Over the past week and a half, one by one, the majority of Colorado State’s 2025-26 men’s basketball roster announced on social media they will be back playing at Moby Arena next season.
Kyle Jorgensen, Carey Booth, Jase Butler, JoJo McIver, Josh Pascarelli, Rashaan Mbemba, Docker Tedeschi and Charlie Dortch have all taken to either X or Instagram to proclaim their intentions to play another year for head coach Ali Farokhmanesh.
Following the Rams’ loss to Saint Joseph’s in the first round of the NIT at Moby Arena on March 18, Farokhmanesh stressed continuity within the program without knowing at the time who would be staying and who would be transferring out.
He said he felt it would play a major role in the success of specific players, as well as the team, and expressed his excitement going into his second year as the team’s head coach.
“Just the possibility of continuity with a group of young guys that have proven they can win at this level,” Farokhmanesh said of what excites him the most. “We’ve got a lot more growing to do going forward and the possibility of returning guys with high character, guys that I want to show up with every single day.
“It was never a drag to come into practice. I’ve been on other teams where you don’t want to show up. Even when we were winning or losing, those guys showed up every day and made it easy for us to show up. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most is, I think we have everyday guys on this team. I think we could be a problem going forward in the Pac-12.”
In Jorgensen, Pascarelli and Booth, the Rams return their second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers from last season.
Jorgensen, who is returning for his third season with the team, averaged 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He got off to a strong start to the season before being injured in the team’s Mountain West Conference opener at Utah State. After missing several games, his numbers fell off a bit.
Pascarelli, who transferred to CSU from Marist, averaged 10.2 points per game and was the team’s best 3-point shooter at 41.5%. He was injured late in the season and missed a few weeks of action. He did play in the Rams’ two Mountain West Conference tournament games but sat out the NIT contest.
Booth, a Colorado native who transferred from Illinois, averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds. Farokhmanesh is excited to see what continuity will do for him in his second season with the Rams.
“This will be the first time Carey’s had any continuity in his career with the same people,” Farokhmanesh said. “The only way you can get better is if you get uncomfortable and you can only do that with people you’re comfortable with. And I think we’re at that point with Carey for the first time in his career.”
Mbemba is returning for his fourth season at CSU, and his production has increased every year. Despite playing in only 21 games due to an early-season injury, he averaged 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Both McIver and Butler saw their minutes increase late in the season and both contributed more down the stretch, whether it was off the bench or in a starting role. McIver averaged 2.7 points per game, while Butler averaged 9.3.
Dortch saw limited action, while Tedeschi had a redshirt season.
CSU only lost one senior from last year’s team, Jevin Muniz, and five players to the transfer portal, although only one was a significant contributor.
Leading scorer Brandon Rechsteiner leads the departees after averaging 12 points per game. The team’s other portal exits include Augustinas Kiudulas, Nikola Djapa, Darnez Slater and Jon Mekonnen. All four were in the team’s bottom six in scoring last season.
The Rams have already landed one transfer in Division II All-American Amondo Miller. Miller began his college career at Colorado before spending the past two seasons and D-II Lubbock Christian (Texas), a member of the Lone Star Conference.
Also coming in next season is a highly rated three-player freshman class that includes Jaden Ghoreishi from Mount Spokane in Washington; Gregory ‘Pops’ Dunson from Alexander High School in Georgia, where he won two state championships and is his team’s all-time leading scorer; and Eric Fiedler, a Regis Jesuit product who was CHSAA’s Class 6A player of the year and Colorado’s Gatorade boys basketball player of the year.
CSU still has spots for a couple more transfers as well.
