Following deep runs in March Madness last season by both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the two programs took to the drawing board to retool, rework and rebuild their rosters for the 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the players who will lace up for the Rebels come basketball season.
Men’s roster
Head coach Chris Beard’s squad took a heavy hit in the offseason with the departures of starters including guards Sean Pedulla, Jaylen Murray and Matthew Murrell, forward Dre Davis and sixth man Jaemyn Brakefield.
Forward Malik Dia is the only returning starter for the Rebels. He played in all 36 games last year and averaged 10.8 points per game — one of six Rebels to average double figures — and totaled 31 blocks and 25 steals. Dia projects to play a bigger role in the offense this season.
Eduardo Klafke, another returner, played in all 36 games as a freshman. Used primarily as a 3-point-shooter, connecting on 48.1% of shots beyond the arc during the 2024-25 season, Klafke could find himself in an elevated role as someone who has a year of college ball under his belt.
Guard Hobert Grayson IV, a transfer from the Division II program Ouachita Baptist, has the potential to be a key player. He started in 33 games last year and averaged 21.8 points on 46.4% from the field along with 11 rebounds per game. He also added 68 assists and 52 steals.
Another significant transfer is point guard Kezza Giffa from High Point University. Giffa led the Panthers in scoring at 14.6 points per game last season and boasts a quick first step and a repertoire of finishing moves at the rim.
Guard AJ Storr comes to Oxford from Kansas, where he averaged 6.1 points per game. Two seasons ago, he averaged 16.8 points at Wisconsin. Perhaps Ole Miss will be the new home he needs to return to his high-scoring ways.
Other transfers include forward James Scott and guard Koren Johnson — both from Louisville — guard Travis Perry from Kentucky, forward Augusto Cassiá from Butler and forward Corey Chest from LSU.
Scott is the tallest player on the roster at 6-foot-10 and a defender at heart who rebounds well — an area the Rebels struggled in last season. Cassiá, at 6-foot-8, provides more length, athleticism and versatility for a team that makes its living on the defensive side of the ball.
Johnson played in only two games at Louisville last season due to injury, averaging 3 points per game; before that, though, he began his career at Washington, where he averaged 11.1 points per game during the 2023-24 season.
Perry was recruited heavily by Beard in high school before eventually committing to Kentucky. Now with the opportunity to play under Beard, the 3-point specialist and the state of Kentucky’s high school all-time leading scorer has the chance to outshine his previous role at UK.
Coach Chris Beard photo by Olivia Cangelosi
Corey Chest joins the Rebels after two years with LSU. Last year, as a redshirt freshman, he played in 26 games before a season-ending injury. Before the injury, he averaged 6.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
International shooting guard Ilias Kamardine joins the team from France, where he played for professional basketball club Jeanne d’Arc Dijon Basket. He played 48 in games and averaged eight points in just over 18 minutes a game. He shot 43.5% from the floor and 39.8% from three.
Ole Miss also added a trio of high school recruits. Forward Niko Bundalo is the highest-rated recruit in school history according to 247sports. Rivals rated him as the fifth best power-forward in the 2025 class.
Forward Tylis Jordan and guard Patton Pinkins, both ranked within the ESPN Top 100, will also join the team from high school.
“If I had to describe this team based on what we learned this summer and (in the) preseason, we have a lot of depth,” Beard said in a press conference on Sept. 25. “Which should translate to us having very competitive practices, which ultimately in college basketball (is) very important.”
Women’s roster
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s team lost several players, most notably five-year guard/forward Madison Scott (11.8 PPG) and guard Kennedy Todd-Williams (11.4 PPG).
Guard Sira Thinou is a key returner for the Lady Rebels. Her 10.5 points per game were third-highest on the team behind Scott and Todd-Williams, and her 79 total steals on the season were the second-most by a freshman in school history.
Another notable returner is forward Christeen Iwuala, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 2024-25. She started games in both the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament and may step into a starting position next season with the departure of forward Starr Jacobs.
Forward Cotie McMahan joins the Lady Rebels from Ohio State as a premier grab in the transfer portal who received All-Big 10 honors each of the last two years. She averaged double digits in all three of her seasons with the Buckeyes and posted 16.5 points per game in the 2024-25 season. Her freshman year, she helped lead Ohio State to the Elite 8 and won Big 10 Freshman of the Year.
UCF transfer guard Kaitlin Peterson has the chance to raise the Lady Rebels’ offensive ceiling. She averaged 21.4 points per game last year, and in only two seasons with UCF, she scored more than 1,000 points.
Other transfers include forward Latasha Lattimore, who averaged 14.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game at Virginia last season; guard Debreasha Powe, a Mississippi State transfer who shot 39.8% from three last season; forward Denim DeShields, another Mississippi State transfer; Georgia Tech guard Tianna Thompson; and Central Michigan center Desrae Kyles.
Incoming freshman guard Lauren Jacobs was the top recruit from the state of South Carolina in the class of 2025. She led her high school to multiple state championships and earned All-State Honors three times. Jacobs will be the only freshman on the roster this season.
“(I’m) excited about Team 51 and what they bring to the table,” McPhee-McCuin said in a press conference on Sept. 24. “(There are a) lot of unique personalities. We are incredibly diverse as far as talent is concerned. … We got a little bit of everything.”
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