Every Eligible Scholarship Player Returns to Purdue, Painter
For many years, the sign “Defense Lives Here” has been displayed in Mackey Arena.
Maybe there also should be a placard declaring “Loyalty Lives Here.”
Do not underestimate the fact that every eligible scholarship player is returning to Purdue for the 2026-27 season.
Whether or not Purdue adds a player or two from the transfer portal, the Boilermakers will be a young team entering the 2026-27 season. As of now, Princeton graduate transfer Caden Pierce is the lone scholarship senior.
Who will coach Matt Painter write into the official scorebook as his starting lineup come November? Here’s my best guess.
C.J. Cox
The 6-3 guard has started 62 consecutive games. Is he ready for a leadership role after playing alongside Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer?
Cox played well in Purdue’s Elite Eight run, averaging just under 10 points a game while shooting nearly 47 percent from 3-point range and 61 percent overall from the field. Cox protects the ball, turning it over just 12 times in 39 games this past season. He’s also a solid defender like fellow junior Gicarri Harris.
Purdue will need more games like Cox’s performance at Northwestern, when he matched his career high of 27 points on 10 of 13 shooting.
Omer Mayer
The 6-4 sophomore was recruited from Israel specifically to take over Braden Smith’s point guard duties in 2026-27. Mayer flashed his offensive potential in a home victory against Indiana, putting up 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting (4 of 5 from 3-point range).
In Big Ten play, Mayer led all conference freshmen with 44.2 percent shooting (23 of 52) from 3-point range. If Mayer develops into the NBA prospect some foresee, he could be the difference in Purdue contending again for a league title.
Gicarri Harris
The 6-3 guard’s season almost mirrored that of the Boilermakers. At home, Harris shot below 20 percent from 3-point range. But on a neutral court or on an opponent’s home floor, he was a 45.6 percent (26 of 57) shooter behind the arc.
Consistency will be the key to Harris’ playing time. He has an edge of being one of Purdue’s best perimeter defenders.
Caden Pierce
It seems obvious that the 6-7 Pierce was brought in to step into Trey Kaufman-Renn’s large shoes at forward.
The 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton visited Connecticut, Duke, Louisville and Gonzaga before choosing to play his final season at Purdue. Torn ligaments in an ankle spoiled his junior season. It’s presumed the year off to earn his bachelor’s degree helped Pierce heal completely.
Daniel Jacobsen
The 7-4 center is still trying to catch up in his development after a freak broken leg during the second game of his freshman season in 2024-25.
He needs to bulk up from his listed weight of 250 pounds. But with big man whisperer Brandon Brantley and the recent hire of Kenneth Lowe to upgrade the defense, it is hoped Jacobsen will break out in 2026-27.
Top reserves
Jack Benter
I considered the 6-6 Benter for the starting lineup, stepping into Fletcher Loyer’s role as an outside shooting threat. Benter shot nearly 41 percent from 3-point range as a redshirt freshman.
Benter was possibly miscast this past season as the backup power forward to Trey Kaufman-Renn. With Caden Pierce recruited specifically to take on that role, Benter could be more effective at small forward.
Antoine West Jr.
Strictly a guess. The 6-3 guard from Toledo, Ohio, was a four-star recruit who chose Purdue over Nebraska, Dayton, Michigan and Ohio State.
There’s an opening for a guard coming off the bench who can score and provide defensive energy. This could be West’s role as a redshirt freshman.
Luke Ertel
Hopefully, fans won’t compare Ertel’s rapid rise in high school to Braden Smith. Smith is a pure point guard, while the 6-2 Ertel is more of a scorer. Although, these quotes from Matt Painter do sound familiar:
“I don’t know if I have ever seen a player that we have taken with more fortitude than Luke has,” Painter said on National Signing Day. “He’s very determined, tough, hard-nosed, picks you up full-court and birddogs the basketball.”
Ertel is the 41st ranked player in the Class of 2026 by 247sports.com. He ran away with the voting for Indiana Mr. Basketball after leading Mt. Vernon to the Class 4A state championship
Raleigh Burgess
Preseason leg surgery led to the decision to redshirt the 6-11, 245-pound Burgess.
Could the sophomore be the X-factor against opponents who play two big men on the front line?
Unknown
Sinan Huan
Barring another injury to Jacobsen and Burgess, it would seem the 7-1 center from Beijing via Georgetown Prep in Washington, D.C. will redshirt. Then again, it was assumed by many that Zach Edey would redshirt as a freshman.
Huan is the seventh 7-footer to sign with Purdue since 2012 (AJ Hammons, Isaac Haas, Matt Haarms, Edey, Will Berg, Jacobsen).
“He’s a player that can change the game on the defensive end, not just blocking shots but by being a deterrent in the lane,” Matt Painter said in a statement back in November on National Signing Day.
Jacob Webber
On paper, Webber would seem to be the perfect candidate to step into Fletcher Loyer’s role as a dangerous 3-point shooter. But carrying just 175 pounds on a 6-6 frame entering his senior year at La Lumiere makes one wonder if he could take the physical beating Loyer endured as a freshman at Purdue.
“Jacob gives us great positional size as a guard and is the best move-and-shoot player in the country,” Painter said of Webber, ranked 64th nationally by 247sports.com. “We think he’s the most prolific shooter in the country.”
Rivers Knight
Webber’s teammate at La Lumiere, the 6-8 Knight caught Painter’s attention after injury kept Knight off the summer basketball circuit. Also like his teammate, Knight’s best attribute is his long-distance shooting touch.
“He can really stretch the defense at that four position,” Painter said. “He has range to 25 feet and can consistently knock them down.”
Walk-ons
Sam King
King is intriguing for two reasons: Walk-ons are seldom asked to redshirt before their senior year. The other reason? King is 6-9, 230 pounds. Best case scenario is a repeat of walk-on turned scholarship forward Grady Eifert’s impact in 2019.
Jack Lusk
The son of assistant coach Paul Lusk will enter his third season in the program. The 6-4, 195-pound guard has yet to score a point in a Boilermaker uniform.
Jace Rayl
The 5-11 senior guard played eight games this past season. He is the grandson of 1959 Indiana Mr. Basketball Jimmy Rayl.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.