We’re going team-by-team across Big Ten men’s basketball to assess where everyone stands and how things could shake out in 2026-27.
Buzz Williams’ first year at Maryland was, to put it mildly, a disaster. The Terrapins endured their worst season in more than 30 years, finishing just 12-12 to place 17th in the Big Ten standings. Expectations were mixed for the Terps entering the year, but things got ugly quickly. Williams overhauled a lot of his roster for this season, and will look for a turnaround.
WHO’S GONE:
- David Coit (13.5 PPG) (exhausted his eligibility)
- Darius Adams (10.8 PPG) (transfer — NC State)
- Solomon Washington (9.8 PPG) (exhausted his eligibility)
- Elijah Saunders (9 PPG) (exhausted his eligibility)
- Myles Rice (5.6 PPG) (transfer — uncommitted)
- Isaiah Watts (4.3 PPG) (transfer — UTSA)
- Aleks Alston (1.4 PPG) (transfer — UAB)
- Collin Metcalf (1.3 PPG) (exhausted his eligibility)
- Jaziah Harper (redshirt) (transfer — North Dakota State)
- Rakease Passmore (0.7 PPG) (transfer — uncommitted)
WHO’S BACK:
- Pharrel Payne, F/C, R-Sr. (17.5 PPG)
- Andre Mills, G, R-So. (12.2 PPG)
- Guillermo Del Pino, F, So. (1.5 PPG)
- George Turkson Jr., G/F, R-So. (1.3 PPG)
WHO’S NEW:
Transfer portal
- Michael McNair, G, So. (16.9 PPG at Boston University)
- Tomislav Buljan, C, R-Jr. (10.3 PPG at New Mexico)
- Maban Jabriel, F, Jr. (7.7 PPG at Queens)
- D.J. Wagner, G, Sr. (7.4 PPG at Arkansas)
- Bishop Boswell, G, Jr. (6.2 PPG at Tennessee)
- Robert Jennings II, F, R-Sr. (3.7 PPG at Oklahoma State)
Freshmen (Rankings from 247Sports)
- Babatunde Oladotun, F (five-star, No. 8)
- Kaden House, G (four-star, No. 44)
- Adama Tambedou, (four-star, No. 128)
- Austin Brown, F (three-star, No. 224)
RETURNING MINUTES: 56.3 percent (per barttorvik.com) (fourth in the Big Ten, 24th in the nation)
Why it will work
Williams has a track record of improvement after rough starts during his coaching career. He went 11-22 in his first year at Virginia Tech before posting four consecutive 20-win seasons, and he posted two subpar seasons to start his tenure at Texas A&M before rattling off four more 20-win campaigns. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything for the Terps, now, but Williams has at least been in this position before.
Oladotun is an athletic specimen still growing into his frame, but he can give Maryland a spark it didn’t have last year. Mills had a solid freshman year in College Park and could be a nice piece if he builds on it. Wagner is a former blue-chip recruit, now on his third collegiate stop, but perhaps Williams can fully unleash that talent. McNair and Buljan are intriguing portal pickups as well.
Update: Since this article was published, Pharrel Payne has been ruled eligible to return for 2026-27. That is a considerable boost for Maryland, as a veteran scorer and rebounder with Big Ten experience at Minnesota.
Why it won’t
Maryland was just so miserable on both ends of the court last season, it’s hard to see a complete turnaround for it to become a contender so quickly. The Terps finished second-worst in the Big Ten last year in both offensive and defensive efficiency rating on KenPom, both rankings outside the top 100 in the country. The team has talent on paper entering the season, but how much of those previous struggles chalked up to the 2025-26 roster, and how much falls on Williams, himself? If it’s a coaching problem, Maryland has issues that will extend beyond this season.
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