With the NCAA transfer portal closing, Duke basketball’s 2026-27 roster is beginning to take shape. The Blue Devils finished the 2025-26 season 35-3 overall, sweeping the ACC and making it to their third straight Elite 8. Heading into next season, Duke will have significant roster turnover plus a couple transfer portal additions and another highly […]
With the NCAA transfer portal closing, Duke basketball’s 2026-27 roster is beginning to take shape.
The Blue Devils finished the 2025-26 season 35-3 overall, sweeping the ACC and making it to their third straight Elite 8.
Heading into next season, Duke will have significant roster turnover plus a couple transfer portal additions and another highly touted recruiting class. And although the portal closed on April 21, movement isn’t necessarily finished, as players who entered before the deadline can still commit.
Significant losses for Duke from its 2025-26 squad include Maliq Brown, who exhausted his eligibility, while Isaiah Evans declared for the NBA Draft on April 22. Cameron Boozer is also expected to declare for the draft, projected to be a top-3 pick.
Here’s an early look at what Duke’s roster could look like next season:
Who is returning to Duke basketball in 2026-27?
As of April 22, Duke has announced the return of four players: Cayden Boozer, Patrick Ngongba II, Sebastian Wilkins and Caleb Foster.
Ngongba’s return gives Duke an experienced interior presence, an anchor in the paint and an elite rim protector and passer. Boozer and Foster, along with five-star incoming freshman Deron Rippey Jr. and the commitment of Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, give the Blue Devils a deep backcourt. Wilkins will get his first real taste of college basketball after redshirting his freshman season.
Dame Sarr is the only one who was yet to announce his intentions for next season, however, with the portal officially closed, he is expected to return to Durham. Sarr was arguably Duke’s best perimeter defender last season and his offensive game should only continue to develop through the offseason.
Duke lost two players to the portal – Darren Harris (Indiana) and Nikolas Khamenia (UConn) – and in turn brought in two new additions in Drew Scharnowski (Belmont) and John Blackwell (Wisconsin).
Scharnowski is coming off a breakout 2025-26 season at Belmont, earning Missouri Valley Conference First-Team, All-Defensive team and Most-Improved honors. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 10.7 points on 68.1% shooting to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists, giving Duke an efficient, versatile presence in the frontcourt, a spot it prioritized in the portal.
Blackwell comes to Duke as the top guard out of the portal and the No. 3 player overall. He is a proven shooter, averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 38.9% from deep in 2025-26, earning All-Big Ten Third-Team honors. He is expected to step into a major role in Duke’s backcourt, bringing scoring punch and veteran experience.
Scheyer has brought in top-rated recruiting classes for the last two seasons, and is on track to do so again in 2026 as Duke’s class sits atop the 247Sports Composite ratings.
The headliners of Duke’s 2026 cycle include five-stars Cameron Williams (PF) out of Arizona and Deron Rippey Jr. (PG) out of New Jersey. Both rank as No. 1 in their positions in the 2026 class and as the No. 1 prospect in their states. The Blue Devils are also set to bring in five-star small forward Bryson Howard, the top-ranked player in Texas and the No. 3 small forward. Four-star center Maxime Meyer rounds out Duke’s 2026 class, sitting as the No. 10 center in the cycle and the No. 13 player in Florida.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.…Read more by Anna Snyder