Tad Boyle’s rollercoaster season sets stage for roster overhaul for 2025-26

Colorado head coach Tad Boyle will be tasked with one of his most challenging offseasons in Boulder as he will have to look to the transfer portal to try and not replicate a poor showing last season (Photo via Christian Blanco/Sko Buffs Sports)

The men’s college basketball transfer portal has come to a close, and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle is set to have a roster reset as seven of the 17 players from the 2024-25 season have entered the transfer portal or are out of eligibility. 

The transfer portal has hit the Buffs like a truck as RJ Smith, Assane Diop, Julian Hammond III, Javon Ruffin, Harrison Carrington, Courtney Anderson and Greg Gerhardt have entered the transfer portal. 

Seniors Andrej Jakimovski and Trevor Baskin are not returning to college basketball as they have retained all of their eligibility. However, Elijah Malone has been granted an extra year of eligibility because of a blanket waiver by the NCAA to give an extra year of eligibility for former junior college and NAIA players, which Malone fits the description of. Malone should be an expected player to return for the Black and Gold in the 2025-26 season.

Losing seven players that were on the roster is a huge hit for what awaits in the upcoming season, but Boyle was able to pick up 4-star transfer Barrington Hargress from UC Riverside. 

The 6-foot, 195-pound incoming junior guard averaged 20 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Hargress should be considered a top-scoring option for CU in the wake of offensive units such as Hammond and Smith. The veteran will need to be the leader of the team, as many of the upperclassmen leaders have graduated or departed from the team. 

Colorado’s backcourt will consist of many incoming freshmen and sophomores who didn’t see the court this season, such as Felix Kossaras and Andrew Crawford.

Uncertainty of how the season looks is among the CU faithful, as the wonders of who will lead the team will only grow with Hammond graduating. The answer should be returning sophomore Bangot Dak and Hargress. 

The 6-foot-11, 185-pound forward has come off a stellar breakout season as he averaged 8.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists. The growth that Dak has portrayed on the floor demonstrates that he’ll come back in the upcoming season ready to take on the leadership role as the roster takes a reset mode.

The Dak and Hargress duo is something people may not expect, but it might be what the Buffs need. After this season, Dak’s improved confidence, plus the ability to be a major threat within the paint, can be a real danger to opposing offenses.

As for the added-on transfer, Hargress’s ability to be a skilled guard who can score from all three levels and set up the table for the players around him will be invaluable to Boyle’s offense. Overall, the playmaking and scoring capability of Hargress puts the CU duo in a hopeful mentality. 

Colorado still has four remaining scholarship spots open, but Boyle and the Buffs are hoping to pick up more players in the offseason to help fill those spots and make a leap in the Big 12.