Rutgers season preview: Tariq Francis returns, nine newcomers join

Where last season ended

Rutgers finished 14-20 overall and 6-14 in the Big Ten, 14th in the conference. Steve Pikiell coached the team. UCLA won a March 12 neutral-site game 72-59. The last game of the season was a 69-82 loss to Creighton on April 2, also at a neutral site. The game log does not name either event, so this article does not name them.

Who is gone

Eight players from the 2025-26 roster are not on the 2026-27 list. Dylan Grant averaged 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. Emmanuel Ogbole averaged 4.7 points and 6.0 rebounds. Denis Badalau averaged 3.1 points. Bryce Dortch averaged 2.1 points and 3.2 rebounds. Christopher Nwuli averaged 2.2 points. Baye Fall averaged 0.6 points. Dorian Jones had no averages in the source. Harun Zrno, who averaged 6.5 points, is on Washington's 2026-27 roster instead. Sports-Reference gives the averages. The sources give no reasons for these departures.

Who is back

Tariq Francis is the biggest return. He averaged 17.0 points and 2.9 assists in 2025-26, the most points on the team. The official roster lists him as a senior guard. Jamichael Davis (senior guard, 7.5 points, 2.5 assists), Darren Buchanan Jr. (fifth-year guard, 8.1 points), Kaden Powers (sophomore guard, 6.1 points), Lino Mark (sophomore guard), Gevonte Ware (sophomore center) and Max Fradkin (junior guard) are also on the roster. Sports-Reference lists Mark as Angelino Mark.

Who is new

Five players are new to the roster. Dorin Buca, a senior center listed at 7-2 and 286 pounds, transferred from Kansas State. Darin Smith Jr. (junior guard) transferred from Central Connecticut State. Will Sydnor (junior forward) transferred from Manhattan. Christian Gurdak (sophomore center) transferred from Virginia Tech. RaSheed Jones (fifth-year guard) previously played at Northwest Florida State, Western Carolina and Coastal Carolina.

The freshman class is listed below.

Incoming freshmen

Rutgers adds four first-year players, and three of them come from outside the United States. No recruiting ranking for any of the four appears in the sources checked.

• Imahri Wooten, guard, 6-5, from Redemption Christian Academy, Troy, N.Y.
• Martin Tonejc, forward, 6-7, from SUAS Ljubljana, Jesenice, Slovenia.
• Mervedi Miteo, forward, 6-10, from Gran Canaria, Kinshasa, Congo. His last club before Rutgers was Gran Canaria.
• Diego Garavaglia, guard, 6-7, from Cloe Giani High School, Milan, Italy.

The number to know

Three-point percentage is made threes divided by attempts. Rutgers made 32.4% of its threes in 2025-26, which ranked 272nd of 365 teams on Sports-Reference, across 34 games. The figure shows how often those shots went in. It does not show shot quality or who took the shots, and it does not separate the 2025-26 players from the 2026-27 group.

Questions for this season

Can Rutgers shoot better with a new group of guards? A 32.4% rate ranked 272nd, so even a small gain would stand out.

Does the frontcourt hold up? Rutgers lost Grant, Ogbole and Nwuli. It added Buca, Gurdak and Sydnor.

Can Francis handle a bigger share of the offense? He averaged 17.0 points last season. The sources do not show his shot volume, so this article cannot measure a change.

Our early read

Rebuilding year (14th-18th) is our call. Rutgers finished 14th in the Big Ten and lost eight players from its 2025-26 roster. Francis and Davis return, but nine newcomers join, and the team's three-point shooting ranked 272nd of 365 last season. The Columbus Dispatch preseason media poll ranked Rutgers 17th, which fits this tier. We project the Scarlet Knights 15th.