OXFORD, Miss. – Heading into year three in Oxford, Chris Beard and his staff have built upon the momentum from the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament run to build out their roster for the upcoming season, as the men’s basketball program unveiled their roster for the 2025-26 season on Monday.
The 16-man roster consists of four returners, eight transfers, and four first-year signees who will represent Ole Miss men’s basketball for the 116th season, combining experienced players with a highly touted group of newcomers.
The team is comprised of a pair of returners who played in every game for the Rebels a year ago, transfers from programs such as Butler, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and LSU, and a trio of top-100 freshmen including the highest-rated recruit in program history.
RETURNERS
The Ole Miss men’s basketball program is poised to bring back four players from the 2024-25 roster in Zach Day, Malik Dia, Eduardo Klafke, and Max Smith.
A signee in last season’s recruiting class, Day came to Oxford from Midland, Texas where he averaged 24 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists as a senior at Midland Christian.
The 6’5″ guard spent last season training with the team and took a redshirt to further develop, and is ready to bring his elite sharpshooting skills to the court this year after earning a scholarship.
One of the keys to Ole Miss’ Sweet 16 run in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Dia returns to the program for a second season after starting all 36 games and averaging 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.
The stretch forward shined in numerous games for the Rebels, highlighted by 23 points and 19 boards in the team’s win at No. 4 Alabama, and helped the team take down No. 14 Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Appearing in all 36 games for Ole Miss as a freshman, Klafke provided a spark off the bench and averaged just over a point and rebound in 10 minutes per game.
His high-energy effort was on full display during 2024-25, scoring a season-best eight points in back-to-back games against premiere opponents in No. 12 Purdue and Louisville.
Ole Miss graduate Max Smith rounds out the returners, after missing last season due to an injury.
The guard had flashed his high-level shooting ability during the preseason a year ago, and is set to be one of the senior leaders on the roster for 2025-26.
TRANSFERS
A total of eight transfers will join the program this season, coming to Ole Miss with experience at other primetime college basketball programs such as Butler, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, St. John’s, Washington, Wisconsin, and more.
After two seasons at Butler, Augusto Cassia brings his six-foot eight-inch frame to Oxford to bolster the frontcourt.
The Brazilian native played in 25 total games with the Bulldogs, elevating his game as a sophomore in 2024-25 when he played in just over 15 minutes per game and averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and 84.2 percent from the free throw line.
A former top-100 recruit, Corey Chest spent his freshman season as a redshirt with LSU before seeing action in 2024-25 for the Tigers.
A six-foot eight-inch forward, Chest was a key member of LSU last season, playing in 26 games with 19 starts before injuries ended his season early.
Playing in just over 20 minutes per game, Chest averaged 6.1 points and 6.6 boards per game, shooting over 60 percent from the floor, and posted nine games in double figure rebounds highlighted by 18 against Alabama.
Hailing from Louisiana, Hobert Grayson has proven himself at each stop in his collegiate career, beginning at Northeast Mississippi CC in 2021-22 where he averaged nine points and five rebounds.
His next stop at Holmes CC, he was an all-conference selection after averaging 15.1 points and 7.6 boards per game, shooting over 58 percent.
He then moved on to Ouachita Baptist for the 2024-25 campaign, earning NCAA Division II All-American honors after averaging 21.8 points and 11 rebounds per game, posting 17 double-doubles.
A high-scoring winner, Kezza Giffa comes to Oxford from High Point where he helped the Panthers win 29 games in 2024-25, earn their first-ever Big South Conference title, and their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.
The team’s leading scorer last season, Giffa averaged 14.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while starting in 34 games for one of the most potent offenses in the nation.
The two-time first team all-conference selection, Giffa helped High Point win 27 games in his first season with the program, their most in 45 seasons.
A six-foot two-inch guard from Seattle, Koren Johnson comes to Oxford after suffering a season-ending injury at Louisville last season.
Prior to his time with the Cardinals’ program, he spent two years at Washington, where he scored over 500 points including a clip of 11.1 per game as a sophomore in 2023-24.
The guard shot over 44 percent from the field in year two with the Huskies, grabbing 2.2 rebounds and dishing out 2.7 assists per game. In 62 career collegiate games played, Johnson has secured 75 steals on the defensive end.
One of the most prolific high school basketball players of all time, Travis Perry comes to Ole Miss after spending his freshman season at Kentucky.
With the Wildcats, the six-foot one-inch guard played in 31 games and made four starts, having his biggest games of the season against top-five Alabama with 12 points in February and 11 in March at the SEC Tournament.
At Lyon County High School, Perry finished with 5,481 career points to set the all-time record for most in a career in the state of Kentucky. He wrapped his high school career ranking among the top-10 nationally all-time in career points, made threes, field goals made, made free throws, and steals.
Standing at six feet 11 inches tall, James Scott will fortify the front court for Ole Miss as he joins the program from Louisville.
The forward saw action in all 35 games for the Cardinals last season, making 31 starts, averaging 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.
His 79 dunks last season were the third-most in a single season in school history, helping lead to a field goal percentage of 75.5 on the season.
Scott spent the previous season as a freshman at College of Charleston under current Louisville coach Pat Kelsey, where he was named to the conference’s all-rookie team and shot nearly 80 percent from the floor.
A seasoned veteran of college basketball with over 100 games played in his career, AJ Storr joins the Ole Miss program after spending last year at Kansas.
He scored a season-best 19 against UCF in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Storr was named to the preseason watch lists for numerous national player of the year awards, after his previous big season at Wisconsin in 2023-24 where he was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.
He led the Badgers as a sophomore with 16.8 points per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the field.
Storr spent his first season in college at St. John’s, where he was named to the 2023 All-BIG EAST Freshman Team, and was a three time conference freshman of the week award winner.
NEWCOMERS
Head coach Chris Beard and staff are set to welcome four first-year players for the upcoming season, culminating in one of the best recruiting classes in program history, nationally ranked as high as No. 14 by 247Sports and No. 15 by ESPN.
Committing to the Rebels this past May, Niko Bundalo headlines the 2025 class as he ranks as the highest recruit all-time for Ole Miss according to 247Sports.
A 2025 McDonald’s All-American, he made a splash on national television with 12 points on 6-10 shooting, grabbing six offensive rebounds with a block and steal in 16 minutes.
Bundalo ranks as one of the best forwards in the 2025 recruiting class, is a consensus top-40 recruit, and is as high as No. 30 overall by Rivals.
A longtime commit to Ole Miss, Tylis Jordan will add even more depth to the front court as yet another top forward in his class.
Ranked as high as No. 28 nationally by Rivals and No. 34 by On3, Jordan comes to Oxford from Georgia where he played at Wheeler High School. This past season as a senior, the stretch forward helped lead his team to a record of 29-3.
Twenty one year-old Ilias Kamardine will join the Ole Miss basketball team for the 2025-26 season as a first-year collegiate player.
Most recently with JDA Dijon during 2024-25, he played in 55 games where he averaged 8.7 points and shot 43.9 percent in 19.3 minutes, adding 1.9 boards and 2.3 assists. He played for JA Vichy in 2023-24 where he averaged 11.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
He has shown a consistent ability to score effectively while playing pro in Europe, and been a ballhawk on defense with two seasons averaging over 2.0 steals per game.
The fourth member of the prestigious 2025 recruiting class, guard Patton Pinkins will bring a high-level shooting ability to Oxford, where he will join his father, current assistant coach Al Pinkins.
This past year as a senior, he helped lead Frenship High School to 28 victories. The shooting guard is a consensus top-100 recruit nationally, ranked as high as No. 78 in the country by Rivals.
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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.
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