Charleston Southern:
Background and 25-26 Recap:
Last season Charleston Southern had one of their most talented roster in recent history with A’lahn Sumler, Jesse Hafemesiter and Reis Jones among others and CSU had their best season since 2018-19 going 15-17. On top of that, Charleston Southern finished 3rd in KenPom Rating inside the Big South. Ultimately bad luck struck CSU once again, including in their final game with Winthrop coming back with a 12-0 rally in the last 28 seconds to eliminate Charleston Southern in the 1st Round.
Now Charleston Southern has to rebuild without A’lahn Sumler, Jesse Hafemeister, Reis Jones and nearly 80% of last year’s minutes. Much like last year’s recruiting class, Saah Nimley used all former of player to build out his roster with 1 player from HS, JUCO, D3, D2 and D1 transferring into Charleston Southern’s program. Can CSU see the same success from their transfer class and take another step forward as a program?
The Returners:
G: Jacob Taylor
The lone returning guard with action last season for Charleston Southern is Jacob Taylor. In his true freshman season Jacob Taylor averaged 5.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 1.1 APG across 30 games, including making 24 starts, leading all Big South freshman last season.
Taylor was debatably one of the best freshman in conference play last season, really showing out on the defensive end. Taylor finished 2nd on Charleston Southern’s roster for Steals during Conference Play with 14 steals, Taylor also led CSU in Steals during 7 out of 16 CSU’s conference games.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 30 Games (24 Starts) 5.2 PPG - 2.2 RPG - 1.1 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 52.5% - 36.1% - 74.4%
2025-26 Big South All Freshman Team
G: Kaleb Lofton
Kaleb Lofton returns after redshirting this past season at Charleston Southern. Before his time at Charleston Southern, Lofton played at Covenant College (D3) in Georgia. At Covenant College in 2024-25, Lofton averaged 7.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.9 APG across 25 games, including 5 starts.
Lofton is a very solid project player for CSU. Lofton showed a decent amount of analytical upside during his sophomore season at Covenant with a 1.2 ORAPM. Lofton also had a 20% Assist Percentage also finishing in the 80th percentile of ORB%, STL%, and PF Efficiency.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2024-25 Stats: 25 Games (5 Starts) 7.6 PPG - 3.6 RPG - 1.9 APG
2024-25 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 51.8% - 27.3% - 37.5%
C: Lase Olalare
The most experienced of all CSU’s returners and likely one of the most experienced in all of the conference is Lase Olalare. After 3 season of now sitting behind CSU greats like RJ Duhart, Taje Kelly and Reis Jones. Lase now returns for a 4th season at CSU after averaging 4.6 PPG and 3.9 RPG last season.
Lase turned into a massive force for CSU last season during conference play averaging 6.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG and an outstanding 1.9 BPG in just 18.6 MPG. During conference play Lase Olalare finished in the 90th percentile or higher in True Shooting Percentage, Effective FG Percentage, Block Percentage, Hakeem Percentage and Block Per 40 Mins.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 32 Games (17 Starts) 4.6 PPG - 3.9 RPG - 0.7 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 66.3% - N/A - 44.4%
C: Devin Brafford
CSU unlike many other Mid Major programs, doesn’t just return big man from last season but two big men with solid experience for last season. Devin Brafford appeared in 19 games before getting injured and missing the rest of the season. In those 19 games, Brafford averaged 2.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.1 BPG playing 7.3 MPG.
Two games stand out for Devin Brafford from last season, his game against Winthrop and then the game against USC Upstate right before his injury. Brafford’s game against Winthrop really showed Brafford defensive abilities with a team high 5 blocks along with 3 defensive rebounds in just 11 minutes of action. Brafford’s game against Upstate had his career high in rebounds with 11 rebounds and his season high in points with 6.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 19 Games (1 Start) 2.5 PPG - 2.5 RPG - 0.5 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 70% - 20% - 52.6%
The Transfers:
G: Anthony Ruffolo - Cedarville (D2)
The first addition of the offseason for Saah Nimley and his staff came from the D2 ranks in Cedarville guard, Anthony Ruffolo. In his junior season at Cedarville, Ruffolo led his team in scoring with 16.6 PPG while also averaging 4 RPG and 2.5 APG starting all 28 games earning All G-MAC 2nd Team Honors. In his two prior seasons at Cedarville, Ruffolo averaged 10.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.4 APG.
Ruffolo enters CSU after being the offensive workhorse for Cedarville in his junior season. In each of Ruffolo’s past two seasons, he has had 27% or higher Usage which did translate to very solid offensive success last season with 16.6 PPG and an ORAPM of 1.1 ranking in the 73rd percentile. Ruffolo has also been an elite playmaker in his career having a 23.4% Assist Percentage in his sophomore season on 27% Usage leading to 60 Assists in just 20 games.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 28 Games (28 Starts): 16.6 PPG - 4 RPG - 2.5 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 56.2% - 31.9% - 82.1%
2025-26 All G-MAC 2nd Team
2024-25 G-MAC All Tournament Team
2x G-MAC All Academic Team (2023-24, 2024-25)
G: Jackson Crawford - Emory and Henry (D2)
The second D2 guards of the portal class for Saah Nimley is Emory and Henry transfer, Jackson Crawford. Crawford enters Charleston Southern having spent 3 seasons at Emory and Henry, starting almost every game in his sophomore and junior seasons. During Crawford’s junior season, he averaged 15.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 2.3 APG while finishing 3rd in all of D3 in FT Percentage with 92.2%.
Crawford provides some of the most offensive talent of any of the transfer for Charleston Southern after leading Emory and Henry in scoring last season. Crawford provides an elite offensive shooting ability at the PG position with an unreal shooting ability with 36% from 3 on his volume and 92.2% from the charity stripe resulting in a 1.4 ORAPM.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 29 Games (28 Starts) 15.3 PPG - 2.2 RPG - 2.3 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 48.9% - 36% - 92.2%
2025-26 All SAC Third Team
2x SAC Player to Watch (2024-25, 2025-26)
2x Academic All District (2024-25, 2025-26)
2x SAC All Academic (2023-24, 2024-25)
G: Jefferson McLamb - Mount Olive (D2)
The third and final of the D2 additions for Saah Nimley is Mount Olive transfer, Jefferson McLamb. McLamb comes in after spending last season at Mount Olive averaging 11.5 PPG and 2.3 RPG playing over 22 MPG including shooting over 40% from behind the arc. The two seasons prior McLamb played at Cape Fear CC earning First Team All Region 10 NJCAA Honors.
McLamb provides a shooting upside that very few players at this level can with his 40% 3PT shooting coupled with a 70th percentile 3PT Attempt Rate. Last season McLamb shot over 40% with over 100 Attempts, and shot over 38% with over 150 Attempts at Cape Fear CC.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 29 Games (10 Starts) 11.5 PPG - 2.2 RPG - 0.8 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 45.1% - 40.2% - 80.7%
2024-25 First Team All Region 10
G: Alex Harper - Daytona State College (JUCO)
The lone JUCO guard of Saah Nimley’s 2026 transfer portal/recruiting class is guard Alex Harper. Harper enters as the 75th ranked recruit in JUCO Recruiting’s Top 100 for the Class of 2026. At Daytona State College last season, Harper averaged 10.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 1.3 APG across 35 games. with 28 starts.
Alex Harper provides both very solid scoring ability and playmaking ability. Harper across both his season at Daytona State and North Platte, Harper shot over 30% from beyond the arc and 80% from the charity stripe. Harper saw massive playmaking breakouts during conference play at Daytona State ending conference play with an Assist/Turnover Rate of 2.8 across those 16 games.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 35 Games (28 Starts) 10.2 PPG - 3.9 RPG - 1.3 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 48.1% - 33.5% - 83.3%
Ranked 75th in JUCORecruiting Top 100
2025-26 All Citrus Conference Second-Team
G: Nicholas Errica - Western Michigan
The lone European on the roster is one of the designations Nicholas Errica. Errica last season played at Western Michigan where he appeared in 6 games last season for the Broncos averaging 1 PPG, 0.3 RPG and 0.1 APG.
Errica adds professional experience to this CSU roster having played overseas in his home country of Italy. Errica comes in with multiple years of professional experience having made his debut at the age of 16 for Vanoli Cremona.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 6 Games 1 PPG - 0.3 RPG - 0.1 APG
G/W: Riley Brooks - Carthage (D3)
One of the biggest highlights of Saah Nimley’s recruiting class is D3 transfer Riley Brooks from Carthage. Brooks transfers in after an outstanding season where he started all 26 games, averaging 17.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 1.1 APG. Brooks would earn his 2nd straight All CCIW First Team Honor at seasons end.
Brooks adds a true player with superstar potential to this Charleston Southern roster. Last season at the D3 level, Brooks had a 4.9 WARP ranking the 96th percentile of all D3 players. This ability isn’t new for Brooks as he was ranked as a Top 300 player on PrepHoops in the Class of 2023.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 26 Games (26 Starts) 17.5 PPG - 5.3 RPG - 1.1 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 54.5% - 36.5% - 85.7%
2x All CCIW First Team (2024-25, 2025-26)
2023-24 GLIAC Champions (Northern Michigan)
F: Tito Deng - Jacksonville
The first of two 7’ South Sudanese additions for the Buccaneers is 7’ big man Tito Deng from Jacksonville. Last season Tito Deng only appeared in Jacksonville’s season opener against Miami, playing only one minute before having his season cut short due to injury. In the 2024-25 season at Jacksonville, Deng averaged 2 PPG and 1.2 RPG across 20 games.
Tito Deng, along from his size, which alone makes the addition very much worth it for CSU also shot the ball well on relatively high volume in 24-25. During the 24-25 season at Jacksonville, Deng shot over 38% on nearly 1 attempt per game in limited minutes.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2024-25 Stats: 20 Games (0 Starts) 2 PPG - 1.2 RPG - 0.1 APG
2024-25 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 57.1% - 38.9% - 37.5%
F: Mathok Majok - New Orleans
I saved the biggest get, literally, for last with 7’4” big man Mathok Majok who most recently played for New Orleans. Last season at New Orleans, Majok appeared in 16 games for New Orleans averaging 2.2 PPG and 1.6 RPG coming off the bench for the Privateers.
Apart for Majok’s size, which on its own is a MASSIVE advantage compared to some teams in the Big South, Majok also does provide decent analytical numbers in his limited time last season. Majok had a 99th percentile Block and Offensive Rebound Percentage along with 90th percentile or higher OWS Per 40 Mins and True Shooting Percentage.
Most Recent Player Stats + Awards:
2025-26 Stats: 16 Games (0 Starts) 2.2 PPG - 1.6 RPG - 0.0 APG
2025-26 Percentages (2PT/3PT/FT): 73.7% - N/A - 53.8%
The Freshmen:
G: DJ Hubbard - Cedar Shoals HS (GA)
The first of two freshman coming from the State of Georgia for Charleston Southern is DJ Hubbard from Cedar Shoals. The younger brother of CSU legend Phlandrous Fleming Jr, DJ had a solid career of his own with over 1500 points and ending as Cedar Shoals as the 5th all time leading scorer.
Hubbard obviously comes from a program which CSU has struck gold with in the past with his older brother. The scoring ability is undeniable with 1,500+ career points and if he can figure out CSU’s history he’ll do very well.
HS Accolades/Recruiting Info:
4x All-Region Team
5th All Team Leading Scorer at Cedar Shoals HS
68th Ranked Player in the State of Georgia
Other Offers: Dean College and Piedmont
F: Marquise Leslie - Alexander HS (GA)
The other freshman from the State of Georgia for the Buccaneers is forward Marquise Leslie from Alexander HS. Leslie comes from the 21st ranked HS in the nation, winning 30 games and the GA 5A State Title alongside fellow D1 commits of Pops Dunson (Colorado State) and Jayden Crawford (Georgia Southern).
Leslie obviously comes from a winning program which is massive for a freshman at this level. Leslie ended up leading Alexander in RPG while also averaging 10 PPG, which was 4th on the entire team. Leslie likely makes an impact immediately when he steps on the court for CSU.
HS Accolades/Recruiting Info:
GHSA 5A State Champion
GHSA Top 10 Forward
27th Ranked Player in the State of Georgia
Overall Thoughts:
The first thing that stand out when I look at CSU’s roster is them living and dying by the 3 Point Arc, both offensively and defensively, much like one season ago. Last season CSU ranked 2nd in 3 Point Attempts Per Game last season with 33.1 Attempts Per Game while making 36.1% of those 3’s ranking 58th in all of D1 in 3PT Percentage. Charleston Southern also limited teams from shooting the 3 Point Shot allowing the 69th least 3 Point Attempts Per Game at 20.7 3PT Attempts Per Game and the 25th best 3PT Percentage allowing team to only shoot 30.5% from beyond the arc.
Another massive stand out in Charleston Southern’s roster this season is their size down low with 3 7’ players along with their experienced big man Lase Olalare coming in at 6’11”. Last season CSU was already near the top of the Big South in height only finishing behind Presbyterian and UNC Asheville with Charleston Southern actually having the tallest center in the entire league. This season will be much of the same as the only other Big South teams with 7 footers being UNC Asheville with Sage Tolentino and USC Upstate having two in Andrej Radivojevic and Coen Collier.
The guard group Charleston Southern has brought in has some of the best offensive upside to any other back court in this league. The two biggest guard standouts for me being Jackson Crawford and Riley Brooks, both matching that mold of elite offensive upside. Crawford enters the fold at CSU after having a nearly 60% True Shooting season at Emory and Henry averaging over 15 PPG and shooting an unreal 92.2% at the free throw line. Riley Brooks fills in for the loss of Jesse Hafemeister almost perfectly with both players coming from Division 3 and having very similar offensive profiles.
The front court for Charleston Southern is their ability to just change the game defensively. The best examples of that defensive ability are in their two returning big men, Devin Brafford and Lase Olalare. Last season CSU set a new block record and while Reis Jones had 59 blocks if you remove Reis’ 59, CSU would have still had their 7th highest blocks in program history thanks to Lase Olalare and Devin Brafford having 48 blocks and 20 blocks each. CSU now adds Tito Deng and Mathok Majok to an already elite shot blocking front court which had the 19th best Defensive 2PT Percentage last season.
Replacing the losses of A’lahn Sumler, Brycen Blaine, Jesse Hafemeister among others is nearly impossible, but I think CSU did a very solid job of it. Instead of trying to find the next A’lahn Sumler, Blaine and Hafemeister, they grabbed guys who already have established themselves as a player with also taking guys who just have high potential. In the back court you have Jacob Taylor, Crawford, Ruffolo and Brooks have all proved themselves at the D1, D2, and D3 level along with having Top JUCO guard Alex Harper, former professional guard Nicholas Errica and freshman guard DJ Hubbard. In the front court you return two of the best front court players in the league with Lase Olalare and Devin Brafford along with bringing in 7’ Tito Deng and 7’4” Mathok Majok.
I think when the season is over, CSU likely finished between their KenPom ranking and Conference Standings positions from a season ago. CSU returns a little less talent wise compared to last seasons team but also brings in more talent from the portal. The system CSU has ran under Coach Nimley allows CSU to punch much above their weight as we saw last season with wins over East Carolina, Richmond and Winthrop but that also allows CSU to fall susceptible to some bad losses like Lindenwood, Alabama A&M and twice in Overtime to USC Upstate last season. Despite that variance, I do believe it levels out a bit over 32 games and CSU finishes with their best regular season finish since 2018-19.