13. Cincinnati Bearcats
Major change came to Cincinnati this offseason with the firing of Wes Miller and the hiring of Jerrod Calhoun replacing him in the top job. The Bearcats did not reach the Big Dance despite having some pretty solid teams during Miller’s half-decade in town and are desperately hoping that Calhoun can push the program further in the right direction. With an expanded Tourney field and a strong Big 12, it’s certainly a possibility after what he accomplished at Utah State.
We don’t have time to detail all 11 newcomers through the transfer portal, but there are some great highlights from Calhoun’s first few months helming the ship. He took three freshman from Utah State with him, most notably forward Adlan Elamin after showing something in his opportunities. 6-11 center Riley Allenspach comes from George Mason with great scoring numbers while Boston College’s Jayden Hastings is another frontcourt piece just looking to be a splash contributor.
The backcourt is where the real magic has happened in the portal, notably grabbing tough point guard Tylen Riley from Tulsa and avid scorer Tyler Tejada out of Towson. Both of those players averaged at least 15 points a game last year, while Myles Colvin was no slouch at Wake Forest, putting up solid figures in the ACC. We can’t forget about Akai Fleming fresh off averaging double figures as a freshman at Georgia Tech, nor the potential in Trevian Carson, who’s a great rebounder for a guard and showed that at North Dakota State.
A rotation is certainly forming among these new forces in Cincinnati. The Bearcats have not reached the NCAA Tournament in seven years and are clearly hoping that Calhoun can find that missing piece that gets them over the top. The program has had several very talented players in recent years; it’s all about how this rotation works out and how they compete in what should be a very deep Big 12 once again.
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