Duke basketball roster 2026-27: What does life look like for the Blue Devils after Cameron Boozer departs?
Tracking Duke's roster ahead of the 2026-27 season as the Blue Devils look to reload
The Cameron Boozer era at Duke is officially over after the reigning CBS Sports National Player of the Year declared for the 2026 NBA Draft last month. Boozer became the second consecutive player from Duke to win the top individual honor in the sport and is in line to join Cooper Flagg as the next top-three pick from the program later this summer.
Duke had the luxury of ushering in Boozer when Flagg departed for the NBA after producing one of the greatest one-and-done seasons in college basketball history. The Blue Devils don't have a player of Flagg or Boozer's caliber entering the program, but they will have arguably the deepest roster in the sport, headlined by Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell.
The Blue Devils are bringing back several familiar faces, including Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II and Dame Sarr to pair with another top-ranked high school recruiting class. Blackwell is the biggest name Duke coach Jon Scheyer has landed via the transfer portal since taking over as head coach, making it likely his team will be a preseason top-five team later this fall.
CBS Sports is tracking the status of the Duke roster and recruiting class in real time. Here's where every current Duke player and commit currently stand.
Incoming transfers
John Blackwell (Transfer from Wisconsin)
GP: 34 | PPG: 19.1 | RPG: 5.1 | APG: 2.3
Blackwell was the No. 3-ranked transfer in the 247Sports rankings. He averaged 19.1 points last season for Wisconsin and should supplement some of the offense that Boozer and Isaiah Evans generated last season. Blackwell had plenty of suitors in the portal, including Illinois, Louisville and UCLA. Scheyer winning that recruiting battle is a big deal.
Drew Scharnowski (Transfer from Belmont)
GP: 30 | PPG: 10.7 | RPG: 6.0 | APG: 2.6
Scharnowski will be Duke's Swiss Army Knife this season. He likely won't be in the starting lineup on opening night, but he is more than capable of playing 15-20 minutes off the bench. He averaged 10.7 points. 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.8 minutes per game at Belmont.
Duke players returning for the 2026-27 season
Caleb Foster | G | Jr.
GP: 33 | PPG: 8.3 | RPG: 3.5 | APG: 2.8
Foster will be the most experienced returner on Duke's roster. The former four-star recruit from the 2023 recruiting class started 30 games last season and averaged career bests in almost every statistical category. Foster suffered a right foot fracture against North Carolina late in the season, but was still able to return for the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Cayden Boozer | G | Fr.
GP: 38 | PPG: 7.7 | RPG: 2.3 | APG: 3.0
Boozer, a former four-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, had an up-and-down freshman season at Duke. However, he found a larger role toward the end of the season -- specifically, when Foster went down with an injury. Boozer ended up starting in all three ACC Tournament games and four NCAA Tournament games. Industry sources told CBS Sports that a transfer had been on the table for Cayden before deciding to return to Duke for his sophomore season.
Patrick Ngongba II | C | So.
GP: 32 | PPG: 10.1 | RPG: 5.8 | APG: 2.0
Had Ngongba entered the NBA Draft, he would've likely been a late first-round pick. Instead, he will return to Duke for his junior season, where a larger role is expected after averaging just 21.9 minutes per game this past season. Ngongba is a candidate to be a lottery pick next summer in a much weaker draft class.
Dame Sarr | G | Fr.
GP: 38 | PPG: 6.4 | RPG: 3.8 | APG: 1.1
Sarr is a potential breakout candidate next season. He started 30 games as a freshman and averaged 6.4 points while shooting 32.3% from the 3-point line. I would expect that volume to increase next season. Sarr was a late addition to Duke's roster after former Duke commit Cedric Coward elected to keep his name in the NBA Draft instead of going back to college.
Duke players not returning in 2026-27
Cameron Boozer | F | Fr. (Declared for the NBA Draft)
GP: 38 | PPG: 22.5 | RPG: 10.2 | APG: 4.1
Boozer exited college basketball after being the most consistent player in the sport during his lone season. He is a projected top-three pick in the NBA Draft. From Day 1 in the league, he's going to be one of the best passing bigs in the league. What made Boozer so effective in college was his ability to use pump fakes to draw contact. There are question marks about what he will be defensively at the next level, and it's a big reason why there isn't a stronger case for him to go No. 1. Regardless, Boozer's basketball IQ is off the charts. He has All-NBA potential in his future.
Isaiah Evans | G | So. (Declared for the NBA Draft)
GP: 38 | PPG: 15.0 | RPG: 3.2 | APG: 1.3
Evans had one of the biggest stay-or-go decisions to make. Ultimately, Evans decided to enter the NBA Draft, where he projects as a late first-round pick. Evans went from almost strictly a pure catch-and-shoot 3-point specialist at Duke during his freshman year to a legit No. 2 scoring option on the No. 1 overall seed in college basketball. Evans almost doubled the amount of 3-pointers he took from this year to last and still knocked them down at a 36.1% clip.
Nikolas Khamenia | G | Fr. (Transferred to UConn)
GP: 38 | PPG: 5.7 | RPG: 3.3 | APG: 1.0
Khamenia's final game at Duke was an Elite Eight loss against UConn. The next time he suits up for a college basketball game, he will be playing for ... UConn. Khamenia has a chance to be a starter for the Huskies this season. He shot 34% from the 3-point line on 2.7 attempts per game. He is a perfect fit for Dan Hurley's system.
Darren Harris | G | So. (Transferred to Indiana)
GP: 36 | PPG: 3.3 | RPG: 0.8 | APG: 0.4
Harris appeared in 36 games for Duke but was a deep bench option, averaging just 9.7 minutes per game. The former four-star recruit transferred to Indiana.
Maliq Brown | F | Sr. (Out of eligibility)
GP: 38 | PPG: 4.9 | RPG: 5.2 | APG: 1.6
Brown was one of the most underrated players in the sport. The former Syracuse transfer was a key rotational player on Duke's Final Four team in 2025 and started 10 games this past season. His defensive versatility is what Duke will miss the most.
Duke's incoming recruiting class
Scheyer has done it again with another stud recruiting class. Duke's 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 2 in the 247Sports team rankings, only behind Arkansas. The Blue Devils' recruiting class features four five-stars and is headlined by Cameron Williams, the No. 4 overall player in the recruiting cycle. Under Scheyer, Duke has finished in the top two of the last four recruiting classes.
No. 4 Cameron Williams
Wlliams is the crown jewel of Duke's recruiting class. The McDonald's All-American committed to Duke over Arizona, SMU, Purdue and Texas, among others. Out of all the newcomers in this recruiting class, Williams will have the best chance to start from Day 1. He will be a projected top 10 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
No. 10 Deron Rippey Jr.
Rippey is joining a deep Duke backcourt rotation that already includes Foster, Boozer and Blackwell. Rippey still hasn't (officially) signed with Duke, but his commitment gives the Blue Devils another valuable depth piece. According to his 247Sports scouting report, Rippey is an "explosively athletic lead guard who can set the tone on the defensive end of the floor."
No. 15 Bryson Howard
According to his 247Sports scouting report, Howard is a "long and athletic southpaw wing who changes the game on both ends of the floor." He committed to Duke over Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas A&M and Houston.
No. 84 Maxime Meyer
The 7-foot-1 big man out of IMG Academy ranked as the No. 10 center in the 247Sports rankings. He committed to Duke over Stanford, Vanderbilt, Florida and SMU.
Five-star Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje
Boumtje Boumtje was a late addition to Duke's 2026 recruiting class. The 7-foot big man who recently played for FC Barcelona was a five-star recruit in the 247Sports rankings. Something notable is that Boumtje Boumtje will not turn 17 until May 30, which means he will not be eligible for the 2027 NBA Draft. It's a similar situation to what Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance dealt with. He was ineligible for the NBA Draft after his freshman season at Arizona State because he didn't meet the NBA's age requirement. Boumtje Boumtje will be a multi-year development project for Duke, but his upside is well worth the swing.
