1 transfer portal target Purdue basketball must sign to get back to Elite Eight

After years of running it back with the same team, Purdue is set for a full rebuild in the 2026 offseason through the college basketball transfer portal.

The 2025-2026 season seemed to finally be the one for the Boilermakers, with Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer all returning for their fourth and final seasons in West Lafayette. Matt Painter added top big man Oscar Cluff to the group, resulting in a preseason No. 1 ranking.

Instead, Purdue ended a disappointing campaign in the Elite Eight, where it could not get past the juggernaut of Arizona. They did manage to beat eventual National Champions Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game to secure their second conference title in the last four years, but that was never the ultimate goal.

Now without a solid core of returning talent for the first time in years, Purdue’s 2026-2027 outlook is suddenly bleak. Purdue has a solid incoming freshman class featuring a quartet of four-star recruits, but Painter has only managed one commitment from the transfer portal thus far — senior forward Caden Pierce from Princeton.

The Boilermakers will return a handful of rotational pieces, including C.J. Cox, Gicarri Harris, Oscar Meyer and Daniel Jacobsen. However, Cox, who averaged just 8.5 points per game last season, will be the only returning starter.

While the college basketball transfer portal still has a healthy amount of top-end talent, Purdue is quickly running out of time to rebuild a championship-level roster.

Purdue needs to add size in college basketball transfer portal

Save for the 7-foot-4 Jacobsen, Purdue’s current roster lacks the size that Painter has famously built his success on. The former four-star recruit only averaged 12.9 minutes per game as a freshman, but is in line to succeed Cluff in the starting lineup and accept an increased role in 2026-2027.

Still, Jacobsen is not the interior scorer either Kaufman-Renn or Cluff was. Neither is Pierce, who averaged 16.6 points for Princeton in 2024-2025 before regressing to 11.2 points per game last season.

Purdue has many other questions to answer, including replacing former Bob Cousy Award-winning point guard Braden Smith. Painter has not typically relied on freshmen for immediate production, but incoming recruit Luke Ertel seems to be his immediate successor.

Mileage may vary, but Painter’s teams have always prided themselves on pounding the rock inside and playing through their star big men. That is currently the biggest element Purdue’s 2026-2027 roster lacks that needs to be addressed immediately in the college basketball transfer portal.

After missing out on top big men Flory Bidunga, David Punch, Aiden Sherrell and J.P. Estrella, Purdue can still reel in a substantial haul to save its offseason. Painter’s sights should be set on Saint Mary’s transfer Paulius Murauskas.

Matt Painter needs to add PF Paulius Murauskas

Despite being the type of player who always gets overlooked, Paulius Murauskas put the country on notice in the 2025-2026 season. The lanky Lithuanian repeated as a first-team All-WCC forward after averaging 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in his second season with the Gaels.

Murauskas, who began his career at Arizona, is now seeking his third college basketball team in four years. His size has some coaches concerned about his ability to compete in a power conference, but few big men have as much control and confidence around the basket as Murauskas.

Purdue will face severe competition in the Murauskas market, with the rising senior one of the top remaining players in the college basketball transfer portal. Arizona State figures to be a clear favorite after hiring former Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett to replace Bobby Hurley.

Murauskas could follow Bennett to Tempe and remain in a system he knows has elevated his career. However, few teams have been better landing spots for talented back-to-the-basket forwards than the Boilermakers. Murauskas clearly intended to play in that type of system with Tommy Lloyd at Arizona, where he simply faced too much competition for playing time.

It has been a while since Purdue has not had a dominant paint-scoring big man to filter its offense through, dating back to its days with Carsen Edwards running the show in 2018-2019. Painter needs to feel a high level of urgency to win the Murauskas sweepstakes if the Boilermakers are going to have any chance of defending their Big Ten Tournament title and returning to the Elite Eight.

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