1 transfer portal target Purdue basketball must sign to get back to Elite Eight

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After years of running it back with the same team, Purdue is set for a full rebuild in the 2026 offseason through the college basketball transfer portal.

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The 2025-2026 season seemed to finally be the one for the Boilermakers, with Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer all returning for their fourth and final seasons in West Lafayette. Matt Painter added top big man Oscar Cluff to the group, resulting in a preseason No. 1 ranking.

Instead, Purdue ended a disappointing campaign in the Elite Eight, where it could not get past the juggernaut of Arizona. They did manage to beat eventual National Champions Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game to secure their second conference title in the last four years, but that was never the ultimate goal.

Now without a solid core of returning talent for the first time in years, Purdue’s 2026-2027 outlook is suddenly bleak. Purdue has a solid incoming freshman class featuring a quartet of four-star recruits, but Painter has only managed one commitment from the transfer portal thus far — senior forward Caden Pierce from Princeton.

The Boilermakers will return a handful of rotational pieces, including C.J. Cox, Gicarri Harris, Oscar Meyer and Daniel Jacobsen. However, Cox, who averaged just 8.5 points per game last season, will be the only returning starter.

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While the college basketball transfer portal still has a healthy amount of top-end talent, Purdue is quickly running out of time to rebuild a championship-level roster.

Purdue needs to add size in college basketball transfer portal

Save for the 7-foot-4 Jacobsen, Purdue’s current roster lacks the size that Painter has famously built his success on. The former four-star recruit only averaged 12.9 minutes per game as a freshman, but is in line to succeed Cluff in the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/1-transfer-portal-target-purdue-193447521.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-17 19:34:00

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