The Colorado Buffaloes are checked in and ready to embark on their Australian summer tour. They will play four games in a 10-day span, competing against a training academy, the Boomers national team, the NBL’s Sydney Kings, and another that’s TBA.

While the Buffs take a few licks — very likely now that Bangot Dak will miss time recovering from a knee injury — it will be a great way for Tad Boyle to assess the team’s strengths and weaknesses before pre-season practices begin in August.

Apropos of that, now seems a good time to take a broad look at the 2025-26 roster. Boyle brought in a promising freshman class, landed an impact transfer, and then did the most important thing keeping Dak, Elijah Malone and Sebastian Rančík in the program. Ideally the Buffs would have landed one or two more transfers, but it’s difficult with the program’s lack of NIL budget.

Projected Starters

G — Barrington Hargress, Jr.
G — Felix Kossaras, So.
F — Sebastian Rančík, So.
F — Bangot Dak, Jr.
C — Elijah Malone, Sr.

These would be the familiar names: four returning contributors and the prized transfer.

Dak is the team’s two-way star, a frenetic mess of arms and legs who can block shots, hit threes and do enough with the ball to run a bit of the offense. He’s still raw and has yet to produce real numbers, but the talent is there and he continues to grow — quite literally, actually, as the Buffs now list him at 7’0.

Rančík also flashed potential in his freshman season. The Slovak international had some bigger programs sniffing around, as they saw a 6’11 forward with a high BBIQ, the ability to handle the ball and drive to the basket, and a jumpshot that looks good even if his shooting numbers ran more cold than hot. The Buffs will invest heavily in his development.

Malone should be the same player as last year. He’s 6’10, 270-lbs. and that size comes with its strengths and slownesses. He’s maybe not the best interior defender and there’s probably a reason he was in Tad Boyle’s doghouse for half the season. But he’s a real big man who will set mean screens, box out (even if his own rebounding numbers are poor) and has a mean post game the Buffs unlocked down the stretch.

The last returning contributor would be Felix Kossaras, the sophomore guard from Québéc. Like Rančík, he had to work hard for a rotation spot, impressed the coaches while filling in for injuries, and stole minutes from more experienced guards down the stretch. It’s difficult to project a player who averaged 2.0 points per game, but he looks like a typical Tad-ball guard. He’s 6’6, looks smart on both ends of the floor, good rebounder for his position, and is a bit raw as a shooter and driver. The Australia tour should be a good time to evaluate him as a potential starter.

And finally we have Barrington Hargress, the 6’1 scoring guard from UC Riverside. He’s dynamic on the ball, a dangerous pull-up shooter, gets low and plays strong on the drive, and a good enough passer whose assist numbers would be higher with better shooters around (not that CU can shoot). There’s a chance that he’s a chucker in the [pick-your-Bobby-Hurley-ASU-era–undersized-guard]-mould, but he’s better suited to be the Buffs’ lead guard than the miscast Julian Hammond III. (No disrespect to Hammond — he did his best on a team that had next to nothing in terms of offensive creativity.)

Projected Bench

G — Andrew Crawford, r-Fr.
G — Jon Mani, So.
G — Josiah Sanders, Fr. — 4-star (CO)
C — Fawaz “Tacko” Ifaola, 4-star (AZ)

The bench is difficult to project, mostly because we just don’t know much about any of these players. Crawford was highly recruited out of ThunderRidge (Littleton, CO), but he didn’t impress in pre-season practices and redshirted. Mani transferred from Denver after averaging 14 minutes per game on an 11-win team. The rest are true freshmen who might be good, might not be, might be somewhere in between.

Crawford is a bit of a mystery. He came to Boulder needing to work on his body, adjust from Colorado prep basketball to college ball, and then develop as a shooter and scorer. He has a good head on his shoulders, but was too raw physically and skill-wise to play games, then got injured and missed vital practice time. He’s a blank slate, still growing — now listed at 6’8 — and still refining the skills that will get him on the court.

Mani’s numbers at DU don’t jump off the page — 2.9 points per game, 33% shooting from the floor — but it was a messy situation with head coach Jeff Wulbrun getting fired midseason. He projects as a good team player, a smart cutter, spot-up shooter and opportunistic defender — and yes, he models his game after Tyler Herro and Austin Reaves (lol). He’s eager to play after a tense summer in which his time on the Israeli U20 team coincided with the U.S.-Iran standoff.

Sanders was the highest ranked recruit in the Buffs’ 2026 class and could work his way into the rotation. He’s 6’3, strong and athletic, and wants to get downhill on his favored left hand. His shot needs work and he’s still adjusting to major college basketball, but the coaching staff seems excited about him as a driver and scorer.

While it’s still questionable which of the freshman guards step into a rotation role (more on that below), there’s no doubt Tacko Fawaz will play a ton off the bench. For one, the Buffs are dangerously thin in the frontcourt, as Fawaz is one of three traditional bigs on the roster. For another, he’s actually quite good. He plays extremely hard and projects as a plus-plus rebounder and rim protector. The coaching staff is very excited about him and will give him every chance to prove himself.

Possible Redshirts

G — Jalin Holland, Fr. — 4-star (AZ)
G — Ian Inman, 3-star (TX)
G — Isaiah Johnson, 3-star (CA)
C — Leonardo van Elswyk, unranked (Italy)

Of the four players above, Johnson has impressed the most so far. He’s a six-foot-nothing guard who learns quickly and is fearless in competition. He wouldn’t be the first CU guard of that profile to overperform his recruiting rank and crack the rotation as a true freshman.

Inman has impressed with his shooting ability and he’s a good athlete in a 6’6, 200-lbs. frame. He’s a long-term project, but so are most of the freshmen, so there’s certainly a chance he plays his way into minutes. The shooting would certainly help.

I haven’t found much information on Holland. CU worked hard to recruit him, as he and Fawaz played together at Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona. His recruiting profile mentions his size, athleticism and competitiveness, although he’s a bit raw skill-wise. He could play his way into the rotation if the coaches see enough promise, but it’s unclear how much is expected of him right away.

The last one is the final recruit in this class. Van Elswyk was a late add the Buffs recruited as something of a backup option after Boyle’s top international target wasn’t cleared academically. Van Elswyk is far from a consolation prize, as the 7’1 Italian has an intriguing skillset that could be unlocked with a redshirt year next side-by-side with strength coach Steve Englehart. I would be surprised to see him play, but he’s certainly a name to keep an eye on.