9. Xavier
Last year, Xavier rehired Sean Miller and he brought them back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. Miller inherited a solid roster and led them to a Sweet Sixteen after a competitive season in the Big East. Now, much of that talent is gone, with Souley Boum, Colby Jones, Jack Nunge, and Adam Kunkel all moving on after starting with the Musketeers.
The Musketeers are winners for more than just luring Zach Freemantle back to campus, they’re adding some pretty solid transfers as well. They’ll add Dayvion McKnight, the leading scorer with 16.5 points a game at Western Kentucky, and Quincy Olivari, a junior guard who was even more impressive scorer at Rice last year. Xavier also adds Abou Ousmane from North Texas and a Top 15 recruiting class, led by 4-stars in Trey Green, Dailyn Swain, and Reid Ducharme.
McKnight is a significant addition for the Musketeers and is a big reason why they’re a winner. Miller was tasked with replacing a lot of last year’s production and wasted no time in adding some prominent pieces, with Olivari just as important to the offense. Xavier was depending on transfers last season and will lean on those two guards to mix well with the remaining pieces from last year’s success. Xavier won’t be as highly regarded, but this offseason is a winner so far for the transfers Miller landed out of the gate.