The Ole Miss men’s basketball team ended the 2025-26 season outside of the coveted NCAA Tournament after the prior campaign finished with the Rebels in the Sweet 16. A rough showing in conference play negated an SEC Tournament run that otherwise could have bolstered the red and blue’s resume. This year, head coach Chris Beard is looking to turn things around.
Ole Miss, after amassing an overall record of 15-20 and going an underwhelming 4-14 against SEC foes, found a late spark in the conference tournament. The No. 15 seed Rebels ousted Texas, Georgia, and Alabama before falling to eventual tournament champion Arkansas in the semifinals. When reflecting on that run, Beard was optimistic about the potential that lies ahead for Ole Miss. He also recognized that returning to March Madness required building the right roster and instilling a culture where failure isn’t an option.
“Obviously, a lot of reflection this offseason in Oxford,” Beard said. “I was really proud of how we finished the season. [We were] playing our best basketball. We were a real factor in Nashville. In a lot of ways, we were one basket away from a 40-minute opportunity to make the Big Dance again … I would argue, at the end of the season, we were playing like a Sweet 16 type of team.”
The Rebels return sharp-shooter Patton Pinkins and smooth guard Ilias Kamardine, two notable contributors to last year’s squad, to mesh with a group of transfers. On the transfer front, Beard and company brought in guard Budd Clark from Seton Hall, forward Roman Siulepa from Pittsburgh, and Australian professional Ben Henshall.
Ole Miss is also working to make former Florida center Micah Handlogten and former Florida International guard Corey Stephenson eligible to compete. The two are currently listed on the team’s roster.
In adding players from across the globe, Beard said his biggest challenge has been time. And he’s thought outside the box to find ways to build chemistry among players who have had little time to get to know each other. From hiring veteran European basketball player and coach Petar Aleksić as an assistant to having players put their phones away and focus on building rapport with one another during meals, the Ole Miss head man has taken some unconventional routes to curate a winning product.
“We’re fighting time. That’s our biggest challenge when you put together a team with new players. How do we combat that? What’s our plan? It’s to just try to get a lot done each day,” Beard said. “Instead of having a lunch that’s grab-and-go, maybe we have that lunch where everyone puts their cellphones in the golden bucket, and we invest 30 minutes with just some conversation at lunch.”
Ole Miss was projected by the SEC’s media to finish No. 13 in the conference, so the hype around the team isn’t super high. But internally, Beard is confident in the group he’s assembled, as long as the players remain committed to the process.
“In our program, we don’t have a lot of bumper stickers, coozies, or slogans, but we have a few that we believe in, and one of those is, ‘Don’t lose your chip.’ We’re always trying to find motivation,” Beard said. “We’ve been on the other side of the coin a few times over the years, where maybe somebody picks you to win a league. We use that as fuel, as well. It doesn’t really matter where you are in the rankings. There’s an opportunity to find fuel.”
The Rebels begin the regular season at home versus Alcorn State on Nov. 2. Ole Miss will play exhibition games against Alabama on Oct. 15 and Andy Kennedy’s UAB team on Oct. 27.
