Sam’s Top 100: 90-81

By Sam Federman

Photo by George Mason Athletics

90. Towson Tigers (CAA)

Mid-major programs don’t often get the opportunity that Towson did last year when it returned nearly every piece from a 20-win team in 2024. The Tigers had the top minutes continuity in the country, and were dominant, 16-2 in CAA play, but suffered an upset loss to Delaware in the semifinals.

Now, Towson’s two stars decided to once again run it back. Tyler Tejada and Dylan Wiliamson are the top returning duo in the conference, if not on the entire east coast. Tejada won CAA Player of the Year while Williamson averaged nearly 15 points per game on 43% from beyond the arc.

Jack Doumbia comes in to be the enforcer forward, Tyler Schmidt adds another high-end shooter to the backcourt, and Mor Seck gives size that last year’s team didn’t have. Expect to see more of Caleb Embeya as well this season. Freshman Jaquan Womack from Paul VI could be an impact frontcourt piece as well.

89. Colorado Buffaloes (Big 12)

In his 14th season as Colorado’s head coach, Tad Boyle had just his second losing season last year. However, he’s also only made two of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and is the longest tenured current high-major head coach without a Sweet 16 berth at his current school.

This isn’t one of Boyle’s better rosters, but there are reasons to be optimistic that the Buffs can outperform this ranking. Unlike last year’s team, Colorado has a true go-to scorer that can get a bucket whenever he needs to in UC Riverside transfer Barrington Hargress. He probably won’t score at the same rate as he did in the Big West, but he’ll almost definitely outscore CU’s leading scorer from last year.

7 foot forward Bangot Dak is recovering from an injury, but is expected to be back by the start of the season. He took a huge step forward becoming one of the most exciting defensive chess pieces in the Big 12 last year, and has flashed some serious offensive potential as well.

Between Dak, 6 foot 11 Sebastian Rancik, and 6 foot 10 Elijah Malone, CU returns a ton of size in the frontcourt.

88. San Francisco Dons (WCC)

Returning Tyrone Riley is one of the biggest coups that any mid-major was able to pull off in the transfer portal. He’s set to explode into one of the best players in all of mid-major basketball after a terrific freshman season. The Dons also return Ryan Beasley and Junije Wang, who were productive underclassmen last season.

Beasley will run the point next to Portland transfer combo guard Vukasin Masic. Both of those guys are good players in the WCC, but neither of them is as gifted as Malik Thomas or Marcus Williams, who formed one of the top backcourts in the sport last season.

Wang is joined in the frontcourt by Oregon transfer Mookie Cook and a duo of new centers in Guillermo Diaz Graham and David Fuchs. Perhaps a change of scenery is what Diaz Graham needs to realize his potential, while Fuchs is a physical post from Rhode Island. Sophomore Veniamin Abosi probably figures into the frontcourt mix as well as an energy piece.

87. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Ten)

The good news for Nebraska is that Rienk Mast is back in the fold after missing all of last season with an injury. He was a key contributor on the 2024 team that made the NCAA Tournament, and will be one of the best big men in the Big Ten this coming season.

The bad news for Nebraska is that the team is fairly uninspiring for a Big Ten outfit outside of him. Connor Essegian and Berke Buyuktuncel were buy-low adds last year, each having their moments, but struggling for consistency. Pryce Sandfort isn’t necessarily a buy-low in that same ilk, as he had a solid year last year, but can he have the same junior year breakout as his brother? Kendall Blue is another sharpshooting transfer coming in from St. Thomas, but who will get these shooters the ball?

Jamarques Lawrence returns to Nebraska after a year at Rhode Island, but he’s more combo than point. He and Sam Hoiberg both had turnover rates well higher than their assist rates.

I’m curious to see how Fred Hoiberg manages the lineups, and how he mixes in frontcourt transfers Jared Garcia and Ugnius Jarusevicius as well.

86. UNC Wilmington Seahawks (CAA)

After winning the CAA Tournament last year, Takayo Siddle flashed his ring to some of the top players in the league and basically formed a CAA All-Star team to try and run it back.

Siddle brought in Monmouth point guard Madison Durr to run the show, feeding former Stony Brook sharpshooter CJ Luster along with NC A&T stud Jahnathan Lamothe and Towson glue guy Christian May.

The Seahawks also return role players Greedy Williams, Nolan Hodge, and Noah Ross, who all played over 20 minutes per game for last season’s championship group. Binghamton transfer Gavin Walsh is one of the nation’s top rebounding four men, while seven-foot Virginia Tech transfer Patrick Wessler will man the paint.

85. Colorado State Rams (Mountain West)

15 years after he famously drained a three to beat Kansas in the NCAA Tournament, Ali Farokhmanesh is a Division I head coach, and he’s a very promising one at that.

Despite promoting from within, CSU wasn’t able to hold onto many pieces from last year’s team that was seconds away from the Sweet 16. However, the Rams still project as a competitive team in the Mountain West. Marist transfer Josh Pascarelli fits like a glove as a shooting combo guard in this system, while Jevin Muniz versatility offensively makes him a fascinating piece as well.

Brandon Rechsteiner and Carey Booth are a few interesting down-transfers, while VMI transfer Augustinas Kiudulas brings legit scoring punch from the frontcourt. Undersized big man Rashaan Mbemba is the key returner, a key piece of last year’s physicality.

84. LSU Tigers (SEC)

There is definitely an infusion of talent to this LSU roster, but the fit is extremely confusing to me. This is easily one of the worst rosters in the SEC, but even as bad as the Tigers were last year, they still finished in the top 90.

LSU paid a pretty penny for the services of UNLV transfer point guard DJ Thomas, who had an electric freshman season in 2023-24 and didn’t improve on it as much as many hoped last year. Despite that, he’s still a very good option at the point.

PJ Carter and Max Mackinnon are sharpshooters, but I have serious questions about those two defensively. Rashad King and Marquel Sutton were dominant in mid-major leagues, but neither has the type of skillset that is most sure to translate. The Tigers should be able to get enough out of those four transfers – as well as freshman Ron Zipper – to be competitive with high-level teams on some, but not all nights. Jalen Reed and Michael Nwoko make up a solid frontcourt duo.

83. Charleston Cougars (CAA)

While UNCW may have formed a CAA All-Star team, Charleston put together a roster with more upside for Chris Mack’s second season at the helm. That starts with their own CAA All-Star transfer in Colby Duggan, who broke out in a massive way for Campbell, averaging 20 points per game in league play.

Middle Tennessee transfer J’Lynn Counter will run the point for the Cougars as an experienced all-around guard. If Connor Hickman is able to get a waiver, he may be one of the very best players in the CAA, assuming he can return to the form he had for Bradley in 2023-24.

Charleston also brought in Bryce Baker, who should be one of the top shooters in the conference, as well as Mister Dean, an electric, above-the-rim athlete who dominated as a freshman for USC Upstate. Clemson transfer Christian Reeves will be an imposing presence in the paint at 7 foot 2.

But even with all of that, the most intriguing piece on the roster is German freshman Martin Kalu, a high-end athlete who averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds at the FIBA U20 Eurobasket.

82. George Mason Patriots (Atlantic 10)

Tony Skinn was one of the breakout young coaches of the year in 2024-25, bringing George Mason its best season since Jim Larrañaga was at the helm. But what does he have for an encore?

Brayden O’Connor is the only returning contributor, but the Patriots did a solid job building a roster to the same defensive identity around the versatile guard. Presbyterian transfer Kory Mincy will run the point and guard the point of attack. Jermahri Hill and Masai Troutman can also fill up the scoreboard and bring an element of positional size to the backcourt.

In the frontcourt, the super athletic two-way force Dola Adebayo comes in from Mount St. Mary’s to pair with the rotation of Samford transfer Riley Allenspach and Murray State transfer Nick Ellington.

Jahari Long and Malik Presley give even more depth and size to the backcourt.

81. Xavier Musketeers (Big East)

Richard Pitino’s first roster at Xavier gets a pretty unemphatic shrug from me, especially after the injury to Evansville transfer Gabriel Pozzato which will keep him out for a while.

If nothing else, the backcourt duo of All Wright and Malik Moore will shoot the crap out of the basketball. Each shot over 38% on high volume last season, but neither is a true point guard. Roddie Anderson isn’t the worst option as a bench ball handling guard, but he’s far from the best either.

Filip Borovicanin and Jovan Milicevic followed Pitino from New Mexico to the Musketeers, and should make for a physical frontcourt push alongside FAU transfer Tre Carroll.

Virginia transfer Anthony Robinson and UNLV transfer Pape N’Diaye can really block shots, but where else will they make their presence felt?