25. Purdue Boilermakers
Likely departures
- Braden Smith (14.3 ppg and 8.8 apg)
- Fletcher Loyer (14.1 ppg and 2.1 apg)
- Trey Kaufman-Renn (14.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg)
- Oscar Cluff (10.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg)
- Liam Murphy (2.3 ppg and 0.9 rpg)
Likely returnees
- CJ Cox (8.5 ppg and 2.8 rpg)
- Daniel Jacobsen (5.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg)
- Omer Mayer (5.5 ppg and 1.2 apg)
- Gicarri Harris (4.6 ppg and 1.6 rpg)
- Jack Benter (4.4 ppg and 2.6 rpg)
Roster additions
- Caden Pierce (11.1 ppg and 7.2 rpg in 2024-25 at Princeton)
- Luke Ertel (4-star guard prospect)
- Jacob Wheeler (4-star wing prospect)
- Sinan Huan (4-star center prospect)
NEWS: Princeton transfer Caden Pierce has committed to Purdue, his agents at @PrioritySports told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) February 13, 2026
The 6-7 forward was the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year. Along with Purdue, Pierce visited UConn, Louisville, Duke, and Gonzaga. https://t.co/hNupYbETI5 pic.twitter.com/yhm8wF6Dht
No high-major team has had a quieter offseason than Purdue, which has essentially done nothing. But that’s for good reason, as they were able to retain everyone with eligibility, including multiple breakout candidates, Cox, Mayer, and Harris. They also have a top-15 incoming recruiting class, along with former Ivy League Player of the Year Pierce, who they landed before the portal fully began.
Losing the starpower the Boilermakers did, led by Big Ten Player of the Year Smith, certainly limits their ceiling on paper. Yet Coach Matt Painter has always been able to rebuild with a new crop of talent. He and Purdue deserve the benefit of the doubt this offseason, but there are questions concerning who’ll become the next stars.
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