0
0
With the 2024-25 basketball season now officially in the books, it’s officially transfer portal season. It always seems that the first thing that hits are the players that are leaving your program, which is then promptly followed by who is returning and who you’re welcoming in to replace the players that you lost.
In the first portal update of spring/summer, I will be taking a look at reigning NIT and SoCon regular-season champion Chattanooga, SoCon Tournament champion Wofford, and a Furman team that won 25 games and made their third SoCon title game appearance in the past four seasons.
After covering the teams in the first three parts of this series of articles, the final one will be reserved for ranking the teams heading into the summer and who I think the favorites will be for the title this coming season, as well as ranking the top 15 individual freshman recruits and transfer portal additions for the league.
First, let’s take an early broad look at some of the comings and goings during the portal season to this point. Looking into the crystal ball heading into the 2024-25 basketball season, it would appear that Chattanooga, Wofford and Furman will all enter the season as solid favorites to compete for the league title once again, however, the order in which these are released doesn’t necessarily reflect where I think each will finish, but more the fact that the three teams mentioned above were the top three of the four that competed in one of the two major postseason tournaments last March.
Part two of the article will take a look at Samford, East Tennessee State, VMI and UNC Greensboro and the final article of the three-part portal/recruiting update will take a look at Western Carolina, Mercer and The Citadel.
A fourth part of the article will sum up the previous three and give my early preseason thoughts and rankings heading into the remainder of the summer, as well as:
Portaling:
There have already been some significant departures from the SoCon thus far, with three players who played their basketball in the Volunteer State having already left the league, as well as having made known their new landing spot.
So far, the SoCon has lost its top offensive player, top defensive player and the nation’s leader in three-pointers made to the transfer portal. ETSU’s Quimari Peterson, who was named the SoCon’s 2024-25 Player of the Year after leading the league by averaging a league-best 19.5 PPG, decided shortly after ETSU’s quarterfinal setback to Wofford, that he was moving on to play his final season elsewhere.
Peterson recently announced that he would be continuing his career at Washington, as he will play his final season in the Big Ten. In fact, the Bucs, who finished third in the SoCon this past season with a 19-13 overall record and a 12-6 record in SoCon play, lost the league’s top two players, according to the SoCon’s postseason awards.
Karon Boyd, who was named the SoCon’s Defensive Player of the Year, decided to move on after spending two years in Johnson City. He will be playing his final season with the Wichita State Shockers, which plays in the American Athletic Conference. Boyd upgraded his conference by a little, but his move is more lateral and makes a little less sense than the one made by Peterson.
Boyd was one of the top rebounders in the SoCon this past season, especially on the offensive glass. His 2.90 offensive rebounds-per-game ranks him second in the SoCon and 60th in the nation. His value to Brooks Savage’s squad over the past couple of seasons was almost immeasurable. Boyd was widely considered the top “glue guy” in the Southern Conference over the past couple of seasons.
ETSU actually played Wichita State this season, which was a return home of sorts for Jaden Seymour, who was in his final season of eligibility with the Bucs, as the Bucs suffered a 95-86 setback in December at Koch Arena.
Over at NIT Champion Chattanooga, there is the success story of Honor Huff, who finished his 2024-25 season as the nation’s leader in three-pointers made (131), has also decided to move on for his final season as a college basketball player. Huff not only made a lot of three-pointers, but he also ranked 26th nationally in three-point (41.5%).
Since UTC’s 85-84 win over UC Irvine in the NIT title game, Huff has announced where he will spend his final season of college basketball, as he will play for West Virginia and new head coach Ross Hodge. Huff made some absolutely clutch shots in Chattanooga’s NIT run, with his memorable “call me” gesture in UTC’s 80-73 win over Loyola-Chicago getting some national run.
The good news for Chattanooga is there are some significant pieces set to return this season, with guys big men Sean Cusano, Collin Mulholland, Makai Richards, and Latif Diouf all announcing recently that they would be returning for the 2025-26 season.
Even the team that won the SoCon Tournament–the Wofford Terriers–who retained the most scoring production in the Southern Conference coming into the season–finished out the season losing some significant returning pieces to the transfer portal, with both big man Jeremy Lorenz and guard Justin Bailey both announcing they would be on the move at the end of the season.
Also, the bizarre story of Chase Cormier finally was announced officially after the season after he announced shortly before that he was taking a redshirt year. Anthony Arrington Jr, who was a role player off the bench, also announced he was entering the transfer portal.
Bailey, who spent one season at Wofford after transferring in from USC Upstate, finished off his lone season on North Church Street averaging 9.6 PPG and shot an impressive 45.6% (57-of-125) from three-point range for the season.
Both Lorenz and Bailey have announced their future destinations, with Lorenz moving on to play for the Depaul Blue Demons next season, while Bailey has announced he will be spending the 2025-26 season playing in the SEC at the University of Georgia.
Belal El-Shakery, who was one of the more promising players on the roster in terms of improvement before suffering a season-ending injury just eight games into the season, announced he would be entering the transfer portal. Walk-on Don Douglas also announced he would be entering the portal.
A good talent base is back for head coach Dwight Perry, despite the losses, as guys like guards Kahmare Holmes and Luke Flynn along with an outstanding freshman class coming in should keep the Terriers in the upper echelon of the Southern Conference next season.
Samford, which finished fourth off its 2023-24 championship-winning season and was invited to play in the NIT after winning 22 games in 2024-25, not only lost almost all of its offensive production to the portal that it brought in during the off-season to the portal, it also lost its head coach, in Bucky McMillan, who moved on to become Texas A&M’s newest head coach in 2025-26 after winning 99 games, two regular-season titles and a SoCon Tournament title in five seasons at Samford.
The Bulldogs, who officially announced their new head coach, Lennie Acuff recently, have the most work to do in the transfer portal. The Bulldogs will have to replace big man Jaden Brownell, guard Trey Fort, forward Riley Allenspach, guard Josh Holloway, forward Hamed “Larry” Olayinka, guard Lukas Walls, and guard Isaiah West have all hopped in the transfer portal, with the Bulldogs and new head coach Acuff easily having the most work ahead of them in the portal.
Guard Zion Wilburn and forward Caleb Harrison, who were both freshman this past season, have announced they would return to play for Acuff. Harrison initially announced he was entering the transfer portal but later decided to return to Samford. Among the more high-profile additions for the Bulldogs in the portal process is Dylan Faulkner, who comes over from Lipscomb and was a solid scorer in the paint before injuries limited him during the 2024-25 season.
As far as players having announced commitments, Jaden Brownell has announced he will be playing basketball for the USC Trojans in the 2025-26 season, while others have made visits but have not made official commitments.
Furman, which won 25 games and joined Chattanooga and Samford in the NIT this past March, finished fifth overall in the SoCon standings after posting an 11-7 record. Though it was the Paladins’ second-straight season finishing the regular-season in fifth spot, made it to the title game for the third time in four years, however, would drop a 92-85 contest to No. 6 seed Wofford in the championship game.
With that said, Furman has had two announcements for the portal, although its likely that graduate senior PJay Smith Jr., won’t win an appeal for an extra year of eligibility. The former NCAA Division II guard was outstanding in his senior season for the Paladins, averaging 17.6 PPG and ranked second in the SoCon and ranked tied for ninth nationally in total threes made with 111 triples. His 41.3% clip from long-range this past season ranked him just three places behind UTC’s Huff nationally at 29th in the nation.
While Smith awaits his fate from the NCAA to see if he can try and play his final season at a high major, the only other scholarship player announcing a move to this point is freshman Tommy Humphries, who announced just after the season that he would be entering the transfer portal and moving on after playing a more limited role than expected after coming to the liberal arts school in Greenville, S.C., from Minneapolis, Minn. Humphries recently announced that he would be transferring to play for St. Thomas.
Furman, at least so far, has among the highest retention rates among the SoCon programs so far, with the Paladins announcing they would be bringing back forward Ben VanderWal, center Cooper Bowser, forward Davis Molnar, guard Tom House, guard Eddrin Bronson, and forward Charles Johnston have all announced they were back.
For the second season in a row, Furman will have to replace its top assistant coach, in Associate Head Coach Chad Warner, who has moved on to join Minnesota’s Niko Medved next season. Warner was instrumental as an offensive coach since joining the staff prior to the 2022-23 season. The Paladins must also replace assistant Kip Owens, who spent one season at Furman before opting to join his former collegiate head coach.
Like Furman, VMI and Western Carolina brought back a good amount of talent from last season, and were teams that didn’t end up exploring much when it came to transfer portal additions during the portal window. With that said, both the Catamounts and Keydets were able to maintain most of their key pieces from last season, with WCU losing most of its offensive talent due to graduation rather than players transferring out.
For VMI, which should be picked in the upper half of the league next season, the major big departure from this season’s team, which won 15 games, is Augustinas Kiudulas , who leveraged his one season in Lexington to land himself an upgrade in program for his junior season, as he is off to Colorado State.
As far as Ryan Ridder’s first run through the portal season at Mercer, it’s been solid so far, although the Bears will have to find replacements for scoring talent Ahmad Robinson, who finished the 2024-25, as well as the Bears’ most talented scorer in the paint, in Alex Holt. One of the more high-profile additions made from the transfer portal during the spring was Kyle Cuffe Jr., who comes to Mercer from
For both Keydet and Catamount fans, it’s been a nice change-up in that respect. Just like last year, I will take a look at all things portal, as I go through team-by-team first, and then at the end I will look at the teams I think that graded out the best during the portal season, while looking at the teams that I think were not-so-hot when it came to making transfer portal additions during the off-season.
Finally, just like a year ago, I’ll rank the top 15 portal additions individually and then give my super early preseason SoCon power poll heading into the 2025-26 season. The SoCon has been able to major some pretty massive portal losses over the past couple of seasons to maintain a ranking inside the top half of college basketball in terms league strength. It proves that much of the time the portal is not as much about the talent you bring in, as it is talent assessment and development of that program that fits a particular system.
No one develops talent better than…
If you look at the two programs that have managed that the best over the past two seasons, it’s no secret that those two programs most would agree have the two top coaches in the SoCon, in Chattanooga and Furman. Chattanooga has really done the best job of any team collectively in the past two seasons, while Furman under Richey has seemingly gotten it right more of the anyone in the league when it comes to talent evaluation and talent development.
Both Dan Earl and Bob Richey have had great success dipping into the NCAA Division II talent pool and not only bringing quality talent from that lower level and not only have those players been able to contribute as role players, but more often than not, those players brought up have developed into stars regardless of the fact that it’s a step up in level of competition.
Earl and the Mocs leveraged one of the best seasons in program history by having a core group of players that were brought up from NCAA Division II that helped supplement both star guards Trey Bonham and Honor Huff and was enough to yield a SoCon regular-season title, as well as helping the Mocs become the first team in Southern Conference history to ever win the National Invitational Tournament in early April. Without Garrison Keeslar, Frank Champion, and Jack Kostel, the Mocs wouldn’t have won the SoCon regular-season or NIT.
The two NCAA Division I transfers–graduate transfer Bash Wieland and Pacific transfer Makai Richards–were also equally important to the success by the Mocs, and when each came to the Scenic City, they were highly-decorated players at their previous programs, but at Chattanooga, they became both reliable and in-turn, Chattanooga as a team became dependent on the roles each player played within the season to be successful. Without either one, Chattanooga wouldn’t have one anything, especially Richards, who had to step up in a major way after Champion’s season and career prematurely ended with an injury just prior to the SoCon Tournament.
While Chattanooga and Earl have found incredible “fits” and assessed talent maybe better than any staff in the league, Furman’s Richey has been something of an “old gangsta”, or “OG”. That’s not only because Richey has been bringing in undiscovered hidden gems since he was a young assistant at Charleston Southern from 2006-11, bringing in five players that would almost immediately change the trajectory and history of that program, and not only that, helped add to a very limited tradition of success at the NCAA Division I program for the Bucs.
Richey had helped locate Jamarco Warren (1,968 career points, 2nd in CSU history), Saah Nimley (1,866 career points, 3rd in CSU history), and Arlon Harper. Richey’s recruiting efforts had been crucial to the success.
When I wrote an article nine years ago for mid-major madness as a profile sketch on Bob Richey as a Furman assistant, I found a very interesting quote by Niko Medved hidden within the article, and retrospectively and years later, it makes a lot of sense now as to why Medved, who just recently took his dream job at his alma mater Minnesota, said what he said. The quote is below.
“We are very fortunate that Bob decided to stay at Furman,” said then head coach Niko Medved. Bob is a talented young coach and an outstanding recruiter. He has a gift for connecting with people and will be an intricate part of helping Furman basketball reach new heights.”
In this quote is noticeable that Furman was a program that would have been easy to leave at that time in its history, and yes, Medved had to decide that Richey is one of the guys he first wanted to retain from Jeff Jackson’s staff at Furman, but also that Richey had other opportunities waiting on him. I know of at least one mid-major program in the Palmetto State that offered him more money and was and is still a better program throughout its history than Furman, however, Richey chose to stay.
Richey’s ability to recruit and evaluate talent has come through time and time again and so much so that it’s becoming almost comical to ask how Furman is ever going to replace its outgoing scoring and star talent. That was never more true than last season when the Paladins had 70% of their scoring leave via the portal.
I’ll never forget how Earl found Jake Stephens and offered him his only NCAA Division I opportunity and developed that guy into not only a mid-major star, but a player with NBA potential when absolutely every other coach passed on the Bunker Hill, West Virginia product.
That can also be said of Furman’s Richey, who developed Jalen Slawson out a small private school in North Charleston (Pinewood Prep), who had more attention than Stephens did out of high school, but it was a tall reach to ever see Slawson being an NBA Draft pick after playing a total of 19 minutes as a true freshman, finishing the season with more fouls than points.
The rest of Slawson’s career at Furman speaks for itself, as the unrefined talent would find his niche and would develop at a rapid pace under Richey and staff.
On the heels of Furman’s 2023 Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles, Slawson would become the first SoCon player drafted into the NBA since Steph Curry in 2009 when he was the 54th pick of the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. He would be the first Paladin drafted to the NBA in almost four decades, and first since George Singleton in 1984.
Significant SoCon Production Lost to Portal:
Quimari Peterson (ETSU-to-Washington)
Karon Boyd (ETSU-to-Wichita State)
Kenyon Giles (UNCG-to-Wichita State)
Donovan Atwell (UNCG-to-Texas Tech)
Honor Huff (Chattanooga-to-West Virginia)
Trey Fort (Samford-to-Michigan State)
Jaden Brownell (Samford-to-Southern Cal)
Justin Bailey (Wofford-to-Georgia)
Jeremy Lorenz (Wofford-to-Depaul)
Augustinas Kiudulas (VMI-to-Colorado State)
Notable Outgoing Talent Due To Being Out of Eligibility:
Nick Anderson (Furman)
PJay Smith Jr. (Furman)
Garrett Hien (Furman)
Trey Bonham (Chattanooga)
Kyler Filewich (Wofford)
Corey Tripp (Wofford)
Alex Holt (Mercer)
Jaden Seymour (ETSU)
Bernard Pelote (Western Carolina)
Team-by-Team Portal Updates and Grades: (1-3 Chattanooga, Furman and Wofford)
1. Chattanooga (29-9, 15-3 SoCon/SoCon Regular-Season Champions and NIT Champions)
–When Dan Earl came to Chattanooga, he knew he’d have to go about figuring out the transfer portal in a really quick fashion, but he probably never thought the NIL/transfer portal era would ever become as chaotic as it has over the past couple of seasons.
𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏 🔐
We've officially reached a six-year contract extension (thru 2030-31) with head coach Dan Earl. ✍️
🔗 https://t.co/u1GZpAWokL#GoMocs pic.twitter.com/azLRA6PAfZ
— Chattanooga Basketball (@GoMocsMBB) May 19, 2025
Entering the 2024-25 season, Earl and staff gave the appearance of being wily veterans of the portal, and the Mocs approach has been one undertaken by a handful of other successful mid-major programs, and that is accomplished players at the lower levels an opportunity to not only play at the NCAA Division I level, but giving players the chance to step in and play a meaningful role almost immediately.
Every one of Chattanooga’s portal additions from this past season ended up being a success, and that success has probably been a model that more around the country will look to capture within their own programs.
With that said, all three of UTC’s lower division additions were seniors, and they must be replaced in the immediate. Add to that the fact that both Honor Huff is leaving the program to spend his final season at West Virginia, while Trey Bonham has also moved on.
Decent company. 😏 https://t.co/oroTvWIWIy
— Chattanooga Basketball (@GoMocsMBB) May 17, 2025
The good news is that the program prestige is now to a level at which it has become a program that is sought out by other players in the portal rather than the ones having to do a lot of the seeking.
The Mocs, despite the major offensive losses, have got a loyal core of players returning to the fold, and that should ensure Chattanooga is among the favorites to claim the Southern Conference title once again next season. Of particular note are the players returning in the frontcourt for the 2025-26 season, which showed strong progression as the season moved forward, with Collin Mulholland, Sean Cusano and Makai Richards all making a strong impact on winning in the Scenic City this past season.
There was at least one unforeseen departure, however, with 6-7 forward Isaiah Otyaluk deciding to enter the transfer portal–a player that Earl had had high hopes for. All told, the Mocs will bid farewell to a total of 11 different players, who have either moved on due to graduation or to the transfer portal.
Another loss that might have seemed a little shocking if you would have mentioned that he would move on after things not panning out in the Scenic City would be rangy wing guard Noah Melson, who had showed so much promise last season to have seen his playing time dwindle like it did this season.
Melson, I would imagine, will end up having a pretty solid career and showed some flashes in his short time in a UTC Mocs uniform, with a 2024 win at ETSU being one of the prime examples of that. His effort in a win at Alabama A&M early in the season was also another, however, losing his place in the rotation along with battling an injury would prove to be enough to send him into the portal.
Most of the losses for the Mocs though, weren’t totally unexpected. The additions the Mocs have made so far in the transfer portal have also been especially noteworthy.
The Mocs picked up one of the earliest portal commitments when they added former VMI guard Brennan Watkins, who spent last season in exile from the SoCon, which will allow his immediate eligibility in 2025-26. Watkins, who was originally recruited and signed by Dan Earl during his final season in Lexington, is an accomplished scorer and perimeter threat. The rising senior guard saw his numbers take a dip and his role diminish during his only season in Fargo, as he would end up finishing the season averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG.
𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 ⭐️
North Dakota State ‣ Chattanooga
6'0 • Sr. • G • Kearney, MO
‣ 6.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.9 APG
‣ '21-24 at VMI; '24-25 at NDSU
‣ 30 GP at VMI w/ Earl in '21-22 as true FR pic.twitter.com/XdfE6Sf0Wl— Chattanooga Basketball (@GoMocsMBB) May 14, 2025
He ended up playing a key role for an NDSU team that finished the season with 21 wins and was a team that was among the most prolific in the nation when it came to shooting the three. Unlike his previous season at VMI, which saw him serve a role as being one of the team’s primary scorers, he wouldn’t be asked to do that in Fargo. He ended the season shooting a solid 36% (39-of-109) from three-point range and enjoyed his best outing of the season against St. Thomas out of Minnesota, as he posted 18 points in an 89-85 home loss to the Tommies in the conference opener.
All told, Watkins would end up posting double figure scoring performances in a total of six games during the season. The 6-0 guard from Kearney, MO., ended up playing primarily point guard for the Bison last season, and finished second on the team in total assists, with 84 helpers on the season (2.9 APG). He will add both experience and shooting acumen to the Mocs backcourt for the upcoming season.
His most productive season as a college basketball came a year earlier at VMI, as he finished the season averaging 15.2 PPG to lead the Keydets in scoring but suffered an injury that would severely limit him in the final month of the regular season. In addition to his team-leading scoring average for the Keydets, he would also add 3.0 assists-per-game and knocked down 47 three-pointers.
Jordan Frison and Teddy Washington Jr. will also be competing for time at point guard along with Watkins, as all three should give the Mocs a good talent base and good depth at the position. An added bonus is also each has complementary strengths, making the Mocs especially versatile according to who is in the game at that particular time.
Frison comes to UTC from NCAA Division II Pittsburg State and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Frison will give the Mocs an element of quickness and scoring ability that they had with Trey Bonham. The 6-0, 170-lb guard from Memphis, TN., will now return to his home of the Volunteer State.
Frison ended the 2024-25 season leading the Gorillas in scoring average, as he finished the season averaging 18.4 PPG and averaged a team-leading 6.1 APG. Frison finished the season as the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year. About the only thing Frison struggled to do last season was shoot the three, finishing the season connecting on just 30.3% (33-of-109) from long range during the 2024-25 season.
Washington Jr. comes to Chattanooga from Southeast Missouri St (SEMO) and Chattanooga will mark the third stop in career as a college basketball player. He spent time at SEMO last season and prior to that, he was at Texas A&M Corpus-Christi for three years. He will have one year of eligibility remaining when he arrives at UTC.
𝐓𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐫. ⭐️
SEMO ‣ Chattanooga
6'2 • Gr. • G • Blytheville, AR
‣ 13.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG
‣ 2025 All-OVC 1st Team; Newcomer Team
‣ 2025 Riley Wallace Award Finalist (DI top transfer) pic.twitter.com/wq0QMs2aZv— Chattanooga Basketball (@GoMocsMBB) May 14, 2025
The 6-2, 175-lb point guard comes off a 2024-25 season which saw him average 13.9 PPG and 5.5 APG. He was also a solid perimeter threat during the 2024-25 season, connecting on 38.6% (58-of-201) from long range. He enjoyed his stop game of the 2024-25 season in a contest against SIU Edwardsville, posting 28 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
Washington also had 28 points in a SEMO win over Eastern Illinois, and posted 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals against Chattanooga in a 79-72 loss this past season. That was enough for the Chattanooga staff to come calling shortly after Washington entered the transfer portal. Washington finished the season as a first-team All-OVC selection, as well as being a selected to the league’s All-Newcomer team.
He started 22 of 32 games for SEMO this past season. Washington is great penetrating off the dribble and is good shooting from the perimeter coming off dribble handoffs and screens, but maybe the most underrated part of his game is what he will give the Mocs as an on-ball defender and should instantly be one of the SoCon’s better defensive guards.
The Mocs also made a couple of good additions to their roster at the shooting guard positions, as both Jikari Johnson and Billy Smith will both be a big part of the plans for the 2025-26 Mocs. Both come to the Scenic City as accomplished scorers, with Johnson coming to Chattanooga after having played a majority of his career at a lower level, beginning with JUCO and then playing at both Division III Ferrum College and last season Division II Trevecca Nazarene, and will now get his opportunity to play at the NCAA Division I level with his one season of eligibility remaining.
Johnson, a 6-4 shooting guard, has been successful at every level and he will look to close his career strong with Earl’s Mocs. He’s also the exact type of player that can excel within Earl’s system.
Last season playing for head coach Kevin Carroll at Trevecca Nazarene at the NCAA Division II level, Johnson finished the season averaging 20.9 PPG and 5.0 APG, while shooting 41% from three-point range last season. No matter the level in his career, Johnson has found a way to excel. He is an outstanding shooter with good athleticism and will give the Mocs a versatile scoring threat that can score at all three levels, while also being solid on the defensive end of the floor. He finished the season leading the Trojans with 81 made three-point field goals last season.
Johnson enjoyed his best outing of the season against Valdosta State in what was a 96-84 loss for the Trojans, posting 36 points on a 13-of-24 shooting performance, which included a 4-for-11 effort from three-point land.
Bellarmine gave Chattanooga Bash Wieland last season, and Wieland ended up being one of the Mocs’ best “gets” from the transfer portal, and this time around, the Mocs found another player from the Louisville-based school that recently made the transition to the NCAA Division I level, picking up another shooting guard, in 6-7 shooting guard Billy Smith. Smith averaged 14.0 PPG , 2.8 RPG, and 2.6 APG during the 2024-25 campaign with the Knights.
Smith saw his three-point field goals more than double from his sophomore campaign to his junior season, as he connected on 36 deep balls in his first season with the Knights, while finishing his second season in the program with 77 long-range efforts, connecting a solid 38.7% (77-of-199) clip from long range. He shot a solid 37.3% (113-of-303) from long-range in his two seasons with the Knights. He started his career at Miami of Ohio before transferring to Bellarmine prior to the 2023-24 season.
The rising senior shooting guard enjoyed his best career game in an 86-82 loss by the Knights to Ball State in mid-December last season, as posted 33 points on an 11-of-15 shooting effort, which included an impressive 6-for-8 effort on shots beyond the three-point arc.
The latest addition in UTC’s foray into the transfer portal was to find another skilled player that would try and mimic the type of role that Garrison Keeslar and to a large extent, Bash Wieland were able to play for the Mocs this past season, and Dan Earl not only was able to do that, but he might have even been able to consolidate the skillset that both Wieland and Keeslar gave the Mocs in their respective roles this past season, and do so in one player, with the addition of 6-6 forward Sebastian Hartman from Eastern Washington.
Freshman Additions:
Chattanooga ended up signing three players out of high school, which includes a pair of shooting guards and a power forward. Tate Darner is a 6-4 shooting guard out of Santa Fe Catholic School in Lakeland, FL, where he was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, according to http://verbalcommits.com.
The Darner name might be somewhat familiar to SoCon basketball fans, who have followed the league for some years, as his uncle, Tige Darner, played four years at Appalachian State, where he was an accomplished player for the Mountaineers from 1994-98 for both Buzz Peterson and first for Tom Apke.
Tate’s father, Linc Darner, is the head coach of NCAA Division II member Tampa after a five-year stint as the head coach at Green Bay, where he led the Phoenix to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Darner is both a prolific scorer and an elite shooter and is ranked as one of the top shooting guards coming out of the state of Sunshine State. Darner chose Chattanooga among nine offers he held during the recruiting process, choosing to play for the Mocs over programs like Jacksonville, Stetson, Youngstown State, Dartmouth, North Florida, Upstate and Boston University.
Darner stands a chance to contribute this season in some capacity, but likely with the other additions made by Chattanooga during the portal recruiting season, will likely redshirt.
The Mocs also added even more depth at point guard back in the fall signing period by bringing in another shooting guard, in 6-2 Zach Bleshboy out of Pope High School in Marietta, GA. Like Darner, Bleshboy comes to Chattanooga with some impressive credentials and comes from one of the top recruiting hotbeds in the country, in the Atlanta-Metro area, and he possesses the versatility to play either point guard or off the ball.
Heading into his senior season, Bleshboy was ranked as the 20th best prospect in the Peach State, including being ranked as the fourth-best point guard in the entire state. Bleshboy chose Chattanooga over 11 offers he held coming out of high school, choosing the Mocs over programs like Boston University, Kennesaw State, NJIT, Murray State, Southern Illinois, Towson, Boston and Ohio University. Like Darner, Bleshboy ranks as a three-star recruit and stands a better chance of seeing court time this season because of his versatility, but like Darner, will likely redshirt.
A player that will likely not redshirt now due to Isaiah Ityaluk transferring out of the program is Chattanooga third early signee back in November—6-9 power forward Joshua Bowman out of Huntsville, AL. Bowman played his prep basketball at Huntsville High School.
Bowman was more of a late bloomer during his prep career, having an outstanding senior season, as he saw both minutes and offensive production increase. A good athlete and improving perimeter threat that has the potential to be a good defensive performer in the post for the Mocs, which could see him contribute minutes sooner rather than later for UTC.
With five regulars returning to the fold, with much of that core talent residing in the post, with the return of guys like Collin Mulholland, Sean Cusano, Makai Richards and Latif Diouf are set to give the Mocs one of the top front courts in the Southern Conference heading into next season.
Though Frank Champion’s injury just prior to the Southern Conference Tournament might have, on the surface, looked like a negative, in the long run it is likely going to pay off as a very big positive for Chattanooga, as you can’t put a price on the kind of experience guys like Mullholland, Cusano, Diouf and Richards were all able to get as a result, playing in high-stakes games, first in the Southern Conference Tournament, then in the NIT, as the Mocs made their historic run through the tournament.
For a guy like Mulholland, who finished the 2024-25 season averaging 6.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG, his game seemingly saw a significant rise in two games in the Southern Conference Tournament and all five in the NIT. The player they refer to as “Big Maple” ended the campaign seeing action in 36 of 38 games, including making five starts, posting six double-figure scoring performances on the season, with half of those coming in postseason games.
His 19-point effort in the NIT Championship Game win over UC Irvine came up huge, and without Big Maple, the Mocs don’t even win game one of the tournament at Middle Tennessee State. That’s because “Big Maple” scored a career-high 21 points in UTC’s 109-103 triple overtime win over the Blue Raiders. He contributed a strong 19 points in the championship game against the UC Irvine Anteaters, which was a game that saw the Anteaters purposefully playing off the redshirt freshman big man, and eventually, in some big moments, Big Maple would make UC Irvine pay.
It certainly wasn’t his best shooting performance from the perimeter of the season for the big red head from the perimeter, but his 5-for-17 performance from long range in the championship game was just enough to make the Anteaters pay in the championship game.
For the season, Mulholland continued to improve his shooting from beyond the arc, and in that way, he’s very comparable to Jake Stephens early in his career at VMI, who continued to perfect his shooting and threat as a lethal shooter from beyond the arc. Mulholland would complete the season a solid 35.2% (31-of-88) from long range.
In the crucial win over the Blue Raiders in the NIT, Mulholland ended finishing that contest by connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the field, including a 3-for-7 from three-point range. Like Keeslar, Mulholland was a bit of an underrated passer this past season, and I think he also did a great job taking care of the basketball this past season, posting 51 assists and only 27 turnovers.
Sean Cusano showed flashes for the Mocs during the 2024-25 season, and after spending almost the entire 2023-24 season injured, he would come up in some big moments for Chattanooga this past season. All told, Cusano would log time in 38 games, with four starts this past season. He finished the season with four double figure scoring performances, which included a season-high 16-point effort in UTC’s 20-point win over NAIA Johnson University. He finished the game going 5-for-7 from the field, which included a 2-for-2 effort from three-point land.
Cusano would finish out his second season in a Mocs uniform by shooting 29.9% (20-of-67) from three-point land, while shooting 45.0% (58-of-129) from the field for the season. Like Mulholland, I expect to see Cusano’s game to also reach a higher level come next season.
Makai Richards is another player that ended up showing a huge upside, and as he got more comfortable with time in the lineup, you could tell he was developing into a pretty polished player that stands a great chance to perhaps even challenge for a starting spot in the upcoming season. That remains to be seen, however, but he does give the Mocs an element of physicality and toughness underneath the basket, and he’s also decent athletically.
Richards will have one season of eligibility after transferring into Chattanooga prior to the start of the 2024-25 season. Like Mulholland, the 6-10, 225-lb big man was especially big for the Mocs after Champion went out of the lineup with a season-ending knee injury just prior to the Southern Conference Tournament.
Richards raised more than a few eyebrows with his early-season performance against one of the perennial mid-major powers, in St. Mary’s, as the Pacific transfer would end up posting a season-high 19 points in what was an 86-74 loss to the Gaels. Richards would go 8-of-12 from the field, which included finishing the contest with one of his two made three-pointers on the season, as he finished 1-for-1 from long range.
As the season progressed, his role would end up reaching into the double-figure scoring column three more times during the season, posting 17 points in a solid win over Bryant, while finishing out the postseason with two more double-figure scoring efforts, posting 10 points in the SoCon Tournament quarterfinal win over Mercer, and added 10 points in UTC’s NIT semifinal win over Loyola-Chicago. Richards will return as a key piece to the puzzle for Dan Earl’s team in 2025-26, and his role and minutes increased during the postseason with the injury to Champion. He will be a viable building block for the Chattanooga frontcourt moving forward into next season.
Another player with tremendous upside in the frontcourt heading into the 2025-26 season is Latif Diouf.
Like Richards, Diouf would see his role increase as the season progressed and then met with some adversity with a minor injury, however, would return late in the season to have an impact on Dan Earl’s winning formula.
The 6-9, 240-lb true freshman from Gouda, Netherlands started out the season as being one of the impact players in the paint for the Mocs while Champion worked his way back from an injury.
Diouf would start the first nine games of the season and would log action in a total of 31 games with nine starts, and showed a very high skill level in his action on the floor this season. His passing skills are exceptional; however, he needs to work on improving his perimeter shooting during the off-season. He enjoyed his best scoring performance in the second game of the season against St. Mary’s, posting eight points in 20 minutes of action. Diouf finished the season averaging 3.1 PPG and 2.6 RPG, while posting an impressive overall field goal percentage of 63.8% (60-of-94) for the season.
I also look for Diouf to make a dedicated effort to improve his perimeter shooting during the off-season, as he displayed the ability to have a pretty good mid-range jumper in his first season with the Mocs after moving into the program from Pacific last spring.
Overall, the quartet of players returing in the front court for the 2025-26 season should rank among the SoCon’s top front courts next season.
UTC’s core group underneath understands what it takes to win, and the portal additions made by Dan Earl fit his system and though it’s still relatively early in the spring, I would venture to guess that the Mocs have added enough scoring and shooting to ensure they will once again be a contender for the SoCon regular-season title, as well as being in the mix for the Southern Conference Tournament crown–the one real goal that eluded Chattanooga last season. The thing that is exciting about this group added during the transfer portal window are better than the shooters the Mocs added last season in the transfer portal window.
The Mocs, who routinely rank among the best nationally in three-point field goals made, attempted, as well as efficiency, were again impressive last season, despite not being quite as impressive from top-to-bottom as a shooting basketball team last season, knocking down 372 long-range efforts last season, as the Mocs were once again in the Top 10 nationally in three-pointers made for the season, as well as being second behind only Furman in threes made (380) last season.
Starters Lost: (5)–G-Trey Bonham (eligibility up), G-Honor Huff (transferred to West Virginia), F-Garrison Keeslar (eligibility up), F-Bash Wieland (eligibility Up), F-Frank Champion (eligibility up)
Others Lost: (5)–G-Jack Kostel (out of eligibility), G-Noah Melson (transferred out to Fairleigh Dickinson), F-Isaiah Otalyuk (transferred to Drury), F-Frank Champion (out of eligibiliy), G/F–Bash Wieland (out of eligbility)
Best Returning Player: C-Collin Mulholland
Potential Breakout Player in 2024-25: F-Latif Diouf
Best Transfer Portal Get: G-Terry Washington Jr. (SEMO)
Best Freshman Addition: G-Tate Darner
Overall, Portal/Recruiting Synopsis and Grade: A
