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Nearly all of Indiana State's potential returning men's basketball players have entered the NCAA transfer portal, or intend to do so.
Those departures come after ISU finished 11-21 overall and 4-16 in Missouri Valley Conference play in the 2025-26 season.
The NCAA transfer portal opened Monday and players around the country can enter it until April 20, in an effort to find a new college destination.
It's an especially messy offseason in Terre Haute and the MVC, with players from multiple teams testing the waters for interest.
Among the ISU players, freshman center Hunter Harding along with junior guard Camp Wagner, junior center Derek Vorst, redshirt junior Caden Huttenlocker and sophomore guard Bruno Alocen had officially entered the portal as of Tuesday afternoon. Freshman redshirt Martin Kaupanger is the only player for sure returning next season. There has been no official announcement on junior guard Jo Van Buggenhout or freshman guard Sivert Wærstad Nordheim, but Graves confirmed Saturday that everybody but Kaupanger were entering the portal.
Graduate guard Zyair Greene was going to apply for a medical redshirt after suffering an injury early this past season and then look to play somewhere closer to home.
Redshirt sophomore walk-on guard Cooper Bean and Harding will both enter the portal, with coach Matthew Graves saying the door open will be open for them to come back if nothing works out. Bean wants to look at opportunities where he could earn a scholarship since he's a walk-on at ISU. He was grandfathered in under the revenue share roster limit.
"We're going to revisit in a month or so," Graves said Tuesday. "If he's not found something that he likes or he wants to come back, he's more than welcome, the door is open for him to return in that capacity."
With the 7-foot-1 Harding in a similar position, Graves said the ISU coaches need to look at some options at center, known as the 5 position.
"That's one of the most difficult spots to fill because it's just simply limited options," Graves said. "There's less guys that are walking around that are 6-9, 250-plus [pounds], and also they're typically the more expensive guys as far as [name, image, likeness compensation] resources."
He said ISU has to balance that. Coaches had a candid conversation with Harding as to what his role could be, Graves said.
Upon Harding entering the portal, Graves said they'll revisit his situation in May.
Graves said he won't yet place too much of an expectation of leadership on Kaupanger.
"It'll be his first opportunity to play in the game and things like that, so there's going to be a lot going on with that," Graves said. "We need to help him and have a balance."
He said through their recruiting ISU will look at older players with leadership qualities.
"It's no different than last year," Graves said. "I thought Ian Scott and Xavier Hall were two really good leaders." Both joined ISU prior to last season and became starters.
Graves explained those types of players available in the portal will help the Sycamores.
"We need some of that leadership from older guys with that experience," Graves said.
As far as all the players leaving Indiana State, Graves said he did see it coming.
"You don't always know 100% certainly, but at the end of this, really even before the end of the season as we got into I'd say late January, early February, had an idea of who was going to try to transfer up to a different level, who was going to try to maybe transfer to a different situation for more playing time or different opportunity," Graves said.
Graves said typically two or three players will be unsure of whether to enter the portal, and give it thought. But coaches had inkling, otherwise, as to which players might transfer elsewhere.
In the MVC, experienced teams such as Bradley and Northern Iowa tend to win often. Bradley was boosted by players with remaining COVID eligibility two seasons ago, but Northern Iowa increased its experience level.
Graves said if the Panthers hadn't had to deal with injuries, they would've been a top two or three team in the Valley.
ISU is bringing in four freshmen plus Kaupanger and maybe another recruit, whom Graves didn't mention by name.
"[The recruiting class is a] really good mix of size and skill and they're winners. They've won at a really high level," Graves said. "Obviously, I was excited about the development with Martin this year. So, you're looking at five freshmen, which now leaves you 10 spots to fill through the portal. And we're going to do that in a variety of ways."
One commitment is E.J. McQuillan, a 6-foot-4 guard from NAIA school LSU Alexandria.
"Really excited what he can bring," Graves said. "He's an NAIA All-American."
Graves said they're looking at seven or eight experienced guys in the portal, which are necessary to win a MVC title.
"We're wanting to put a team together that's going to compete in that top four or five, which gives you that [MVC Tournament first-round] bye over in St. Louis," Graves said. "We have to have some older guys to supplement that freshmen core group that we hope to grow and develop over the next couple years."
He's really excited about the challenge, and likes ISU's NIL funding situation, which helps compensate players.
"The ISU administration has done a really good job of providing us some more resources that are going to enable us to have different conversations with people and put us in positions to see if we can get some of these guys," Graves explained.
The increased resources have dramatically extended ISU's chances at landing high-level recruits.
"Our margins were small this year, and now we're able to widen our margins," Graves said. "We're not certainly where we want to be in regards to NIL resources, but we're moving in a very positive direction."
Graves said ISU is now in position to broaden its recruiting. Instead of being able to recruit a 6-foot guard, ISU may be able to recruit a 6-4 guard, for example.
He wants the roster set by June 1.
"That's the goal. Obviously, the sooner the better, but we want to get it right," Graves said. "Really we would like to have everybody available when summer school starts, which summer school for us will start June 8."
Preparation improves if all players are on board by June.
"What that allows us is eight weeks of workouts in the summer to kind of figure it out and sort it through," Graves said. "The starting and the roles and the playing time, that all will sort itself out over those eight weeks. Because, you could recruit a young man that you think will fit in this role and this spot and maybe they struggle to figure out how we want to play, or [help them if] they struggle with some defensive concepts."
By the start of the season in November, players will then know Graves' offensive and defensive styles. Former Sycamore Samage Teel did that after arriving as a transfer two seasons ago.
"I would've never said Samage Teel is going to be first team all-league after the summer," Graves said. "That's not because he was bad. It's just you didn't see some of the things he was able to pick up and do."
For Teel, the light bulb lit up around late October, Graves said.
"He just needed those extra reps. And [with] the way we play and our style of play, it just took him longer to figure out. But boy when he did, he was a really good basketball player," Graves said.
Penciling in starters and role players will come as summer practices blend into fall.
"Our job is to get together the best 15 guys that fit us, hopefully by June 1st. [We'll] work for eight weeks in the summer and then kind of reset and see 'OK, this is what we have. We've had a chance to watch these guys over eight weeks, now we start to put them in more of their roles and things like that a little bit,'" Graves said.
Size helps in the MVC.
"We can have one small guard, and I thought Xavier Hall was terrific for us this year," Graves said of last season's 6-foot senior. "I thought he did a great job. But typically I like to have guards that are 6-1, 6-2, to 6-4. And the reason is it just gives you that versatility to switch and it gives you the versatility to play different combinations of guys."
Graves prefers wing guards to be 6-3 to 6-7. At forward, ideally they'll stand 6-7 to 6-9. Post players should be between 6-8 and 7-foot, Graves said. However, he said center's more so need to be 230 to 250 pounds to play physically and guard bigger bodies.
"Throughout that entire roster though, [it's] the versatility piece to play a lot of different combinations together. And I think we kind of missed on that this past season," Graves said. "We were kind of boxed in to guys that weren't as versatile as I would like to be in most years."
Most important is a player's fit with the team.
"You would love to have guys that have multiple years, and certainly when a guy has more than one year remaining, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be able to keep him," Graves said.
Players may transfer into ISU, have a stellar season and transfer eleswhere.
"But having guys with multiple years, you have at least an opportunity to retain them," Graves said.
They didn't have that opportunity with players like Hall, Scott and Sterling Young, who transferred in prior to last season, their final year of eligibility.
"We'll have probably a couple of those guys again," Graves said. "But if we can find more guys that have multiple years that would be the perfect scenario. But we're not going to turn away good players and good fits for Indiana State though."
The Sycamores struggled to hit free throws and 3-pointers, and committed too many turnovers last season, losing several close games.
Graves said right now he and his coaching staff will reflect on how they could teach better with different practice habits or play calls.
"[We're] just kind of running the gamut and really look in the mirror and see how we can get better as a head coach and as a staff," Graves said. "That's really the thing I would say in regards to [winning] those close games."
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Those departures come after ISU finished 11-21 overall and 4-16 in Missouri Valley Conference play in the 2025-26 season.
The NCAA transfer portal opened Monday and players around the country can enter it until April 20, in an effort to find a new college destination.
It's an especially messy offseason in Terre Haute and the MVC, with players from multiple teams testing the waters for interest.
Among the ISU players, freshman center Hunter Harding along with junior guard Camp Wagner, junior center Derek Vorst, redshirt junior Caden Huttenlocker and sophomore guard Bruno Alocen had officially entered the portal as of Tuesday afternoon. Freshman redshirt Martin Kaupanger is the only player for sure returning next season. There has been no official announcement on junior guard Jo Van Buggenhout or freshman guard Sivert Wærstad Nordheim, but Graves confirmed Saturday that everybody but Kaupanger were entering the portal.
Graduate guard Zyair Greene was going to apply for a medical redshirt after suffering an injury early this past season and then look to play somewhere closer to home.
Redshirt sophomore walk-on guard Cooper Bean and Harding will both enter the portal, with coach Matthew Graves saying the door open will be open for them to come back if nothing works out. Bean wants to look at opportunities where he could earn a scholarship since he's a walk-on at ISU. He was grandfathered in under the revenue share roster limit.
"We're going to revisit in a month or so," Graves said Tuesday. "If he's not found something that he likes or he wants to come back, he's more than welcome, the door is open for him to return in that capacity."
With the 7-foot-1 Harding in a similar position, Graves said the ISU coaches need to look at some options at center, known as the 5 position.
"That's one of the most difficult spots to fill because it's just simply limited options," Graves said. "There's less guys that are walking around that are 6-9, 250-plus [pounds], and also they're typically the more expensive guys as far as [name, image, likeness compensation] resources."
He said ISU has to balance that. Coaches had a candid conversation with Harding as to what his role could be, Graves said.
Upon Harding entering the portal, Graves said they'll revisit his situation in May.
Graves said he won't yet place too much of an expectation of leadership on Kaupanger.
"It'll be his first opportunity to play in the game and things like that, so there's going to be a lot going on with that," Graves said. "We need to help him and have a balance."
He said through their recruiting ISU will look at older players with leadership qualities.
"It's no different than last year," Graves said. "I thought Ian Scott and Xavier Hall were two really good leaders." Both joined ISU prior to last season and became starters.
Graves explained those types of players available in the portal will help the Sycamores.
"We need some of that leadership from older guys with that experience," Graves said.
As far as all the players leaving Indiana State, Graves said he did see it coming.
"You don't always know 100% certainly, but at the end of this, really even before the end of the season as we got into I'd say late January, early February, had an idea of who was going to try to transfer up to a different level, who was going to try to maybe transfer to a different situation for more playing time or different opportunity," Graves said.
Graves said typically two or three players will be unsure of whether to enter the portal, and give it thought. But coaches had inkling, otherwise, as to which players might transfer elsewhere.
In the MVC, experienced teams such as Bradley and Northern Iowa tend to win often. Bradley was boosted by players with remaining COVID eligibility two seasons ago, but Northern Iowa increased its experience level.
Graves said if the Panthers hadn't had to deal with injuries, they would've been a top two or three team in the Valley.
ISU is bringing in four freshmen plus Kaupanger and maybe another recruit, whom Graves didn't mention by name.
"[The recruiting class is a] really good mix of size and skill and they're winners. They've won at a really high level," Graves said. "Obviously, I was excited about the development with Martin this year. So, you're looking at five freshmen, which now leaves you 10 spots to fill through the portal. And we're going to do that in a variety of ways."
One commitment is E.J. McQuillan, a 6-foot-4 guard from NAIA school LSU Alexandria.
"Really excited what he can bring," Graves said. "He's an NAIA All-American."
Graves said they're looking at seven or eight experienced guys in the portal, which are necessary to win a MVC title.
"We're wanting to put a team together that's going to compete in that top four or five, which gives you that [MVC Tournament first-round] bye over in St. Louis," Graves said. "We have to have some older guys to supplement that freshmen core group that we hope to grow and develop over the next couple years."
He's really excited about the challenge, and likes ISU's NIL funding situation, which helps compensate players.
"The ISU administration has done a really good job of providing us some more resources that are going to enable us to have different conversations with people and put us in positions to see if we can get some of these guys," Graves explained.
The increased resources have dramatically extended ISU's chances at landing high-level recruits.
"Our margins were small this year, and now we're able to widen our margins," Graves said. "We're not certainly where we want to be in regards to NIL resources, but we're moving in a very positive direction."
Graves said ISU is now in position to broaden its recruiting. Instead of being able to recruit a 6-foot guard, ISU may be able to recruit a 6-4 guard, for example.
He wants the roster set by June 1.
"That's the goal. Obviously, the sooner the better, but we want to get it right," Graves said. "Really we would like to have everybody available when summer school starts, which summer school for us will start June 8."
Preparation improves if all players are on board by June.
"What that allows us is eight weeks of workouts in the summer to kind of figure it out and sort it through," Graves said. "The starting and the roles and the playing time, that all will sort itself out over those eight weeks. Because, you could recruit a young man that you think will fit in this role and this spot and maybe they struggle to figure out how we want to play, or [help them if] they struggle with some defensive concepts."
By the start of the season in November, players will then know Graves' offensive and defensive styles. Former Sycamore Samage Teel did that after arriving as a transfer two seasons ago.
"I would've never said Samage Teel is going to be first team all-league after the summer," Graves said. "That's not because he was bad. It's just you didn't see some of the things he was able to pick up and do."
For Teel, the light bulb lit up around late October, Graves said.
"He just needed those extra reps. And [with] the way we play and our style of play, it just took him longer to figure out. But boy when he did, he was a really good basketball player," Graves said.
Penciling in starters and role players will come as summer practices blend into fall.
"Our job is to get together the best 15 guys that fit us, hopefully by June 1st. [We'll] work for eight weeks in the summer and then kind of reset and see 'OK, this is what we have. We've had a chance to watch these guys over eight weeks, now we start to put them in more of their roles and things like that a little bit,'" Graves said.
Size helps in the MVC.
"We can have one small guard, and I thought Xavier Hall was terrific for us this year," Graves said of last season's 6-foot senior. "I thought he did a great job. But typically I like to have guards that are 6-1, 6-2, to 6-4. And the reason is it just gives you that versatility to switch and it gives you the versatility to play different combinations of guys."
Graves prefers wing guards to be 6-3 to 6-7. At forward, ideally they'll stand 6-7 to 6-9. Post players should be between 6-8 and 7-foot, Graves said. However, he said center's more so need to be 230 to 250 pounds to play physically and guard bigger bodies.
"Throughout that entire roster though, [it's] the versatility piece to play a lot of different combinations together. And I think we kind of missed on that this past season," Graves said. "We were kind of boxed in to guys that weren't as versatile as I would like to be in most years."
Most important is a player's fit with the team.
"You would love to have guys that have multiple years, and certainly when a guy has more than one year remaining, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be able to keep him," Graves said.
Players may transfer into ISU, have a stellar season and transfer eleswhere.
"But having guys with multiple years, you have at least an opportunity to retain them," Graves said.
They didn't have that opportunity with players like Hall, Scott and Sterling Young, who transferred in prior to last season, their final year of eligibility.
"We'll have probably a couple of those guys again," Graves said. "But if we can find more guys that have multiple years that would be the perfect scenario. But we're not going to turn away good players and good fits for Indiana State though."
The Sycamores struggled to hit free throws and 3-pointers, and committed too many turnovers last season, losing several close games.
Graves said right now he and his coaching staff will reflect on how they could teach better with different practice habits or play calls.
"[We're] just kind of running the gamut and really look in the mirror and see how we can get better as a head coach and as a staff," Graves said. "That's really the thing I would say in regards to [winning] those close games."
Continue reading...
