The crew isn’t entirely on campus just yet. But the foundation for the 2026-27 Colorado men’s basketball team is beginning to gather.
On Monday, the Buffaloes begin their summer workouts and training programs, offering an unofficial launching point for the program’s 17th season under head coach Tad Boyle.
While a few spots remain to be filled on the roster, Boyle said a few of the Buffaloes’ committed players will still trickle into Boulder over the coming weeks, slowed by the typical hurdles like the late commencement ceremonies for prep recruits and the red tape involved with getting international recruits to campus.
But the ball is rolling for a summer schedule that has grown even more critical in college basketball’s annual transfer-induced roster overhauls.
“We’ll start our workouts next week,” Boyle said. “Hopefully we’ll have the full roster the following week. That week is kind of when well be getting going full-bore. Next week, there’ll be some structured things but we’ll kind of ease into things. And then the following week hopefully have everyone here and get the summer going.”
CU’s roster includes just four scholarship holdovers — Barrington Hargress, Jalin Holland, Ian Inman and Josiah Sanders — alongside eight players set to suit up for the Buffs for the first time. That total is likely to increase before the roster is finalized, but the current mix includes transfers Noah Feddersen (North Dakota State), Justin Neely (UNC Greensboro) and David Gomez (Charlotte).
CU also is welcoming at least five freshmen in Rider Portela, the Buffs’ only signee last November, as well as spring additions Goc Malual, Alex Dickeson, Chase Hill and Luke Mirhashemi. Mirhashemi has committed to the Buffs but the program has not yet officially announced his addition. Boyle also confirmed walk-on Nick Randall will return.
Working with new faces no longer is a unique challenge in the revolving-door rosters of college basketball. During the heyday of Boyle’s tenure, though, the Buffs thrived behind a sign-and-develop approach in which players often progressed well beyond their projected potential coming out of high school. Now, instead of developing players over multiple years, teams are forced to develop as best as they can between June and March.
The NCAA recently expanded the number of hours allowed for on-court workouts per week from four to eight, allowing for more practice time for teams still getting acquainted with one another. But player development has become less about the big picture than the rush for immediate dividends.
“It used to be summers were to work on skill development, get the players better in aspects of their game,” Boyle said. “Thatap still important, and will always be important. But I think from a team perspective, team-building, team cohesion — getting five guys to work together on offense, five guys together on defense — we’ve got to get that process started sooner as a result of the nature of the teams.
“The good thing is they’ve given us more access now. That helps. Having five returning players with Nick, and the rest are new, you’ve got two-thirds of your roster that everything that you’re going over is relatively new to them. But itap important to get those team concepts going.”
