A year ago at this time we were all hoping to wake up on the morning of April 8, 2026 still basking in the glow of Purdue’s first Men’s Basketball National Title. That same dream was there at the start of the 2025-26 season when the Boilermakers began the year as the preseason No. 1. The regular season did not go as planned, but Purdue’s postseason run starting in the Big Ten Tournament saw it get revived over seven and a half games before Arizona prevailed and ended not just the dream, but the memorable
era led by Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn.
When the Boilermakers take the floor to begin the 2026-27 it will do so without those three in the starting lineup for the first time since the 2022 tourney loss to St. Peter’s. Think about that for a moment. In this era of NIL and the transfer portal Purdue was able to not only develop players that started as freshmen, but keep them for four years. We may never see that again at a major conference program.
That first title is still elusive, but with Matt Painter at the helm for the foreseeable future Purdue will be on the short list of contenders for some time. It will be higher in some years and lower in others, but many of the Way-Too-Early Top 25 lists for next season Purdue is still picked as a consensus top 15 team despite returning just one starter. That’s impressive, and a testament to what Painter has built. It is also a very enviable place to start next season compared to the rest of college basketball. This past season was the ninth consecutive tournament where Purdue received at least a 4 seed or better. It has been over a decade since we have had to sweat through a Selection Sunday in any way. It is very, very likely that Purdue will be in the 2027 NCAA Tournament, but it will be a very different team for the first time in a while.
While the core of the last four seasons is gone, there are still several returning contributors, and here at Hammer & Rails we will be reviewing everyone on the roster from this past season and assigning homework to each returning player. And when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE. That includes our leadoff player today.
Jace Rayl – Senior in 2026-27
Kokomo, IN (Kokomo HS)
5’11”, 175 pounds
Guard
2026-27 Projection: Deep Reserve
We can begin with he obvious here: If Jace Rayl is a major contributor in 2026-27 he either has taken an enormous leap in ability or something has gone seriously wrong with multiple players ahead of him.
Rayl comes from my hometown of Kokomo and played for my beloved Kokomo Wildkats, reaching the Class 4A State championship game in 2023. During his time at KHS the Kats struggled his first two seasons, going 8-16 and 7-17 under Robert Wonnell. His last two years were much better, however. John Peckinpaugh took over and the Kats immediately went 19-8 and came within a missed three-pointer at the buzzer of reaching the 2022 state title game (eliminating Braden Smith’s Westfield along the way in the regional final 64-60 in what proved to be Braden’s last HS game). Things were even better in Rayl’s senior year as Kokomo went 24-5 and reached the state title game, losing to Ben Davis 53-41.
Was much of that success due to Rayl? Well, not really. Rayl wasn’t even much of a contributor at KHS. He was basically the eighth man in a seven man rotation and appeared in just 18 of Kokomo’s 29 games as a senior. He was just 2 of 11 from the field on the season, scoring only 8 points in 70 minutes of action as a senior. His junior year was much better, as he averaged 12.3 minutes and 2.4 points per game.
Those are not the high school numbers of a typical walk-on for a Big Ten program. Kokomo’s team success was HEAVILY based on 2024 Mr. Basketball and Kansas star Flory Bidunga. It turns out that when you play alongside one of the best players in Kokomo’s long and storied history it leads to a lot of on the court success. There were other solid contributors such as Indiana All-Star and current NAIA player at St. Francis Karson Rogers, current Indiana football tight end Andrew Barker, and St. Francis linebacker Shayne Spear. That 2022-23 Kokomo team was absolutely loaded with athletes.
After all this you might be wondering how on earth Rayl not only made Purdue’s roster, but he is entering his fourth year with the team. Well, it helps a lot to have a famous name. Jace’s grandfather was Indiana basketball legend Jimmy Rayl. The elder Rayl was the 1959 Mr. Basketball in Indiana and one of the most storied high school players in state history. He then was a two-time Third Team All-American at Indiana and even played for the Indiana Pacers for two seasons in their ABA days.
Jimmy Rayl was also a long-time mentor for Matt Painter before he passed away in 2019 at age 77. In fact, Painter credits Rayl as the reason he played at Purdue, which, of course, led to his current highly successful tenure as head coach in West Lafayette. It is very likely that Matt Painter is not Purdue’s head coach right now if not for Jimmy Rayl.
Basically, Rayl was given a spot on the end of the bench as a huge thank you because his grandfather was a mentor for Matt Painter. Not a bad tradeoff if you’re Jace. That seat has given him a Big Ten championship as a freshman in 2023-24, a trip to the National Championship game, a Big Ten Tournament title, and all-expenses paid trips to Hawaii and the Bahamas in November.
As far as on the court contributions, Jace has not done a lot. As a freshman in 2023-14 he played a single minute in the 98-45 season opening win over Samford. The 2024-25 saw an expanded role for him if you consider seven minutes across four games an expanded role. He got into a couple Big Ten games and even scored his only career point by hitting a free throw in the 104-68 win over Nebraska. This past season he hit a career high four minutes in the 109-62 win over Eastern Illinois and he saw action in a career best eight games, including two minutes against his grandfather’s Hoosiers during Purdue’s blowout win on February 20th.
To date, Rayl has played in 13 games for a total of 25 minutes. He is 0 for 3 from the floor, 1 for 2 from the free throw line, and he has collected two fouls and turned the ball over twice. His most notable news was his misdemeanor OWI arrest last May. He has since paid his debt, however, and remained on the team this past year.
As far as homework, I hate to be blunt, but Rayl is not a Division I level player, especially in the Big Ten. He is undersized and unlike an Aaron Fine, he doesn’t have the handles or talent to potentially contribute as a walk-on more. He is basically a human victory cigar, getting into games when Purdue has a huge lead after the final media timeout. He has yet to play in a game where Purdue has won by fewer than 18 points, and he hasn’t played more than a minute in a game where Purdue has won by less than 28.
Jace’s homework is literal homework. His page says he is majoring in kinesiology and that is absolutely going to be the ticket for his career. His ceiling is to be a body in practice, get in at the end of blowouts, and get honored with a framed jersey on Senior Day 2027. His seniority in 2026-27 might get him off the bench a little earlier than in past years, but he is a player that reaching a new single game career high of two points would be considered a huge accomplishment. Look for him to be a team leader in elaborate and unique handshakes during the starting lineups, excited reactions from the end of the bench, and as a potential “hold guys back from rushing the court too early” on buzzer beaters like Oscar Cluff’s at Nebraska or TKR’s against Texas.
There is one way that Jace can make a huge contribution, and that is to make a phone call (or several phone calls). Flory Bidunga has declared for the draft, but is keeping his options open by entering the transfer portal too. the 6’10” athletic forward is coming off a big season at Kansas where he averaged 13.3 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. If Jace can get ahold of his old HS teammate and somehow convince him to come to West Lafayette for a year to be an elite rim defender and rebounder on his way to the NBA that would be fantastic.
Jace has still has scored more points than I did in my Purdue career and he has had a front row seat for a golden era in West Lafayette. That is not a horrible fate for a college student.
