NCAA Basketball: Top 25 offseason winners entering 2024-25 season

No. 17 - Ole Miss Rebels: Experience will pay dividends

The year-two Chris Beard jump is well documented. Now armed with one of the more experienced rosters in the country, it is a safe assumption that the Ole Miss Rebels will be significant players in the never-so-forgiving SEC this upcoming season.

To start, the Rebels will return three starters from last season’s 20-win team. Stretch-four Jaemyn Brakefield and PG Jaylen Murray returned as double-digit scorers last season. However, the biggest news of Ole Miss’ offseason was with leading scorer Matthew Murrell, who decided to withdraw his name from the 2024 NBA Draft and return to college basketball for his final season of eligibility. Brakefield, Murray and Murrell accounted for 57.2% of the Rebels’ average scoring last season.

From the portal, Chris Beard addressed many of last season’s issues with versatile frontcourt pieces in Mikeal Brown-Jones (UNCG), Malik Dia (Belmont) and Ja’Von Benson (Hampton). Dre Davis (Seton Hall) and Sean Pedulla (Virginia Tech) have the makings of All-SEC-type players. Davon Barnes (SHSU) is among the more underrated portal additions in the SEC.

Chris Beard has assembled a roster full of experience and versatile pieces, making the Rebels a clear offseason winner as they look to make their mark in the SEC and beyond.