Ole Miss Basketball Makes 2025-26 Announcement
Coming off a thrilling Sweet 16 run last season, the Ole Miss Rebels have officially announced their roster for the 2025-2026 season.
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The Rebels' squad will showcase a blend of four returning players, eight transfers and four talented freshmen.
Two of the Rebels return to the court with unique routes. Zach Day, who was signed as a true freshman the previous season, took a redshirt to focus on development and adjust to the college level.
Max Smith, a senior guard, returns after missing all of last season due to injury, despite turning heads with a promising preseason camp.
Ole Miss Basketball head coach Chris Beard.Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Forward Malik Dia will be returning as well. He was one of the Rebels' most consistent contributors last season. Dia averaged 10.8 points in just 20.8 minutes per game across all 36 games, as well as being the team's glass cleaner, posting a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game.
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This year's transfer class consists of eight players, including proven scorers, versatile defenders and experienced big men highlighted by Corey Chest, AJ Story and Kezza Giffa.
Ole Miss made a major splash on the recruiting class, landing three ESPN Top 100 players: forward Niko Bundle, forward Tylis Jordan and guard Patton Pinkins, indicating a clear investment in the program's future.
After coming up just short in a 73-70 Sweet 16 loss to Michigan State, third-year head coach Chris Beard enters the new season with a reloaded roster and unfinished business.
Even with key departures like John Bol, TJ Caldwell and Robert Cowherd, the Rebels' revamped roster has all the tools necessary to make a return trip to March Madness.
Related: 5-Star LSU Wide Receiver Commit Sends Strong Ole Miss Message
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Meet Colin Cummings: US air force officer and greatest air hockey player of all time
About an hour before our scheduled chat, Colin Cummings accompanies his polite request to delay with a photograph of an image familiar to parents worldwide, a grizzling newborn strapped to his front, resolutely refusing to succumb to her morning nap. Cummings has gone about this week's defence of his air hockey world title rather differently to his many others. Partly, that is thanks to baby Clara's arrival a couple of months ago, which has dominated most of the summer. The rest of it has been dictated by a job relocation to Hawaii where he has been given a three-year posting as a personnel officer in the US air force. The air hockey table at his Oahu home represents the only professional-style playing surface in the whole multi-island state. Shorn of suitable playing partners, Cummings has geared up for his tilt at a sixth successive world crown in an unconventional manner. 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Carlos Alcaraz wins first Cincinnati Open title as Jannik Sinner retires with illness
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