockdown perimeter shooter.” Well, since then, the Friars have checked both boxes. The addition of Buffalo transfer Ryan Sabol — one of the nation’s premier 3-point shooters — supplied the shooter while the commitment of Northwestern transfer center Arrinten Page brought the size. This roster is officially rounding into form.

Early grade: A

Cincinnati (Jerrod Calhoun)

Cincinnati could still use a natural point guard and some proven rim protection. But Calhoun has already landed three top-200 transfers in Wake Forest shooting guard Myles Colvin (No. 76), George Mason big Riley Allenspach (No. 114) and Towson scoring forward Tyler Tejada (No. 163). All three bring unique skill sets and comprise a strong backbone for Calhoun’s first squad. There are just a couple pieces left to fill.

Early grade: B

Syracuse (Gerry McNamara)

Syracuse’s backcourt is coming together nicely. The offensive firepower of transfers Aiden Tobiason (Temple) and Gavin Doty (Siena) brings promise, and McNeese transfer Garwey Dual will bring plenty of defense. Hiring Carmelo Anthony’s former Syracuse teammate surely didn’t hurt with the Orange’s case to retain Kiyan Anthony. The rising sophomore was a top-40 prospect in last year’s freshman class and still has untapped potential after an uneven debut campaign. 

Early grade: B

Boston College (Luke Murray)

Boston College’s rebuild has taken shape over the past several days. Most notably, Murray landed the No. 100 ranked transfer in Money Williams from Montana.  The strong-bodied guard is a bucket-getter, but he’s got the ability to create for others and should have little problem transitioning to the ACC after three standout seasons in the Big Sky. This won’t be an easy turnaround for Murray to execute, but landing a player like Williams was a smart use of BC’s resources. Slovenian wing Zak Smreakar is also a fascinating pickup worth keeping an eye on after he joined the likes of A.J. Dybantsa, Christian Anderson Jr., Mikel Brown Jr. and Hannes Steinbach on last year’s FIBA U19 all-tournament team.

Early grade: B+

Arizona State (Randy Bennett)

If No. 9 ranked transfer Paulius Murauskas opted to follow Bennett from Saint Mary’s to Arizona State, it would simplify this roster build in a significant way. But Murauskas is highly coveted and, understandably, exploring other potential options. In the meantime, transfers additions Joel Foxwell (Portland) and Emmanuel Innocenti (Gonzaga) will give the longtime Saint Mary’s coach a WCC flavor on his first roster. Foxwell led the WCC in assists, and Innocenti is a top-200 transfer who will bring experience and versatility on the wing.

Grade: C+

Almost done

We have a pretty good idea of what these teams will look like in the 2026-27 season.

Butler (Ronald Nored)

Nored is not relying exclusively on the transfer portal as he seeks to revitalize his alma mater. He’s got a couple of potential starters returning in point guard Jalen Jackson and big man Drayton Jones. From a traditional recruiting perspective, four-star prospect and former LSU commit Herly Brutus committed to the Bulldogs last week. Then, there’s the commitment of 6-6 Serbian forward Asim Djulovic, who is putting up impressive stats as a 20-year-old in the Adriatic League. Last but not least, Nored’s portal haul includes:

Eduardo Klafke, a two-year role player at Ole Miss who is a career 44.6% 3-point shooter.Samis Calderon, a toolsy 6-8 forward who appeared in 16 games as a reserve during his freshman season at Kansas.Treyson Anderson, a stretch big who averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks for a North Dakota State team that won the Summit League.Jordan Ellerbee: coming off a standout freshman season at FGCU in which he averaged 13.1 points while showing promise as a pick-and-roll scorer

It’s a well-balanced roster with players from a variety of sources and archetypes, but to this point, it lacks the high-end pop that is likely needed for a big Year 1 breakthrough.

Early grade: B

Creighton (Alan Huss)

The internal handoff from Greg McDermott to Huss has led to more retention than what you get during a normal coaching change. Rotation-caliber pieces Jasen Green, Austin Swartz, Isaac Traudt, Hudson Greer and Jackson McAndrew are all returning. There are plenty of high-major programs not undergoing a coaching change that don’t have that much retention. As for additions, the Bluejays have made some nice ones. 

Providence transfer Oswin Erhunmwunse will bring the rim protection that Creighton sorely missed this past season following the departure of program staple Ryan Kalkbrenner. South Florida flamethrower Wes Enis will help replace the 3-point shooting of Josh Dix. Meanwhile, San Diego State transfer BJ Davis is a veteran floor general and strong perimeter defender. Between Huss’ coaching acumen and the quality of this roster, look for Creighton to get back in the NCAA Tournament picture next season.

Early grade: A-

Kansas State (Casey Alexander)

Kansas State’s midseason firing of Jerome Tang and March 13 hiring of Alexander from Belmont gave the Wildcats a jump start on roster assembly. In terms of numbers, the Wildcats are nearing the finish line. 

In terms of the actual talent that will be required to field a competitive team in the Big 12, there’s still a long way to go. Barring a seismic addition, this team will likely hope to follow the 2024-25 Vanderbilt model. Here is what that looks like: an unfamiliar coach takes over a struggling program, puts together a seemingly underwhelming roster and then proceeds to surge past lackluster preseason expectations. It’s a narrow path.

Early grade: C