Ole Miss basketball programs get handful of transfer commitments

Chris Beard landed his first commitment out of the transfer portal on Friday to be part of his fourth roster at Ole Miss.

Pittsburgh’s Roman Siulepa will be heading to Oxford after spending one season with the Panthers. The forward started all 33 games in his freshman season, averaging 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He pulled down just under three offensive rebounds per game and led the ACC in offensive rebounding during conference play (3.8).

The Australian native has a rugby background, playing it and basketball growing up. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder has international play experience, leading Australia to a sixth-place finish at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. He averaged averaging 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds.

His career highs with Pittsburgh were 28 points against Penn State on December 21 and 15 rebounds against Wake Forest on January 27.

Siulepa will join rising sophomore Patton Pinkins and senior Ilias Kamardine as the first three players of Beard’s 2026-27 roster.

Beard and staff are working the phones and planning visits after the portal officially opened on Tuesday. The Rebels saw seven players hit the portal with Travis Perry the latest after transferring from Kentucky for a season. James Scott is considering entering the portal but has not made an official decision to either stay and play a second year with Ole Miss or transfer for a second-straight offseason.

Ole Miss is bringing in Butler transfer point guard Azavier Robinson, according to On3 national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw. The Rebels are receiving his first visit. He has Zoom calls with Saint Louis, LSU, Seton Hall, Western Kentucky and Nebraska.

The Rebels have also held a Zoom call with VCU’s Terrence Hill Jr. — an elite, proven shot-maker and the Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year.

The transfer portal will remain open through April 21.

The Ole Miss women’s program also got a couple of commitments on Friday.

Yolett McPhee-McCuin had a pair of commitments on Thursday and kept the momentum rolling with San Jose State’s Maya Anderson and Florida’s KN’isha Godfrey.

Starting in all 32 games at San Jose State, Anderson led the Spartans during the 2025-26 season in scoring (13.9), rebounds (6.7), and steals (1.4). Prior to redshirting the 2024-25 season, the Toronto, Ontario, native made 17 starts in 24 appearances as a true freshman, averaging 5.4 points per game, while shooting 63.3 percent from the free throw line.

“Maya is a hidden gem,” said McPhee-McCuin. “Her toughness and physicality will help her have a great transition to this conference! Her potential is through the roof and I can’t wait until she gets back on campus with us!”

With the Gators last season Godfrey averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.