Fresh off a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2025, Maryland didn’t exactly have the kind of follow-up performance that many expected. New head coach Buzz Williams had a few major holes to fill in the rotation and the end result just wasn’t ideal, with the Terrapins finishing 17th place in the Big Ten, finishing just 12-21. It’s just the beginning for Williams after success at other schools but it wasn’t a great first impression.
The road ahead gets even tougher with the talent gone from College Park. Maryland shed a number of pieces including Darius Adams into the transfer portal while also seeing David Coit, Elijah Saunders, and a few others run out of eligibility. Among the returning pieces, the Terrapins do have two notable names in Andre Mills at guard and Pharrel Payne in the frontcourt, with Payne missing nearly all of last season with a hip injury.
A number of both freshmen and transfers fill out a new-look roster for the Terrapins as they look to get back in the Big Ten race. Perhaps the most notable of the bunch is Tomislav Buljan, who averaged a double-double as a freshman at New Mexico and should take on a major role this season. The backcourt was significant boosted with great scorer Michael McNair from Boston University, as well as Tennessee’s Bishop Boswell, fresh off an Elite Eight appearance.
We’re thinking about raw potential here when we say that D. J. Wagner is the most important of those new transfer additions. The 6-3 guard from Camden, New Jersey was among the elite prospects in the class of 2023 but it hasn’t quite come together for him these last three years. Wagner played for John Calipari first at Kentucky and then these last two years at Arkansas, though his junior year was a step in the wrong direction.
Maryland is hoping they get the version of Wagner who’s a healthy machine on offense, putting up 11.2 points and 3.6 assists per game as a sophomore before last year’s rough effort. If he can come closer to living up to this potential as a Top 10 recruit then he can become a major asset on a Terrapins squad piecing together what they hope is a contending lineup this season.
When the dust settles and the basketball begins, it’s likely that someone else will be the leading scorer for the Terrapins, especially if Payne is fully healthy or Buljan adjusts well to the Big Ten. However, the impact that we know Wagner can have could be that missing link that elevates the Terrapins back into the NCAA Tournament and perhaps even into some national conversations. It all depends on how his senior season develops; his first collegiate campaign without Calipari.
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