Coach Shaka Smart will be entering his sixth season as the head coach of Marquette. Last season was by far his worst at Marquette; it was the first time he had an overall under-.500 record, finishing 12-20 and 7-13 in the Big East. It was also the first time that Smart did not make the NCAA Tournament at Marquette.
Marquette Looks to Compete in a Stronger Big East
Departing Players
As Smart looks to right the ship for Marquette, he has gone about business as usual this offseason, focusing on retaining current players and bringing in another solid recruiting class. Unlike most college basketball teams today, Smart has chosen to build his program the conventional way of recruiting, retaining, and developing players.
The Golden Eagles saw six players depart after last season. Starting with graduating seniors Ben Gold, Chase Ross, and Sean Jones. Gold, who was Marquette’s starting center, and Ross, a starting guard who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers, have both finished their time in college basketball.
Jones has transferred to Toledo for his final year of eligibility. Along with Jones, the Golden Eagles have three other players who have transferred out. Sheek Pearson, a redshirt freshman, transferred to St. Louis; Tre Norman, a junior who received very little playing time, transferred to Milwaukee; and Zaide Lowery, who was a starter last year and was dismissed from the program halfway through the year. Lowery has transferred to Dayton. The Golden Eagles are returning nine players from last season: three starters, three rotation players, and three development projects.
Returning Players
The most impactful move for Smart’s team this offseason was retaining Nigel James Jr. James Jr. was the Golden Eagles’ starting point guard last year, the Big East Freshman of the Year, and averaged 16 points and five assists per game. Another member of the 2025 recruiting class who was ranked higher than James Jr. is Adrein Stevens. As a freshman, Stevens was a starting guard and averaged eight points and three rebounds per game. The third returning starter is Royce Parham. Parham started at forward as a sophomore last year, averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game.
Playing in all 30 games last season as a sophomore, Damarius Owens averaged five points and three rebounds per game. Wing Michael Phillips II played in 28 games as a freshman last season, averaging two points and one rebound per game.
A sophomore forward who started in over half of Marquette’s games last year, Caedin Hamilton averaged three points and three rebounds per game. Rim-protecting center Joshua Clark appeared in 23 games as a sophomore. Freshman Ian Miletic redshirted last year. Rounding out the returnees is Braeden Brenn, who appeared in three games as a redshirt sophomore. Smart has been successful at Marquette due to the continuity he has created.
Recruits
Smart had a very strong recruiting class in 2025 and hopes his 2026 class will have the same success. To headline the 2026 class, the Golden Eagles added consensus top 100 recruit, four-star small forward Alex Egbuono. Egbuono had multiple Power-5 offers.
Like Egbuono, Marquette’s next recruit, shooting guard Ethan Johnston, is a four-star recruit who didn’t have a shortage of Power-5 offers. Smart went global for the next two recruits, adding shooting guard Nash Walker from Australia, who developed at the NBA Global Academy. Canadian point guard Colton Crowdis, who played at Bridgton Academy in Maine for a postgraduate year, rounds out the class.
Portal
Marquette added two players through the portal this year. It’s another year of Smart using the portal as a supplementary tool, not a way to build his roster.
The first is St. Thomas standout Nolan Minessale, who grew up as a Marquette fan. He averaged 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game last season and will be a junior this upcoming season. He was a first-team All-Summit League player and a finalist for the mid-major player of the year. The Golden Eagles also added Sananda Fru, who started 29 of Louisville’s 35 games at center last year. As a junior at Louisville, Fru averaged nine points and six rebounds per game.
Depth Chart
- PG: James Jr., Crowdis
- SG: Stevens, Johnston
- SF: Minessale, Egbuono, Phillips II, Miletic
- PF: Parham, Owens, Hamilton, Brenn
- C: Fru, Clark
Redshirt: Walker
The Last Word on Marquette’s Offseason
This is a very young, exciting, and homegrown team for Marquette that should be more competitive in the Big East next season. While James Jr. will continue to be the guy for Marquette, Parham has shown great improvement and has become a very reliable player for the Golden Eagles. Still, many questions remain heading into next season for the Golden Eagles.
Can Minessale be a solid number two option after James Jr? Can Fru be a consistent starting center in the Big East? Can Crowdis be the backup point guard as a freshman? Can Stevens make a sophomore year jump and shoot better than 43% from the field? This team will be more competitive in the Big East than last year, but is probably a year away from competing for the top seed. Sticking to his roots, Coach Smart has yet again built a competitive roster without fully relying on the portal.
Photo Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
