Ole Miss men's basketball reveals roster for 2025-26 season
Chris Beard is entering his third season with Ole Miss and on Monday revealed the official roster for the 2025-26 season.
After a run to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history there was going to be a bit of a roster rebuild with several key players departing. On paper it appears it was a successful endeavor with a mix of returners and transfers once again the recipe for an attempt at a second straight NCAA Tournament run.
Four returners are back in Ole Miss uniforms this Fall. Malik Dia, Eduardo Klafke, Zach Day and Max Smith. Dia and Klafke were part of the key group to get the Rebels to Atlanta and a couple missed shots away from reaching the Elite 8.
Upon returning leading scorer from last season. Starting all 36 games he averages 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds. A freshman last season Klafke played in every game but his production was low, averaging just over a point and rebound per game. He also averaged 10 minutes per game off the bench. That role should increase this season.
Day was a true freshman signee last season and redshirted to develop. Smith missed last season due to an injury after a strong showing in preseason camp last October.
Ole Miss found success with its third transfer class under Beard with a mix of experienced players.
This season’s transfer class consists of eight players that have played in the Southeastern Conference, other Power 4 conferences as well as internationally.
Augusto Cassia, Corey Chest, Hobert Grayson, Kezza Giffa, Koren Johnson, Travis Perry, James Scott and AJ Storr will all be newcomers to Oxford this season.
Chest joins Ole Miss after transferring in from LSU as a redshirt sophomore. He played in 26 games last season with 19 starts before suffering a season-ending injury. Perry is another SEC transfers, coming in from Kentucky.
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Other Power 4 transfers include Johnson (Louisville), Scott (Louisville) and Storr (Kanasas). Cassia is transferring in from Butler, Giffa comes from High Point and Grayson from Ouachita Baptist where he earned Division II All-American honors averaging a double double with 21.8 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Ole Miss has the No. 19 transfer class, according to On3.
“I guess you can call us old school or the biggest idiot in the room or maybe we’re the smartest guy in the room,” Beard said exclusively to the Ole Miss Spirit last month. “But we’ve really tried to stay away from (paying the most, no matter what).
“We’re looking for the players that are making basketball decisions. Now, is the money a part of it? Absolutely. …For us, personally, we’re still trying to win a championship, and we still think it’s basketball. We still think we’re trying to find guys that are making basketball decisions. But there’s no denying the money is a big actor.”
Rounding out the roster are four first-year signees. This year’s recruiting class was ranked No. 15 nationally by ESPN.
They are Niko Bundalo, Tylis Jordan and Patton Pinkins coming in from high school. The fourth is Ilias Kamardine. The 21 year-old is a first-year collegiate player who has pro experience in Europe. Most recently with JDA Dijon during the 2024-25 season Kamardine played in 55 games and averaged 8.7 points and shot just under 44 percent.
