Cincinnati Bearcats basketball: Latest arrivals, departures for 2025

The latest window of the college basketball transfer portal closed at 12 a.m. April 23. Any player wanting in the portal had to be in by then. Exceptions are grad students and players on teams where there was a coaching change.

While rosters are never written in stone, the deadline at least gives Cincinnati Bearcats basketball fans some reasonable expectation of what they’ll see come fall.

As of this writing, 10 Bearcats departed from last year’s roster, five have arrived, one has assumably exhausted eligibility, two come from the prep ranks, Jizzle James is staying put and Day Day Thomas, Tyler McKinley and Halvine Dzellat appear to be doing the same.

Cincinnati Bearcats updated men’s basketball roster

Five new players for UC Bearcats

Kerr Kriisa –The 6-foot-3 native of Tartu, Estonia has played three years at Arizona, one at West Virginia (recruited by Bob Huggins) and nine games at Kentucky last season.

At Arizona, he led the Pac-12 in assists in 2020 and 2021. At West Virginia, he started all 23 games he played in and averaged 11 points and 4.7 assists, shooting 42.4% from three-point range.

Against UC last season, he had 13 points in the Big 12 tournament loss. In the game before that at Fifth Third Arena, he had six points and he had 10 in a West Virginia victory Jan. 31, 2023.

In his last season at Arizona, on Nov. 21, 2022, in Maui, he had 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from deep and seven assists against Wes Miller and UC in a 101-93 victory.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Kerr to Cincinnati,” said head coach Miller. “We’ve played against Kerr multiple times over the last few years and know first-hand how much he impacts winning. He’s a relentless competitor that brings a wealth of experience and winning to our program. He has an elite basketball IQ and an infectious personality that Bearcats fans will love.”

Sencire “Buck” Harris – The 6-foot-4 Harris was on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team last season and averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He started all 32 games and led West Virginia with 54 steals.

“Cincinnati fans are going to absolutely love Sencire Harris,” Miller said. “He’s absolutely fearless and I love how much he relishes challenges and competition. Sencire plays with an edge that this community will instantly connect with. I challenge anyone to find a better perimeter defender in college basketball.”

Harris also played a season at Illinois and helped Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary to back-to-back Ohio state titles his junior and senior seasons in high school. Harris was the 2022 Ohio Division II Co-Player of the Year, sharing the honors with Woodward’s Paul McMillan.

Jalen Haynes – Nicknamed “Big Slime”, the 6-foot-8, 265-pound power forward averaged 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds for George Mason last season.

“Jalen Haynes is a beast,” Miller said. “He brings a level of physicality to our frontcourt that will translate immediately in the Big 12. He plays with a high motor, he attacks the backboards and he values winning. Offensively, he brings a diverse and valuable skill set to our team. He can really score, but he also has the ability to generate offensive opportunities for his teammates.”

Haynes redshirted in 2023-24, but averaged 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds at East Tennessee State in 2022-23. He briefly played at Virginia Tech as a freshman.

Haynes had five double-doubles last season and had an 18-point, seven-rebound performance at Duke, which made it to the Final Four.

Moustapha Thiam –The 7-foot-2, 235-pound Thiam is from Dakar, Senegal and averaged 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds for the UCF Knights. He had 13 points and five rebounds when UCF eliminated UC in the Crown tournament 88-80 and 14 points and eight rebounds in UC’s 93-83 win in Orlando.

Thiam shot 50% from the field, 29% on 3-pointers and 67% from the free throw line. Plus, his 88 blocks were just six off the school record set by 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall. Thiam enrolled early to play at UCF and is just 19-years-old.

“Moustapha is an elite frontcourt player,” Miller said. “He’s already proven that he can have a major impact in Big 12 games, and what’s so exciting is that he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do on a basketball court. He has an extremely rare combination of size, athleticism and skill. His versatility on both ends of the floor will be a major factor in our team’s attack next season.”

Jalen Celestine – The 6-foot-7, 215-pound native of Ajax, Ontario appeared in 31 games for Baylor averaging 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds. He had eight points and seven rebounds, going 2-for-4 on 3-pointers against UC in the Bearcats Feb. 25 win. He had six points and eight rebounds in Baylor’s NCAA tournament win over Mississippi State.

“Jalen is a big-time wing,” Miller said. “He has a ton of experience at the highest levels of college basketball, and he understands how to win. His positional size and ability to guard multiple positions will be extremely important to our team. Offensively, Jalen is very dynamic. His three-point shooting speaks for itself, but he also has a strong combination of ball skills and playmaking that will add to our team.”

Celestine played three seasons at California. In 2023-24 he averaged 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds, shooting 44% from deep.

Departing UC Bearcats for 2025-26 season

Dan Skillings Jr. – Skilling was the first to depart UC, jumping into the portal April 7. By April 15, he was with Scott Drew’s Baylor Bears. Playing in 29 games and starting 13, he averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, down from his sophomore year of 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds.

Connor Hickman – The 6-foot-3 guard committed to UC from Bradley after scoring 14 points against the Bearcats in an NIT game. For the Bearcats he appeared in 13 games, seven as a starter, before injuring his foot. He has committed to Charleston but will need a medical redshirt to play. Hickman averaged 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds with a high game of 14 in the win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta last Nov. 23.

Josh Reed – The 6-foot-7 Reed played in 33 games and started nine after switching places with friend Skillings Jr. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds and signed with Penn State after entering the portal in early April.

Reed’s season-high game in the opening Big 12 tournament win against Oklahoma State when he had 15 points at halftime and finished with 19 on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.

Dillon Mitchell – The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Mitchell was UC’s first McDonald’s All-American since Lance Stephenson. He left the door open to return when entering the portal but committed to St. John’s April 23.

Mitchell averaged 9.9 points and led UC in rebounding with 6.9 per game. In his last games at the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas, Mitchell had 15 points and seven rebounds in the win over DePaul and 19 points and 12 rebounds in the quarterfinal loss to UCF, his sixth double-double of the season.

Arrinten Page – Page came to the Bearcats after one year at USC and leaves after one season. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound pivot averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 31 games with no starts. Page committed to Northwestern April 24.

Tyler Betsey – UC beat out Alabama and Connecticut for the 6-foot-8 forward who played for former Bearcat Cane Broome in high school. Betsey averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 rebounds. He played just five minutes combined in the Crown tournament against DePaul and UCF. Betsey had left the door open for a possible return. As of April 23, he had not committed to another school.

Rayvon Griffith – The 6-foot-7, ex-Taft star was a fan favorite and did see significant minutes in the Crown tournament. Griffith played in 19 games for UC, averaging 1.9 points and 0.8 rebounds after redshirting in 2023-24. He will have three more years of eligibility at his next destination. Griffith also left open the possibility of a return. As of April 23, he’s had a visit to Kent State but had not committed anywhere.

C.J. Anthony – A prolific high school player at Canal Winchester, Anthony played 35 games in three seasons as a walk-on. Miller purposefully redshirted him this past season to allow him an opportunity to catch on with another team for a final graduate season.

J.J. Rembert – Rembert was a walk-on guard and friend of Tyler Betsey who did not see any game action.

Aziz Bandaogo – The 7-footer from Dakar, Senegal first played against UC in an NIT quarterfinal in 2023 while with Utah Valley State. He averaged 11.5 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Wolverines. In 2023-24 he averaged 6.6 points and 7.4 rebounds for UC, followed by this season’s 7.4 points and 6.0 rebounds. Bandaogo has played five seasons including the 2020 COVID-19 year. He would need an NCAA ruling to continue anywhere but is in the portal nonetheless.

UC Bearcats leaving because of eligibility

Simas Lukošius – Barring the NCAA allowing a fifth year of eligiblity Lukošius is done at UC. The native of Lithuania played two seasons for Butler and two for the Bearcats.

He averaged 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds this season and 11.8 points and 3.1 rebounds his junior season. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound guard/forward had a high game of 31 points in the Big 12 tournament in 2024 against West Virginia and made a career-high eight 3-pointers in a 2024 NIT game against San Francisco.

Freshmen UC Bearcats will welcome

Shon Abaev – UC’s latest McDonald’s All-American comes this fall. The 6-foot-8, left-handed “point forward” is a prolific scorer who played in both the McDonald’s and Nike Hoop Summit games.

Keyshuan Tillery –The 6-foot point guard comes from the New Hampton School in New Hampshire where Wes Miller prepped. A four-star like Abaev, both were named as part of ESPN’s Top 100 prep players.

Cincinnati Bearcats returning for 2025-26

Jizzle James – As some UC players were exiting in early April, Jizzle James announced he would be back for a third season. James led the team in scoring his sophomore season at 12.7 points per game and had a team-high 124 assists. James shot 40% from the field, 29% on 3-pointers and 77% from the free-throw line.

Day Day Thomas – DaVeon “Day Day” Thomas made no official proclamation, did not enter the transfer portal and implications on his Instagram April 24 have him back. Thomas started all 35 games his first season at UC until he broke his foot in the NIT. This past year, he played in 32 games, starting 15 and passed his 2023-24 scoring average at 10.2 points per game. He also led UC with 56 steals, including seven in their opening Crown win over DePaul.

Tyler McKinley – The 6-foot-9, 240-pound former Walnut Hills and Winton Woods product would have surely helped UC’s post presence, but a knee injury forced him to redshirt. McKinley was able to return to practice by the end of the season. McKinley averaged 18.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists his senior season at Winton Woods.

Halvine Dzellat – Dzellat came to UC from France as a 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward and originally was not going to be eligible. However, he did gain eligibility and received his most minutes of the season in the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas, playing in 21 total minutes in games vs. DePaul and UCF. He had three points and three rebounds in 14 minutes vs. the Blue Demons. Overall, Dzellat appeared in only 10 games but adds to UC’s frontcourt depth.

(Any future moves will be added to this list online at Cincinnati.com)