Editor's Note: This article was revised due to errors regarding the status of Stephaun Walker going into the 26-27 season. The initial release was generally not up to our standards, and for that, we apologize.
There are unknowns to be acknowledged. The roster assessment in this piece reflects where the program stands today, combined with changes that are expected but not yet officially confirmed. College basketball rosters are fluid, particularly in the early stages of the offseason, and additional moves — transfers in, transfers out, and roster decisions that haven't surfaced yet — will continue to reshape this picture in the coming days and weeks. We are not attempting to account for every possibility. What follows is an honest read of the current baseline and what it requires, with the understanding that the full offseason story is still being written.
The Old Dominion men's basketball program is entering the most consequential offseason of Mike Jones's tenure, and the clock is already running. Between staff restructuring, a transfer portal window that rewards speed as well as judgment, and a roster that requires significant reconstruction at nearly every position, the decisions made between now and October will determine whether the Monarchs take a meaningful step forward in 2026-27 or spend another season searching for an identity they can’t seem to find.
What follows is an unfiltered assessment of where this program stands, what needs to happen, and why the order of operations matters as much as the decisions themselves.
Step One: Fill the Staff, Then Fill the Roster
The most immediate priority for Jones and the ODU athletics staff has nothing to do with the transfer portal. It has to do with who will be sitting next to him on the bench next season.
Two assistant coaching positions are expected to turn over this offseason. While nothing has been officially announced and circumstances could always shift, the expectation within the program is that changes are coming. What matters right now is not who is leaving, but the profile of who ODU needs to bring in — and why getting those hires right is the prerequisite to everything else.
- ■ The Mentor: The first hire should serve as a mentor — and the need for one is rooted in an honest assessment of where Jones has struggled. Two seasons in, the gaps in his in-game management have been visible: late-game decision-making, rotations that have not always reflected the competitive reality of the moment, an inability to consistently make the tactical adjustments that swing close games. These are real deficiencies, and this program cannot afford to wait several more seasons for them to correct themselves through experience alone. What Jones needs next to him is someone who has sat in a head coach's chair, who has managed the chaos of a tight game in the second half, who has seen enough to recognize what a team needs before the coaching staff asks for a timeout. The right hire here functions as a stabilizing force on the bench — a voice Jones can trust, a set of eyes that sees the game from a different vantage point, and an experienced hand that fills the gaps in ways that make the entire staff more competent than the sum of its parts. That kind of partnership does not diminish Jones. It accelerates his development while protecting the program in the meantime.
- ■ The Defensive Specialist: The second hire is equally specific. ODU needs a defensive specialist — a coach with a documented, verifiable track record of building defenses that hold up over the course of a long season. Not someone who talks about defense. Someone whose teams, measured year over year, defended at a high level against real competition. This program has been among the most porous defensive units in the Sun Belt across both of Jones's seasons, and that is not a player personnel problem alone. It is a schematic and cultural problem. The right hire installs a specific defensive system, creates accountability around effort and execution on that end of the floor, and begins the process of giving ODU the identity it has lacked — a team that defends with pride, that makes opponents uncomfortable, that competes in games it has no business competing in because it refuses to give up easy baskets.
Why does the staff need to be settled before the portal? Because recruits are evaluating the full staff, not just the head coach. A portal target choosing between ODU and a peer program will look at who is coaching him, who is developing him, and whether the people in that program's facility have the experience and reputation to help him get to the next level. Strong assistants close recruits. Weak ones do not. Get the staff right first, then go to work in the portal with a complete pitch.
What the Roster Actually Looks Like
Stripping away the noise and looking at the 2026-27 roster honestly, ODU is rebuilding from the ground up.
The program loses 5 scholarship players to graduation: leading scorer KC Shaw, LJ Thomas, Jordan Battle, Stephaun Walker, and Caelum Swanton-Rodger. Robert Davis Jr. is transferring. That accounts for the top four scorers from this year's team exiting in a single offseason. Add two additional players expected to depart via the portal, and ODU is working with seven open scholarship spots.
The current returners are Zacch Wiggins, Scottie Hubbard, Jared Turner, and they are bolstered by the two incoming freshmen guards — CJ Harper out of McDonough, Georgia, and CJ Lyons from Waldorf, Maryland.
A few important clarifications on what this group actually is. Turner is a 6-8 wing who shot threes at a reasonable clip and played significant minutes at power forward last season because the program had no one else to put there. That is not who he is as a player. Asking him to anchor the 4 again next year is not a solution — it is a continuation of a structural problem that helped to undermine this roster for the past two seasons. Turner's value is coming off the bench as a versatile wing on the perimeter, not as a post defender absorbing contact on the block every night.
Wiggins, meanwhile, is the reason for optimism in this group. The 6-4 sophomore from Greensboro showed flashes this year and the expectation is that he develops into a genuine leader for this team next season — a player who can knock down threes, make plays off the bounce, and seems capable of guarding at a level that fits the defensive identity this staff needs to build. He is a real piece to build around.
Hubbard at 6-6 rounds out a returning wing group that has length and some athleticism. The question is whether any of these players can defend consistently enough to make the sum greater than its parts.
What the Portal Class Needs to Look Like
Seven open scholarships sounds like an opportunity. In reality it is a mandate. The honest assessment of this roster is that ODU currently has one player who projects as a legitimate experienced starter on day one, Zacch Wiggins, surrounded by question marks. Two incoming freshmen guards who appear talented, but have never played a college minute. Scottie Hubbard and Jared Turner, who are rotation pieces at best in a fully constructed lineup, certainly not cornerstones of one. And a frontcourt with no player — not a single one — who is a credible starter at the Sun Belt level. That is the reality this portal class has to fix, and pretending otherwise is how programs you end up with a 12-21 season.
- ■ At Point Guard: The need is real but the framing matters. ODU is not looking for a star — it is looking for a veteran presence who can share the floor with the incoming freshman, CJ Harper, and provide the kind of steadying influence that young guards need time to develop. The right player here is an experienced upperclassman who has seen conference play, who can run the offense without forcing it, and who can knock down the open three when the defense sags. But more than any of that, he needs to be the player who sets the defensive tone from the point of attack. Tough, physical, makes the opposing point guard work for every dribble — that energy is contagious, and it is exactly the kind of culture-setting behavior that changes how a team competes night to night. Harper appears to have real upside, and splitting minutes with a seasoned veteran who models what defensive commitment looks like is precisely the development environment your freshman needs. The point guard from the portal does not need to own the position. He needs to anchor it.
- ■ At Wing: The picture is somewhat more manageable but still requires additions. Wiggins is a legitimate piece — a 6-4 sophomore who is expected to take a real developmental step, knock down threes, and become a genuine two-way wing. Hubbard provides length and some athleticism as a depth option, but needs to become a better perimeter defender. Beyond that, ODU needs at least one portal wing who defends at a high level and can score without needing shots handed to him. The same profile applies here as everywhere else on this roster: defense is the filter, not an afterthought.
- ■ In the Frontcourt: This is where this portal class will be won or lost. ODU does not have a starting power forward. It does not have a starting center. It does not have a rotation big who has demonstrated the ability to hold up to high level play. Turner was a wing playing out of position. Raymond and Nacey have had two seasons to establish themselves and have not shown the production or reliability that would make them credible starters going forward. That is not a shot at either player — it is simply the truth of where this program is. The portal class needs a starting center who can protect the rim, rebound and score around the basket, a true power forward who is physical and active on both ends, and ideally a third big who gives the coaching staff the rotational depth to manage foul trouble without reaching for a wing to play center. Three frontcourt acquisitions is tough in the current NIL market, it is necessary.
Seven scholarships, a point guard, one wing addition, and three frontcourt pieces are the must haves. That is what it’s going to take to build a competitive 2026-27 ODU roster. Every single one of those acquisitions should be evaluated through the same lens: can this player defend? Does he compete on that end with consistency and effort? Because talent without defensive accountability has already been tried here, and the record reflects it.
The Bottom Line
Monarch Nation has watched this program struggle through a difficult stretch, and the fans showing up night after night — leading the Sun Belt in attendance despite a 12-21 record — deserve a laser focused effort on building a competitive roster. This offseason is a significant one. Two staff hires, seven portal acquisitions, and a frontcourt that needs to be built almost entirely from scratch. That is a lot of work, and it needs to happen quickly and correctly.
None of it is beyond reach. The program has the facilities, the budget and the market to recruit against its peers. If the staff hires are the right ones and the portal class addresses the structural needs outlined here, ODU can be a competitive team in the Sun Belt next season. Whether it gets there depends on the quality of the decisions being made right now.
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