Ole Miss basketball made the Sweet Sixteen in 2024-25. Can they do the same in 2025-26?
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: Ole Miss basketball.
Ole Miss was a surprise in the 2025 iteration of March Madness, taking advantage of an Iowa State team that lost Keshon Gilbert prior to the tournament before bowing out to Mr. March himself, Tom Izzo. Do the Rebels build on the success? Or is an offense that lost five double-digit scorers simply unable to be replicated? Per 247Sports, the Rebels only managed the 9th-best transfer class in the SEC. That might not be enough to ward off the attrition bug.
The leading scorer of that bunch was Sean Pedulla, who led the team in points and assists in all three NCAA tournament games. He’s gone, with no eligibility remaining. That leaves Louisville transfer Koren Johnson, who’s coming off shoulder surgery and was held to just two games played in 2024-25, and Kentucky transfer Travis Perry, who averaged 2.7 PPG, to compete for the starting point guard spot. Regardless of who wins that position, Pedulla’s void will be missed.
Comparatively, depth is improved at the two-spot, where High Point transfer Kezza Giffa and international prospect Ilias Kamardine, from France, are battling for the starting shooting guard position. Kamardine is especially intriguing, having played with JDA Dijon. With those two in front of him on the depth chart, freshman Patton Pinkins might not have an inside track to playing time. If the Rebels coaching staff sees hit, however, he could see some action at point.
On the wing, questions arise. AJ Storr is no doubt talented. But Ole Miss is his fourth school in four years, and he struggled in a supporting role with Kansas last year after being a surprising portal addition following a solid sophomore season at Wisconsin. With the Badgers in 2023-24, Storr averaged 16.8 PPG. After joining the Jayhawks, that rate plummeted to just 6.1 PPG. Storr shot just 38.4% from the field after putting up a clip of 43.4% in both his freshman season with St. John’s and sophomore season with the Badgers. He only saw 15.7 MPG, though the Jayhawks had, statistically, their worst season since 1988. That’s not hyperbole: the Jayhawks’ record of 21-13 was their worst finish since Roy Williams’s first season at the helm.
Storr might be a plus, sure. But given what transpired last year, that’s not a certain bet. With only returnee Eduardo Klafke (1.7 PPG) and Ouachita Baptist (D-II) transfer Hobert Grayson IV behind him at the three-spot, the responsibility for Storr to unlock his potential is high. Ole Miss is needing him to find some level of consistency.
What is truly intriguing is the addition of Corey Chest. If Malik Dia (10.8 PPG) didn’t return, Chest would almost certainly be the Rebels’ starting power forward. Chest has an argument for being the best pound-for-pound rebounder in the SEC. Last year, of course, he played for LSU, but he decided to leave the Tigers for Oxford over the offseason. Dia, on the other hand, is quite the rebounder himself. He had four double-doubles last season. Four-star freshman Tylis Jordan is behind that duo on the depth chart.
And at the center position, it’s another Louisville transfer, most likely. James Scott is a physical, big-bodied center, but he’s not a threat behind the arc and won’t be expected to fill up the stat sheet on offense. Butler transfer Augusto Cassiá and high four-star prospect Niko Bundalo will also help out at the position. Bundalo could very well end up as the team’s starting center before long.
In the arms race that is SEC basketball in the year 2025, it’s worth wondering if Ole Miss is being left behind. Now, that very well could be a foolish question to even ask. But there’s two positions (point guard and small forward) that have major questions, and the roster construction of this year’s team lends itself to be questioned. Are Malik Dia and Corey Chest going to be able to be on the court at the same time? Can Chest be a small-ball five? Who’s going to play point? Who is all going to replace the immense levels of lost offensive production? There’s a lot of questions facing this Rebels team, and while there is also a decent amount of answers, (see Kamardine, Ilias) it’s hard not to see Ole Miss taking a step back in the 2025-26.
Head coach: Chris Beard (3rd season at Ole Miss, 14th overall)
2024-25 record: 24-12 (10-8)
2025 postseason finish:Â Lost in Sweet Sixteen to Michigan State 73-70
Notable departures:Â
- Sean Pedulla (15.4 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.5 RPG)
- Jaemyn Brakefield (11.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.8 APG)
- Matthew Murrell (10.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.8 SPG)
- Jaylen Murray (10.3 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.2 RPG)
- Dre Davis (10.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 APG)
Notable non-conference games:Â
- vs. Memphis (Nov. 11)
- vs. Iowa (Nov. 25) – Acrisure Series
- vs. Utah OR Grand Canyon (Nov. 26) – Acrisure Series
- vs. Miami (Dec. 2)
- at St. John’s (Dec. 6)
- vs. NC State (Dec. 21) – Greensboro, N.C.
Projected Rotation
PG: Koren Johnson (6-1, 180, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 3.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 RPG, 2 GP (Louisville)
SG: Kezza Giffa (6-1, 175, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 14.6 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.5 RPG (High Point)
SF: AJ Storr (6-5, 205, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 6.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.7 APG (Kansas)
PF: Malik Dia (6-9, 250, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 10.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.8 APG
C: James Scott (6-10, 225, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 7.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.4 APG (Louisville)
6: Ilias Kamardine (6-4, 180, Sr.)
International Recruit (France)
7: Corey Chest (6-8, 220, So.)
2024-25 stats: 6.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 1.2 BPG (LSU)
8: Niko Bundalo (6-10, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #40-ranked recruit
9: Travis Perry (6-1, 185, So.)
2024-25 stats: 2.7 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.6 APG (Kentucky)
10: Tylis Jordan (6-9, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #77-ranked recruit
11: Patton Pinkins (6-5, 200, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #95-ranked recruit
12: Hobart Grayson IV (6-4, 205, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 21.8 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.3 APG (Ouachita Baptist – DII)
13: Eduardo Klafke (6-5, 200, So.)
2024-25 stats: 1.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.4 APG, 9.9 MPG
14: Augusto Cassiá (6-8, 225, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 5.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.8 APG (Butler)
Ole Miss basketball team MVP: Malik Dia
Dia is the top returning player from last year’s Rebels team, but he had issues with consistency. A game with 23 points and 19 rebounds against Alabama? Phenomenal. But what about an 0-6 showing against LSU? Shooting 0-5 from *inside* the arc with a 1-3 mark from the line and two fouls? That’s not good. Dia had 14 games of 33.3 FG% or worse. If he’s going to be the focal point of the offense, he’ll need more performances alike to the former.
Dia is ahead of Corey Chest at the power forward position, but Chest will need to get on the court. Does that eat into Dia’s minutes? Or will Dia or Chest slide over to the center position at times? Those are questions that the team needs to answer. But Dia has shown offensive production with a very high ceiling, one that should keep him on the floor as the Rebels search to replace five 10.0+ PPG scorers from last year.
Ole Miss basketball make-or-break player: Corey Chest
As mentioned earlier, Chest truly might be the best rebounder in the SEC. If anyone needs evidence of that, Chest totaled 15 rebounds against Alabama last season. In the first half. I’ll say that again for y’all in the back: Chest recorded 15 rebounds in a single half. It doesn’t matter what a player does on the offensive end if that’s the type of effort he’s putting up on the boards.
Chest likely will be backing up Malik Dia, but he is simply too good to keep on the bench. The Ole Miss coaching staff will have to find a way to get Chest on the court. If that means sliding Chest to the center spot, so be it. He’s got the physicality to match up with the biggest of SEC centers, as he showed last season.
Key analytic: Fouls per game
Ole Miss was not a very disciplined basketball team last season. They averaged 18.3 personal fouls per game, 8th-most amongst NCAA tournament teams and in the top 60 nationally across Division I. That’s not good, and it cost them games last season. The Rebels somehow compiled 18 games in which they committed 20+ fouls. That’s one foul every two minutes. Is that bad? It’s not good.
On six separate occasions, Ole Miss had an opponent attempt 30+ free throws in a game. Included in that data set was an eight-point loss to Missouri, a 17-point loss to Memphis, and a 30-point loss to Auburn in which the Tigers put up 106 points.
If Ole Miss wants to get over the hump, they’ll need to play more precisely and with more discipline. Otherwise, they’re doomed to stay in the doldrums of the Southeastern Conference.
Ole Miss basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 14th in the SEC
Projected postseason ceiling:Â NCAA Tournament Round of 32 Exit