The Pitt men’s basketball team is entering its eighth season with head coach Jeff Capel. Capel brought the Panthers to March Madness three seasons ago with a bid for a No. 11 seed.
Capel started his career as a head coach at Pitt with a 51-59 record in his first four seasons. But with the recent transfer portal changes, the coach has had three consecutive seasons with an over .500 record, with a record of 63-38.
Transfer Portal Changes
Before the 2022-2023 season, the NCAA implemented a rule that allows athletes to transfer one time without sitting out for an entire season. After the rule was implemented, Pitt welcomed future household names to fans like Blake Hinson, Nelly Cummings and Greg Elliott.
All three of these transfers would average over 10 points per game during the 2022-2023 season, flipping the narrative of Pitt men’s basketball. Pitt going from an 11-21 record to the NCAA Tournament is special and not talked about enough — it happened because of how well Capel works with the transfer portal. Capel has capitalized well, building strong teams since the rule change.
Returning Members
Cam Corhen
The senior forward is returning for his final season and second season at Pitt. Corhen averaged 11 points and five rebounds. He was a solid scorer for the Panthers in the 2024-25 season. Corhen is one of the stronger defensive players for the Panthers and will be a leader during his last season.
Brandin Cummings
Entering his sophomore year, guard Brandin “Beebah” Cummings is looking to become one of the stars of the team. Last year, he only averaged 16 minutes per game with six points and under an assist a game. This year, in his first exhibition game, Cummings scored 12 points with two assists and went 6-of-7 for free throws. Other than the few turnovers at the start of the game, Cummings settled in and potentially cemented himself into the starting five.
Papa Amadou Kante
Papa Kante is a sophomore forward who missed his first season at Pitt due to a non-contact knee injury. Since the injury, his development has slowed, but this year, he is looking to make more of an impact with transfer senior center Dishon Jackson out for the foreseeable future. Last year, Kante averaged 2.1 points a game with an average of 6.9 minutes. He was a strong player off the bench and logged a whopping 22 minutes in his first game this year.
Other players returning include junior forward Jajuan Nelson, junior forward Benjamin Mayhew, and sophomore forward Amdy Ndiaye. But don’t expect much contribution from these three returners.
New Additions: Transfers
The Panthers added four players this year in the transfer portal while recruiting five first-year players. The team focused on recruiting a couple of guards and some big men to replenish the team after losing a ton of players to the portal. The Diaz-Grahman twins, Jaland Lowe, Amsal Delalić and Marlon Barnes Jr., all of whom departed this year for the transfer portal.
Dishon Jackson
Dishon Jackson is a senior Center from Iowa State who averaged 8.5 points and five rebounds per game last season with the Cyclones. Unfortunately, Jackson’s heart complications have gotten worse, and right now, nobody is sure of what is to come. Right now, fans can only hope to see him get healthy in general before seeing him in a practice uniform.
Nojus Indruišaitis
Nojus Indruišaitis is a sophomore guard from Iowa State, and last season, he only earned 5.8 minutes per game, so he entered the transfer portal searching for a better opportunity. And he definitely did, because in the exhibition game he scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. It seems like Indruišaitis has found his team, and it seems likely he can get into the starting lineup by the end of the year.
Barry Dunning Jr.
Barry Dunning Jr. is a senior forward who can play in the front court and back court. His versatility will be nice and useful for the Panthers. Dunning Jr. averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game at South Alabama. He has a nose for the ball and could become a Swiss Army knife for the Panthers.
Damarco Minor
Damarco Minor is a senior guard who is going to lead this team at point guard. He is the voice in the locker room, and after the exhibition, Capel even said he was the leader of this team. With his performance and feedback from Capel, it seems likely we will hear this name called a lot during the Panthers’ season.
Major Commitments
Roman Siulepa
Roman Siulepa is a young prospect who committed to Pitt from the Australian Next Stars League. He was the top basketball prospect out of Australia and started in the first exhibition game against Providence. Siulepa has more than just the development as a player — he must battle moving across the globe. The rules are completely different, and all of the wording is different. Just give it some time, and this kid will shine.
Omari Witherspoon
Witherspoon was a four-star guard coming out of the D.C. area. His commitment to Pitt was huge, and the Panthers will need him early. In the exhibition game, he played 19 minutes and scored 10 points with a sneaky two steals. He was always known for his defensive abilities, which made him such a well-rounded prospect.
Macari Moore
Moore came out of high school as a three-star point guard, and this got him some playing time early. He was only in for 12 minutes of the exhibition game, but he put up six strong points. This trio of first-year players is going to impact the Panthers, and their development could make or break this season.
ACC Outlook
Pitt plays in arguably the hardest conference for men’s basketball. ACC opponents like Duke, Louisville, Clemson, UNC, SMU and Virginia make it hard to stay afloat in the conference. Capel has battled nicely, producing some big upsets in his time.
I think this season the Panthers have the talent for a winning season — they just need to find their lineup and figure out who works best together.
This is one of the youngest teams Capel’s had in a while. I don’t see the Panthers pushing into March Madness, but watch out for some future stars like Cummings or Siulepa breaking out this season.
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