JMU men’s basketball’s 2024-25 season ended in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals. The Dukes won 20 games, but they fell short of making any postseason tournaments. Year 1 of the Preston Spradlin era included positives, but the program wants to be better in the 2025-26 season. 

Those goals start this offseason with roster construction. Between graduating players like Mark Freeman and expected transfers, the Dukes roster will have some pretty large holes to fill yet again. Can the Dukes build a Sun Belt title contender? Will they be a top-100 team next season? Let’s track the Dukes’ moves in the portal. 

Transfer additions

None, as of March 24. 

Transfer departures 

Xavier Brown, G – A three-year Duke, Brown is in the portal, according to Jeff Goodman. He averaged just over 10 points per game this season, while also leading the team with 46 steals. He played a key role for the 2023-24 team that won an NCAA Tournament game, too, starting 17 of the team’s 36 games. The vocal leader is a significant loss, assuming he doesn’t return to JMU. He entered the portal last offseason before returning to Harrisonburg.

AJ Smith, G/F — The rising senior departs Harrisonburg after transferring in last offseason from Southern Indiana. He played in and started 32 games this season and averaged 7.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 10 times and cracked 20 points once. He likely will get looks from high major teams looking for a high end rebounder that can score when needed. 

Bryce Lindsay, G — The rising sophomore guard just earned Sun Belt Sixth Man of the Year, and Freshman of the Year honors after averaging 13.4 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting. He was one of the best 3-point shooters in the Sun Belt in 2024-25 and will likely receive heavy interest from teams in Power Conferences. The former Top 75 recruit who began his career at Texas A&M of the SEC will likely find a landing spot at that level again. 

Redd Thompson, G – A rising sophomore, Thompson played in just nine games for the Dukes in 2024-25. There was optimism he could develop into a future standout, but it seems like that might happen outside Harrisonburg.

Jerrell Roberson, F — The junior forward played sparingly during his JMU career and didn’t have an obvious path to playing time in Harrisonburg despite his 6’9 size. He’ll likely seek increased playing time at his next stop. 

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications