Since the season ended with a loss to Washington State in the NIT quarterfinals in March, BYU’s roster has been in a state of flux.
Several players have entered the transfer portal — like Caleb Lohner, who signed with Baylor; Seneca Knight, who joined Illinois State; and Gavin Baxter, who left BYU for Utah.
Meanwhile, the Cougars have added a player from the transfer portal in guard Rudi Williams, who played last year at Coastal Carolina. BYU also signed incoming freshman forward Braeden Moore out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Three freshmen guards are also poised to join the program as they return home from missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders and Tanner Toolson.
As of now, BYU still has a couple of scholarships available.
Coach Mark Pope briefly addressed recruiting, and the roster situation, Friday when he spoke to media a day after he hired Kahil Fennell as an assistant coach.
“I told (Fennell) that he has to finish the roster this year and the following three years,” Pope joked. “So he has very light work ahead of him.”
The Cougars’ coaching staff has been recruiting hard for months and has been in the running for a few highly touted players in the transfer portal, like guard Antoine Davis, who is the No. 22 all-time scorer in NCAA men’s basketball history, with 2,734 career points. Davis opted to remain at Detroit Mercy. BYU also missed out on big man Mo Njie, who transferred from Eastern Michigan to SMU.
“Recruiting is always so incredibly complicated. This portal has just made it so much more complicated. But it is an incredible opportunity. I do believe that,” Pope said. “I believe the greatest chaos sometimes can be unsettling but it is a ripe field for opportunity.
“I’m really excited about the couple of guys we’ve signed in different ways. They’re going to be really special. We have a couple of guys that are navigating some situations right now. We’ll just see how that goes. But we’re excited about it.”
BYU head coach Mark Pope reacts during an NIT game against Long Beach State at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News