Jon Rothstein tabs Maryland basketball as Big Ten sleeper pick in 2025-26

Ahmed Ghafir
Oct 22, 2025
2 min read

Days after national analysts expressed varied levels of optimism surrounding year one under Buzz Williams’ first season, Jon Rothstein tabbed Maryland men’s basketball as his sleeper pick in the Big Ten in 2025-26.

A big reason why was the “stability” that Maryland has at the three and frontcourt with veteran portal additions leading the way in Pharrel Payne, Solomon Washington and Elijah Saunders.

“One of the consistent themes, whether it was Marquette, whether it was Virginia Tech, whether it was Texas A&M, was that Buzz Williams was going to put a really good team on the floor and I think that is going to be the case at Maryland,” Rothstein said on Wednesday’s show. “I don't know just how good yet, but I'm looking at some of the transitional pieces that Buzz Williams has from College Station to College Park - Solomon Washington, stalwart defender at the three came with him. Pharrell Payne, five-man. Major, major piece of last season's team that went to the NCAA tournament, won a game, came with him. Elijah Saunders, who Buzz Williams on this podcast raved about when we had him on over the summer is a proven player in college. Played on a San Diego State team again two years ago that went to the Sweet 16 and lost to UConn. Played last year at Virginia

Williams also raved about Saunders at Big Ten Media Day, adding “I love who he is as a human” while noting the need to tap into the Virginia transfer’s versatility “not just defensively, but offensively as well.” While Maryland will open the season with Solomon Washington nearing full strength, Rothstein pointed to another veteran transfer as the X-factor this season: Myles Rice, who moved from a starting to a rotational role during his lone season at Indiana while averaging double figures.

“I think if you're looking in Maryland, the biggest key to this season is going to be whether or not Buzz Williams can reignite out of Myles Rice, who struggled last year at Indiana, what we saw two years ago when Myles Rice was the best player on a Washington State team under Kyle Smith that won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland has enough, in my opinion, to hear its name called on Selection Sunday. Maryland has enough to be a part of March Madness in 2026. And if Buzz Williams is your coach and if Buzz Williams is your orchestrator, there's a better chance than not that he has a dog in the fight when February becomes March.”

Local media will return to the Xfinity Center on Thursday with the team set for its exhibition vs. UMBC at 7 PM on Monday before opening the season vs. Coppin State on Nov. 3.

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