Isaiah Johnson might be on his way to the transfer portal, but his running mate in the Colorado backcourt is sticking around Boulder.
On Saturday, CU announced that point guard Barrington Hargress intends to remain with the Buffaloes for his senior season in 2026-27. While the Buffs are still dealing with the sting of the loss of Johnson, a freshman who led CU in scoring at 16.9 points per game, the news of Hargress’ return softens that blow somewhat and secures a highly efficient playmaker to build next season’s rotation around.
Hargress spent three seasons at UC Riverside, starting the final two, and after transferring to CU he transformed the Buffs from the most turnover-prone team in the Big 12 in 2024-25 to one that ranked fourth in the league with a 1.54 assist-to-turnover rate.
Hargress was the catalyst in that department, leading the Big 12 with an assist-to-turnover rate of 3.72. Although Hargress shot just .323 on 3-pointers during his two seasons on the floor at UC Riverside, he became a consistent long-range weapon for the Buffs. Hargress goes into CU’s date against Oklahoma in the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas on Wednesday (6 p.m. MT, Fox Sports 1) with the top season assist-to-turnover rate and 3-point mark (.485) in team history.
Hargress ranks second on the team in scoring (14.2) and also averaged 4.5 assists. His 145 assists ranks 14th among CU’s season leaders. While Johnson leaves behind a scoring void, some of that could be filled with a higher volume from Hargress, who led the Big West Conference in scoring (20.2) last year at UC Riverside.
“Barrington is a leader who is crucial to what we do as a team because he makes everyone around him better,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said in a release. “He is a top tier point-guard in the Big 12, the best conference in college basketball, and is the perfect player to build a squad around. He’s also a tremendous person and I couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to coach him another year.”
