New Beginnings:
The Bearcats are back and better than ever after a very eventful offseason. Despite a late-season rally in 2025 from Baba Miller and Moustapha Thiam, the season ultimately ended in the Big 12 conference tournament with a pitiful 66-65 loss to UCF. That was the knockout punch for Wes Miller, whose fall from grace was on display all season: on the court in soul-crushing defeats, and off the court in pitiful radio appearances and tunnel breakdowns. In the end, it’s hard to blame the guy. Rebuilding a program to its former glory is tough, and it’s clearly not for everyone. However, someone has to step up to the plate and swing for the fences, so why not go with a Cincinnati guy who clearly knows how to do the job, knowing there’s not a person in the world who wants it more than he does? Enter Cincinnati alumnus, former Cincinnati basketball assistant, and 2026 Mountain West Coach of the Year Jerrod Calhoun. It’s really a perfect fit, and fans should feel lucky that a guy as smart as he is happens to be a Cincinnati guy. Calhoun is an offensive guru known for putting the ball in a lot of guys’ hands through motion, movement, and sets, and that will be no different here. As of right now, 9 of the 15 roster spots are filled by guards, so it can be expected that a lot of guys will get touches and be on the ball. Last year’s Utah State team, which won 29 games and a March Madness tournament game, by the way, had 10 guys who played at least 10 minutes every game. That shows Calhoun is not afraid to run deep lineups in order to maximize each player’s performance when they’re on the court.
There’s always a method to the madness with roster construction, and the key to understanding it here is found in the newly founded revolution that is NIL. It was recently reported by Matt Norlander that Cincinnati had a little over $15,000,000 to spend on players this offseason, and Calhoun did his research on how to maximize every dollar.
Roster Construction:
Remember how there are only 6 combined forwards and bigs for this season (7 after adding Amani Lyles)? What if that was purposeful by Calhoun? Why would that be? Every day, college basketball and even the NBA are getting bigger. Look at the reigning national champions, the Michigan Wolverines, and their roster. They employed 6'9" Morez Johnson Jr., 6'9" Yaxel Lendeborg, and 7'3" Aday Mara, and became one of the most dominant trios in college basketball history. They became the first team to have 3 lottery picks in the same NBA draft, so the NBA agrees. Why wouldn’t they want to do the same thing and try to replicate their success? You have to stay with the curve, or you’ll be left behind, no?
In theory, yes. But you know what’s better than staying in line with the curve? Getting ahead of it. That’s what Calhoun is doing. You see, everybody’s trying to get their hands on bigs. Flory Bidunga, the former Kansas star big, was given $6,000,000 by Louisville. If Cincinnati had made that deal, they would potentially have had under $10,000,000 for the rest of the roster, and that’s just not going to cut it. Now, Louisville can afford to do that because they had a $20,000,000+ budget, and Pat Kelsey can literally do whatever he wants.
Evan Miyakawa, founder of the best college basketball analytics site, EvanMiya.com, did research on this phenomenon, and the results were right in line with the assumption that the big man market was inflated. He found that the NIL market was already up 65% from last season! This checks out, as college basketball was wildly successful last year; the sport is on the rise, and deservedly so. He also found an almost direct correlation between size and market value. Point guards averaged $813,000, shooting guards $919,000, small forwards $1,175,000, power forwards $1,059,000, and centers $1,307,000. These may not be 100% accurate due to the smaller sample size, but they certainly paint a picture of the current landscape. This means that with 2 players who are equally valuable to winning, a team can save $500,000 just because the point guard doesn’t fit the current trend in college basketball.
The Roster:
By opting to go with 9 guards, Calhoun likely ended up with better players and a better team than a team that went after more big men and ended up overspending, unless that team has a budget of over $20,000,000. With that established, let’s meet your 2026-2027 Cincinnati Bearcats roster.
Trevian Carson:
A well-rounded guard out of North Dakota State, Carson was named to the All-Summit League First Team after he averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for the Summit League regular-season and conference tournament champions. They were defeated by 3-seeded Michigan State. In that game, Carson scored 11, rebounded 7, and assisted 6, making him one of the more impactful players in the team’s loss. He’s a do-it-all guy who isn’t going to be a box-score blazer, but someone who can bring experience and make winning plays.
Elijah Perryman:
One of four Aggies to follow Calhoun to Cincinnati, Perryman is one of the younger guys on the roster. He’s only a sophomore and will likely use this as a developmental year, getting bench minutes on a competitive team. Bearcat fans may remember 2025 freshman Keyshaun Tillery, a high-energy, defensive-minded guard who came off the bench. Perryman will play a similar role for Calhoun. His best skill on offense is his playmaking for others, but he couples that with high-risk passes that result in a good number of turnovers as well. We’ll see which aspects of his game he’s able to develop this year.
MJ Collins:
The second of four Aggies that’ll be mentioned here, but he’s different from the others. MJ will be one of the leaders of this basketball team, if not the sole leader. MJ was Calhoun’s vice captain at Utah State, behind only Mason Falslev, so it’ll be hard to find a better man for the top spot than a co-star on a team with an NCAA tournament win. MJ’s biggest strength is straight-up getting buckets. He’s going to be an experienced lead ball-handler who suppresses turnovers and controls the pace of the offense. He’s a capable 3-point shooter but not a flamethrower; he’s projected to shoot 33.6% from beyond the arc this season. Like Trevian Carson, he’s another guy who’s going to make winning plays, but he’s going to show up in the box score more, as he’ll likely average around 15 points per game. MJ Collins was recently ruled eligible by Ohio governor Mike DeWine, but that ruling is being contested by the NCAA, so there is a small chance he will be denied eligibility after this article is published.
Javontae Campbell:
Javontae Campbell is an interesting roster spot. As this article is being written, the Bearcats just signed Akron forward Amani Lyles. This addition puts us at 16 players, 1 above the legally allotted 15 roster spots. That means someone is going to get cut. Is Calhoun going to ruthlessly cut one of the guys who’s been here all summer, or is he going to cut Campbell, who arrived in September and may not even play this season due to a right foot injury? Normally, this would be a cut-and-dry situation: Lyles is an injury replacement for Campbell. However, it’s not that easy, because when he’s healthy, Campbell is in the conversation for best player on the roster. Campbell is not your average player. He was named All-MAC First Team alongside Amani Lyles and MAC Defensive Player of the Year, as he led the nation in steals per game and broke Bowling Green’s single-season steals record for the second straight year. He’s a tremendous two-way player who would greatly improve the Bearcats on both sides of the ball, so let’s hope he’ll be good to go this season.
Akai Fleming:
Akai is another developmental player. He was a 4-star prospect coming out of Overtime Elite. He’s a springy, athletic guard who’s shown upside as a crafty scorer. He’s great at getting to the free-throw line, and he shoots over 80% when he gets there. In this system, he has a tremendous amount of potential to be a star next year, or in his senior year if he decides to stick around.
Myles Colvin:
A senior guard out of Indianapolis and a former Purdue Boilermaker and Wake Forest Demon Deacon, Colvin will be a key contributor to this team. He’s your typical 3-and-D wing; despite being considered a guard, he doesn’t have the true playmaking and creation ability of an on-ball guy. Even so, Myles will certainly impact 3 components of this team. First, his shooting. Myles can shoot the cover off the ball; he is likely in the top 10% in the country in 3-point shooting. Hand in hand with that is his free-throw shooting. He shot 87% from the line last year and had a jump in free-throw attempts as well. This is less impactful because his shot diet involves more 3-point attempts than 2-point attempts, but it’s a useful asset nonetheless. Lastly, there’s his defensive impact, which will make him a threat on both sides of the ball. His on-ball and pickpocketing skills will certainly be on display all season.
Amani Lyles:
Cincinnati’s most recent addition, an addition so recent that it changed the content of this article as it was being written. The former Akron Zips forward announced his decision on Instagram on October 22nd. It’s been an exciting stretch for the Bearcats, as they’ve added two former 76ers summer league players to their roster. Javontae Campbell and Amani Lyles played together for the 76ers and now have the chance to be the Bearcats’ two best players this upcoming season. It’s hard to believe that a team could recruit its best player just 10 days before the season starts, but that’s how it goes nowadays. Amani is such an upgrade to the Bearcats’ big man room; it’s not even funny. He averaged 14.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.7 stocks for a very talented Akron Zips team. He is incredible inside the arc. His 2-point shooting, rebounding on both ends of the floor, and ability to deter shots will add significant depth and star talent to a roster that needed more size just two weeks ago.
Tyler Tejada:
Tyler Tejada will be one of the Bearcats’ most versatile offensive pieces this season. Tejada has spent all 3 of his years as a Towson Tiger. He’s been named to the Coastal Athletic Association’s All-CAA team twice; he was the conference’s Player of the Year in 2025 and its Rookie of the Year in 2024. He’s a 6'8" forward who can score on all 3 levels and facilitate the rock as well. There are a couple of things fans should track with him as the season goes along. First, his shooting: he had one of the biggest disparities between 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage last season (29.1% and 88.2%). Second, he’s going from a school where he was the man and the bucket-getter to a school where everybody else can get buckets like him. Will he be able to maximize a smaller number of attempts with better efficiency?
Adlan Elamin:
Adlan Elamin is one of the most intriguing players on the Bearcats roster in the eyes of NBA scouts. He’s a skilled, lengthy 6'10" wing who can do just about everything. When you’re 6'10", one of your worst skills is rebounding, and you’re still not a bad rebounder; you’re probably a pretty good basketball player. Adlan will be one of those guys where you watch him, see the impact and potential he has, and are shocked when you don’t see more in the box score. The future is very bright for him, but expectations need to be realistic. There are people who believe he will be the star of the team, and that is just not the case. However, if all goes right and he catches fire as he continues to develop, he could be the guy to push the team over the top on a March Madness run.
Tylen Riley:
Before the recent exhibition games, Tylen was expected to be the starting point guard because of his elite playmaking, primarily his facilitation. His exhibition performances have really raised his stock, although it would be wise to temper expectations. He scored 30 against Illinois and 23 against Ohio State. This will not be the norm; he’s going to be a 10-point-per-game guy. What really stood out, and has substance behind it, has been his ability to get to the line. He shot 87% from the line last year and had 24 free throws across the 2 games combined. That is a real skill that would improve his scoring contribution. That, combined with his shooting potentially improving, as it has every year of his college career, would be his pathway to getting closer to 15 points per game. It can’t be overstated how good he is as a passer, either; he’s a top-100 passer in all of college basketball. It does come with little turnover suppression, though, so that’s another area where he needs to improve. The flashes are there, but I’m betting against a superstar breakout. Still, he is our starting point guard and will contribute greatly to this offensive system.
David Iweze:
Iweze is another Aggie joining Calhoun for the ride. He’s a 3-star, 245-pound, 6'9" sophomore out of Texas who redshirted last year. He will get his first minutes this year, but he won’t get many. He’ll be your run-of-the-mill big man: good on the glass and at deterring shots at the rim, with little game outside of that. He’ll be a bigger contributor to this team next year and beyond.
Grant Darbyshire:
Darbyshire is a great story: a former Kentucky player and Cincinnati walk-on who spent time with the team last year. He logged a rebound and a turnover in 11 minutes last season. If Javontae comes back this season, Grant would be the guy to go. It would be a heartbreaking move to make, but Grant has a great career in finance awaiting him.
Eric Mahaffey:
One of the two Mahaffey brothers who played alongside Amani Lyles at Akron last season, Eric may be the most underrated player on this team. He didn’t even average 10 points per game last season, but he makes winning plays. His biggest weakness is his lack of scoring volume, but based on the guys on the roster, that’s probably a good thing. He’s got a very complementary skill set that won’t give him an eye-popping stat line, but he’s going to have a higher plus-minus than some bigger names on this team.
Jayden Hastings:
Hastings is a fun player; high-flying dunks and vicious swats are always in his bag. He only averaged 6 points per game last season at Boston College, and he is certainly limited on the offensive side of the ball, but he has a defined role. He’s going to be an interior scoring and lob threat, especially off the pick-and-roll. When the Bearcats are going up against a team that’s great at attacking the rim, he’s going to be in the lineup a lot. He’s great on the glass and an overall stereotypical big man. If Calhoun can maximize his impact by knowing when and how to use him based on the matchup, he’ll likely have some star performances, but probably some less eye-popping games as well, at least from a box-score perspective.
Deshaun Vaden:
Deshaun Vaden is certainly a name to watch. He comes from Mount Union, a Division III school in the Ohio Athletic Conference. He only averaged 5 points per game, but he also averaged 3.5 blocks. It’s unlikely he’ll see much playing time; he’s another classic big, but he’s also kind of a mystery. I’m certainly intrigued.
Riley Allenspach:
Allenspach is the jelly to Jayden Hastings’ peanut butter. He’s an offensive-minded big man with the ability to stretch the floor. For all the hoop heads out there who remember when Samford got robbed against Kansas in the first round of March Madness, he played in that game and hit four 3-pointers for Bucky Ball. He’s also a good rebounder for a big, but he impacts the defensive side significantly less than Hastings. It’ll be fun to see how Calhoun uses the two of them based on the opponent’s lineup throughout the year.
Season Preview:
For my final predictions, I have the Bearcats finishing with a non-conference record of 12-2 and a conference record of 9-9, which I think is pretty optimistic given what a juggernaut the Big 12 is every year. For awards, I have team MVP going to Javontae Campbell, unless his injury prevents him from playing a lot, in which case I’ll go with newly acquired Amani Lyles. Unfortunately, I don’t see any of our players making any All-Big 12 teams or winning any awards, but I do think Calhoun has a good shot at winning Coach of the Year. Overall, there is a lot to be excited about for the University of Cincinnati basketball program, and fans need to show this team the support it deserves. Go Bearcats!
