College of Charleston basketball once again will vie for the CAA crown, looking to make a return to the NCAA tournament after a two-year streak from 2023-24.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Charleston basketball.
Despite a mass exodus following coach Pat Kelsey’s hiring at Louisville prior to the 2024-25 season, Chris Mack righted the ship and brought talent in, notably retaining big man Ante Brzovic. Ireland native CJ Fulton managed the point as one of the best distributors in the CAA, and big-bodied guard Derrin Boyd made an impact after transferring in from Lipscomb.
In the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Cougars were hit-and-miss. They took down South Florida and Florida Atlantic, (119-116 in 2OT against the Owls) but struggled immensely against Liberty and Rhode Island, losing to the latter by 38 points. Against CAA opponents, the Cougars were consistent, never losing two conference games in a row. However, of the team’s six eventual defeats to conference opponents, three were to UNCW. The two schools have developed a bit of a small-city-on-the-beach rivalry, and the 2024-25 season earned some bragging rights for Wilmington. The Cougars fell against the Seahawks in heartbreaking fashion, 68-67, in the semifinals of the CAA tournament, where their season ended.
Turnover was imminent, and only two scholarship players ended up returning to the Cougars for Mack’s second season in Charleston. Gone is big man Brzovic, who seemed to be in Charleston for about a decade. Gone is lead guard Fulton. But the future is bright, with multiple high-quality transfers joining the fold prior to the 2025-26 season. The Cougars poached fellow CAA competitor Colby Duggan from the grasp of Campbell, which should help the team down low. But it’s no doubt that the frontcourt is the area of the team that has most unasnwered questions. A motley crew of transfers, including Will Mortimore (Colorado Mesa), Chol Machot (Florida Southwestern State), and Christian Reeves (Clemson) have all shown some flashes, but none have consistently performed yet at the D-I level.
The backcourt, however, on the other hand, is more of a sure thing. Jaxon Prunty returns healthy after a shoulder injury cut short a promising freshman season. Guard Jlynn Counter, who has averaged at least 10.0 PPG every season of his career, comes over from MTSU. And the high-flying Mister Dean traveled down I-26 to Charleston from Spartanburg to, no doubt, dunk on CAA opponents. Others joining the fold include Kendall Taylor, who was a D-II All-American at Wingate, averaging 24.4 PPG, and Connor Hickman, who in 14.5 PPG for Bradley in the 2023-24 season.
Overall, College of Charleston has a wide range of possible outcomes this season. Now, that could be said about a majority of college basketball teams. But that is the truth. The Cougars have a tough non-conference schedule, which should set up the CAA slate nicely. The backcourt is phenomenal. If they can figure out what’s going to happen in the paint, there’s potential. College of Charleston should be the number two team in the CAA yet again, right behind UNCW.
Head coach: Chris Mack (2nd season at Charleston, 15th season overall)
2024-25 record: 24-9 (13-5)
2025 postseason finish: N/A
Notable departures:
- CJ Fulton (12.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.5 APG)
- Ante Brzovic (10.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, 62.3 FG%)
- Derrin Boyd (9.2 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG)
- Deywilk Tavarez (8.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 35.5 3P%)
- AJ Smith (7.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 50.3 FG%)
Notable non-conference games:
- at Liberty (Nov. 7)
- vs. Florida Atlantic (Nov. 8, Lynchburg)
- vs. Drake (Nov. 17)
- Paradise Jam (Nov. 21-24, Charlotte Amalie)
- vs. Belmont (Nov. 30)
- at South Florida (Dec. 10)
Projected Rotation
PG: Jlynn Counter (6-3, 205, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 10.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.5 APG (MTSU)
SG: Jaxon Prunty (6-6, 203, Rs.-Fr.)
2024-25 stats: 6.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.6 APG, 5 GP
SF: Mister Dean (6-6, 200, So.)
2024-25 stats: 15.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 2.2 SPG, 62.2 2PT% (USC Upstate)
PF: Colby Duggan (6-7, 225, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 15.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG (Campbell)
C: Will Mortimore (6-10, 220, So.)
2024-25 stats: 11.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.0 APG (Colorado Mesa – NJCAA)
6: Kendall Taylor (6-5, 210, Gr.)
2024-25 stats: 24.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.6 APG (Wingate – DII)
7: Chol Machot (7-0, 190, Rs.-So.)
2024-25 stats: 11.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.6 APG, 2.7 BPG (Florida Southwestern State – NJCAA)
8: Connor Hickman (6-3, 200, Gr.)
2024-25 stats: 4.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.2 APG (Cincinnati)
9: Chris Davis Jr. (6-4, 200, Fr.)
2025 247Sports #11 ranked recruit from the state of Wisconsin
10: Christian Reeves (7-2, 255, Rs.-Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 1.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.2 APG (Clemson)
11: Bryce Baker (6-5, 195, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 7.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.6 APG (Winthrop)
12: Ðorđe Ćurčić (6-3, 190, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 2.2 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.2 APG, 9.4 MPG
12: Martin Kalu (6-6, 210, Fr.)
International recruit from Germany (Loewen Braunschweig)
Charleston Basketball team MVP: Jaxon Prunty
Prunty was just a freshman last season, but he immediately showed promise. In wins over Southern Illinois, South Florida, and Florida Atlantic, the Charlotte native averaged 10.0 PPG in 27.7 MPG, shooting 40.0% from three and earning a start against South Florida. Unfortunately, his season ended prematurely after a shoulder injury against Oregon State in the Diamond Head Classic.
Prunty is a physical guard a 6’6″, 203, but he’s not just your typical hard-nosed slasher. That’s not to suggest he’s not hard-nosed, but rather that he’s versatile. The Cougars getting Prunty back healthy, and for a full season, is huge for a team that has gone through a lot of turnover. The backcourt depth is very much present, but Prunty knows the Mack system and has potential to really break through offensively in 2025.
Charleston Basketball make-or-break player: Mister Dean
Chris Mack managed to nab Mister Dean, immolator of rims and nemesis of backboards, from the portal. (Let it be known that he single-handedly shifted the whole basket at the 2:51 mark in that highlights video.) How he ended up in Spartanburg as a freshman is anybody’s guess, but from the start of the season for USC Upstate, Dean showed an innate ability to get to the basket and get the ball to the bottom of the net by any means necessary. As a true freshman, he led the Spartans in points (15.2), steals (2.2), blocks (0.7), rebounds (5.5), win shares (2.5), box plus/minus (2.8, and the only Spartan in positive figures), points produced, and free-throw rate. And he led the Big South in both steals per game and PER.
His game is quintessentially South Florida. Dean plays get-to-the-rim basketball, and that’s where he takes most of his shots. Almost 90% of his attempts came from inside the arc, and he was efficient from two. Dean shot 71% at the rim and was second on the team with a 58.8 eFG%. There’s room to grow as a shooter: Dean made just 24.4% of his threes as a freshman. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Dean was one of the youngest players on USC Upstate last season, and still has three seasons of eligibility. The sky may be the limit. From a pure vertical standpoint, Dean is already in the sky. He’ll be, at the very least, a highlight reel for the Cougars this season, and should start on the wing.
Key analytic: Assists per game
In the last year of the Pat Kelsey era, the Cougars averaged 15.3 assists per game. Ball movement in a fast-paced, tempo-emphasized offense was paramount to the College in the three years with Kelsey at the helm. But even after the move to Mack, the Cougars were adept at spreading the ball around.
Last season, the Cougars were 43rd in D-I with 15.9 APG. That’s more than any year of the Kelsey era. CJ Fulton led the team with 6.5 APG, and Brzovic, Deywilk Tavarez, and Derrin Boyd all averaged 2.0 APG or more. The issue is that none of those guys are on the roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. In fact, the leading returner in terms of assists is Prunty, who averaged 0.6 APG last season.
Now, this isn’t an issue that is localized to Charleston. It’s 2025. Mid-major teams especially are having to reload their rosters to an extreme extent every offseason. But it’s worth wondering where exactly the assists are going to come from, and who they’re going to. Jlynn Counter might be the best bet to lead the offense after he averaged 3.5 APG for the Blue Raiders last season. He’s averaged at least 3.0 APG every season of his career, and cut his turnover rate to 12.9% last season after a 20.3% mark in his sophomore season with IUPUI.
But don’t forget about Wingate transfer Kendall Taylor, who averaged 4.6 APG last season. Taylor set a season-high with 11 assists against Mount Olive. His final statline from that 107-90 victory was 23 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks, and three steals. Impressive. Look out as well for freshman guard Chris Davis Jr., who was the highest-rated of the Cougars’ incoming freshmen. He’s got the skills to make an impact early for Charleston.
College of Charleston Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 2nd in the CAA
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 64 Exit