Last week, we asked for mailbag questions, and I went a tad long on the one below, so my editors decided to make it a story by itself. Thanks to Teddy W., here are the grades for the roster constructions of the new high-major coaches.
Editor’s note: Lindsay Schnell also graded the new high-major coaching hires’ transfer portal hauls.
How would you grade the new coaches in terms of their roster construction jobs so far? — Teddy W.
I’m not going to grade every new coach, but I will go through the high-majors. I’m grading on a sliding scale depending on the job.
North Carolina: C+
Michael Malone is graded on the toughest scale here because he has one of the best jobs in the country. The expectation is UNC should always be a Top 25 team, and I didn’t rank the Heels in my latest rankings. I do like the upside swings in Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able in the transfer portal, and it was important to hold on to incoming recruit Maximo Adams, who I thought was one of the best scorers in his class. The frontcourt is worrisome. Sayon Keita is another fun upside swing, but he averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for FC Barcelona’s under-22 team. Is he ready to be a starter for a blue blood? The stabilizer would have been Henri Veesaar, who stayed in the NBA Draft and went 52nd. He would have been one of the highest-paid bigs in the country, and not getting him to stay or landing a proven replacement could be what really holds the Heels back.
LSU: Incomplete
It appears Will Wade’s plan is to sue his way to contention. The most newsworthy of the players Wade plans to fight for is former St. John’s wing RJ Luis Jr., who went undrafted in 2025, signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz and was waived after being traded to the Boston Celtics. The NCAA will do everything in its power to prevent Luis from gaining eligibility. But that’s not the only court battle likely in store for this program. Wade is also trying to get through international prospects Saliou Niang (drafted in the second round in 2025 by Cleveland and spent last year in the EuroLeague), Brice Dessert (a 23-year-old who went undrafted in 2025 and is also a EuroLeaguer) and Marcio Santos (another EuroLeaguer who went undrafted in 2023 and has played in the NBA Summer League twice). These are complex cases, and it’s hard to decipher anymore who is definitely eligible or who will need to win in court. If Wade can somehow get all of these guys through, he probably has a Top 25 team. It’s a bold strategy to build a roster this way. Until we know who will be eligible, I’ll hold off on grading.
NC State: A
Justin Gainey did a nice job, considering the circumstances of taking over after just one year under Wade. Gainey’s big win was holding on to Paul McNeil Jr., who had a surprising breakout sophomore season. Gainey signed three transfers in The Athletic‘s top 100 transfer rankings, tying with UNC for the most among new coaches, an impressive accomplishment for someone who has never been a head coach. Two of those players are young, talented mid-major guards, Santa Clara’s Christian Hammond and Hofstra’s Preston Edmead, giving NC State one of the deepest backcourts in the ACC. The other top-100 player is former UC Irvine center Kyle Evans, who helped the Anteaters rank No. 1 in 2-point field-goal percentage defense and was a top-10 shot blocker in the sport. Darius Adams, a former top-40 recruit, transferred from Maryland after a solid freshman season and has upside. Another solid addition was Eemeli Yalaho, who started his career at Texas Tech and shot 40.2 percent from 3 last year at Washington State. This is probably the most complete roster among these teams.
Cincinnati: A
Jerrod Calhoun has a solid mix of productive transfers and young players from his Utah State program. Tulsa transfer Tylen Riley is one I’m really high on. I wouldn’t be surprised if Riley ended up as a top-10 transfer. If the Bearcats can make the NCAA Tournament, which they haven’t done since 2019, Calhoun will earn this grade. Bart Torvik has them projected as the 38th-best team in college hoops, which would put them safely in the expanded field. (They’ll likely be higher if Utah State transfer MJ Collins is eligible. Collins is one of the players suing the NCAA, seeking a fifth year under the new age-based model that allows future players five years to play five seasons.)
Jerrod Calhoun has Cincinnati in a position to be much better than last season. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Arizona State: B+
This is another Big 12 team I’d expect to be on the bubble, and it’s a classic Randy Bennett roster. Bennett brought two starters from Saint Mary’s, including all-WCC performer Paulius Murauskas. With fellow WCC first-teamer Joel Foxwell, who starred at Portland and is from Australia, that’s a solid inside-out duo. Bennett also landed Gonzaga glue guy Emmanuel Innocenti, giving him a player accustomed to high-major competition. I’m a little worried whether the Sun Devils are athletic enough for the Big 12, but Bennett is one of the best coaches in the country and as good as it gets at uncovering international gems. This roster will probably blow past expectations, because that’s what Bennett does.
Creighton: A-
The biggest win in the portal for Alan Huss was convincing South Florida transfer Wes Ennis to come to Creighton instead of following his former coach to Providence. Huss also added a few solid rotation pieces, including Providence center Oswin Erhunmwunse and San Diego State guard BJ Davis. What sets Huss apart from the other new coaches is that he retained everyone from Creighton’s rotation who had eligibility. That’s a lot easier when you were around as the coach-in-waiting, but it’s still not a given in this era.
Providence: A-
Bryan Hodgson could have one of the better backcourts in the Big East. He signed two top-100 guards from the portal, San Diego State’s Miles Byrd and FAU’s Devin Vanterpool, plus Georgetown’s Malik Mack and G Leaguer Dink Pate. Pate spent three years in the G League, so his eligibility is a question mark, but unlike LSU, Providence should be fine without him. Mack-Byrd-Vanterpool is one of the better perimeter groups in the Big East. Hodgson also gets props for retaining Ryan Mela, one of my favorite glue guys in college hoops. If Hodgson can get the Friars to the NCAA Tournament, he’ll earn this grade.
Kansas State: C
This could make me look really dumb because Casey Alexander was one of the best talent evaluators at the mid-major level and has spent the last few years sending productive players to the high-major level. What was disappointing about Alexander’s transfer haul was that he couldn’t land any of his former Belmont players. Belmont put three top-100 transfers into the portal, and none went to K-State. If Alexander had brought his roster with him, it would have been a borderline Top 25 team. Instead, his projected best players are Jaden Schutt, who averaged 7.7 points per game at Virginia Tech last season, and Brandon Rechsteiner, who averaged 12.0 points at Colorado State. Torvik projects K-State to be the second-worst Big 12 team.
Syracuse: B-
Gerry McNamara’s transfer haul doesn’t really pop on paper. The Cuse rank No. 36, according to 247’s transfer rankings, and had just one top-100 player in our portal rankings: Siena’s Gavin Doty followed McNamara. But I give McNamara credit for being very intentional in the build. Most, if not all, of his rotation is 6 feet 5 or taller. He’s leaning into positional size. McNamara has said he’s not planning to play primarily 2-3 zone, but this does seem to be a team built to play some zone and lean on its defense.
Gerry McNamara almost led No. 16 seed Siena to an upset over No. 1 seed Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. (Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images)
Boston College: A
Torvik projects Boston College to finish 103rd, and considering the program has finished in the top 100 of Torvik’s rankings only twice in the last 10 seasons, that’s a win for Luke Murray’s roster on paper. Murray landed Montana’s Money Williams, who averaged 20.6 points per game last season. It’s surprising that someone with those numbers, a first-teamer in his league, would go to Boston College. Merrimack transfer Ernest Shelton was also a first-team all-league player in the MAAC. I reiterate: These are significant adds at BC! Also watch out for Jacob Furphy, who was with Murray at UConn. I was a big fan of Furphy’s during the U-19 World Cup in 2025. He could end up a steal.
Butler: A
Ronald Nored was also very intentional in his approach, signing five freshmen and adding only transfers with multiple years left. The Bulldogs didn’t sign any big names, but they may have landed one of the more promising international prospects. Samu Adler is an 18-year-old who was the finals MVP in the top Finnish league, which includes a good number of former college stars. The league’s MVP was former Oklahoma/Oregon/Texas Tech guard De’Vion Harmon. A transfer to watch is Samis Calderon, who rarely played for Kansas as a freshman. He’s raw but has the athleticism and tools to become a really good college wing. Nored also held on to guard Jalen Jackson, who played six games before an ankle injury ended his season. With Jackson in the starting lineup, Butler was 5-1, including a neutral-court win over Virginia. He’s a veteran who could help bring along the young guys. Butler hasn’t finished above .500 in the Big East since 2019-20. If Nored can get close and provide hope for the future, that’ll be a successful first year.
Georgia Tech: B
This is another roster that isn’t filled with recognizable names, but there’s clearly an emphasis on building toward the future. Scott Cross has eight freshmen on the roster, including two who redshirted last season at other high-major programs. Among them is former top-100 recruit Tylis Jordan. To help compete next season, Cross landed Colby Garland, who averaged 20.3 points per game at San Jose State, and Víctor Valdés, who followed Cross from Troy. Valdés, who averaged 4.5 assists per game, was one of the best passing forwards in the country. A coach almost has to build year to year now, but I think trying to build with a young team makes sense given what Cross inherited and Georgia Tech’s recent struggles.
