ESPN ranks Maryland basketball in post-portal preseason top 25

After a disappointing year two, Maryland men’s basketball head coach Kevin Willard was able to swoop quickly into the transfer portal to revamp the early outlook for the 2024-25 season. The quick additions of Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice gave the fanbase early offseason optimism, while last month’s signing of Selton Miguel added another impact player to the backcourt. Willard was able to round out the rotation by adding former UMass and Georgia Tech forward Tafara Gapare to replace Mady Traore, but the signing of five-star Derik Queen and retaining Julian Reese for his senior season solidified the frontcourt for next fall.

Willard will also return a handful of important pieces in the rotation as DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jordan Geronimo officially return for their second season in the program, while Chance Stephens (injury) and Braden Pierce (redshirt) look to round out the backcourt and frontcourt rotation in 2024-25. But with the spring portal window officially closed in college basketball, the early portal additions have solidified the Terps’ preseason buzz as ESPN has Maryland in their updated preseason top 25, sliding two down spots to 23^rd.

ESPN: “Another team that underachieved relative to preseason expectations last year, Kevin Willard will trot out a revamped starting group in November. Julian Reese is returning, and former top-50 recruit DeShawn Harris-Smith will be expected to improve. Then there’s the newcomers. Top-10 prospect Derik Queen could be the fulcrum of the offense, while Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont), Selton Miguel (South Florida) and Rodney Rice (Virginia Tech) could push for starting jobs.”

Maryland was one of five Big Ten teams in ESPN’s rankings, joining Purdue (13), Indiana (16), UCLA (19) and Ohio State (21) while both Oregon and Rutgers were among the teams ‘next in line.’  Willard will watch his new-look squad go up against all six mentioned teams in 2024-25 after the Big Ten released next season’s home and away opponents last week.

With preseason rankings still in its early stages as more of the nation’s top uncommitted portal options find new homes, Maryland is no different. Former UC-San Diego guard Bryce Pope made his way to campus last month before pulling the trigger on USC, while former Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian included Maryland among his round of visits before landing at Nebraska. Maryland has remained in the mix elsewhere with former North Florida Chaz Lanier in the portal while going through the draft process, while former Clemson guard Alex Hemenway is expected to visit College Park on Friday off the heels of a weekend trip to Vanderbilt. Where Willard turns to with the final available scholarship remains to be seen with the final piece to next year’s roster to be determined.

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