The 2025-26 ‘BTPowerhouse Season Preview’ series will take an in-depth look at all 18 teams in the Big Ten heading into the 2025-26 season with analysis on each program’s previous season, roster overhaul,
and top storylines. Each post will also include predictions on each team’s postseason potential.
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Purdue enters the 2025-26 season as the top ranked team in the preseason polls and return Big Ten Player of the Year and Bob Cousy Award winner Braden Smith, as well as seniors Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. The trio, mixed with a mix of transfers, an international prospect and another season of experience for the 2024 recruiting class gives Purdue the best team they’ve had since Zach Edey was still on campus and a legitimate chance to make a run back to the Final Four this spring.
Last Season
After a run to the national championship game in 2023-24 the Boilermakers were expected to be in a bit of a rebuild last season. While the expectation was they would still find a way to the postseason, it’s safe to say the Boilermakers surprised quite a few people in 2024-25.
The Boilers got off to an up-and-down start during the first two months of the season, with wins against second ranked Alabama and a ranked Ole Miss highlighting a stretch that included a double digit loss to Penn State and 18 point loss to second ranked Auburn. Purdue righted the ship with a 11-1 stretch that included wins over Oregon, Michigan and Indiana. A four game losing streak in February and an early exit in the Big Ten Tournament didn’t lead to the regular season ending on a high note, though.
Purdue ended up with another solid run in the NCAA Tournament, winning two games and coming a single shot away from beating national runner-up Houston in the Sweet 16. A questionable no-call on an offensive foul that would have given Purdue the chance to win at the end of regulation loomed large but when everything was said and done a Purdue team that was largely discredited without Zach Edey made a much deeper push into March than many expected heading into the season.
Roster Outlook
The Purdue roster has a handful of new faces but the core trio will largely remain the same. Braden Smith will once again anchor the backcourt, coming back after a junior season where he averaged 15.8 points and 8.7 assists per game while hitting 38.1% from three. Alongside Smith will be fellow senior Fletcher Loyer, averaging 13.8 points and shooting 44.4% from three last year. Loyer can be a bit of a defensive liability at times, but as long as he can continue to hit from range he will likely remain in the starting lineup. There’s a lot of interest in what international pro Omer Mayer will contribute, but the hope is he will at least allow Braden Smith to get some rest down the stretch. Last year Smith ended up playing 37 minutes per game and was routinely on the floor for the duration of most close games.
Purdue’s frontcourt could be interesting as Trey Kaufman-Renn played the five last year in response to Daniel Jacobsen suffering a season ending injury in the second game of the season. Kaufman-Renn has the size to play the five but the expectation is he’ll shift to the four, set to play alongside Jacobsen and transfer Oscar Cluff. Cluff averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game last season and was a big get for the Boilers in the portal. It remains to be seen how often Painter will play two bigs inside, but if Purdue ends up shifting Kaufman-Renn to the role he played last season they’ll at least have considerably more depth in the frontcourt.
The more interesting thing to keep an eye on is who will end up rounding out the starting lineup. C.J. Cox will get the first crack after averaging 6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last season and hitting 39.8% from three. Cox disappeared at times and was relatively low volume, so Painter will need more production from the 6’3″ sophomore. Gicarri Harris also returns and was also another low usage guard that Purdue will need more out of this winter. With Myles Colvin and Camden Heide both transferring out the duo will have more opportunities.
Omer Mayer is initially set to backup Smith but there has been some speculation he could end up starting at some point. If the intent is for Mayer to spell Smith and allow the senior some time to rest, though, they may need to stagger the rotations if that happens. Painter also added Liam Murphy in the portal, with the senior hitting 42.3% from three on 7.7 attempts per game with North Florida.
Also in the mix will be freshman Antione West Jr., who still remains a potential redshirt candidate. Jack Benter will be eligible after taking a redshirt last season, while forward Raleigh Burgess is set to redshirt unless something forces him into action.
Notable Departures
- G Myles Colvin (5.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 31% 3PT)
- F Camden Heide (4.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 39% 3PT)
- F Caleb Furst (4.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG)
- C Will Berg (1.8 PPG, 1.3 RPG)
Incoming Transfers
- C Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State | 17.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 63% FG)
- F Liam Murphy (North Florida | 13 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 42% 3PT)
Incoming Freshmen
- 4-Star SG Antione West Jr.
- 4-Star PG Omer Mayer
Notable Returning Players
- G C.J. Cox (6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 40% 3PT)
- G Gicarri Harris (3.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 31% 3PT)
- C Daniel Jacobsen (6.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG)
- F Trey Kaufman-Renn (20.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 60% FG)
- G Fletcher Loyer (13.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 44% 3PT)
- G Braden Smith (15.8 PPG, 8.7 APG, 4.5 RPG, 38% 3PT)
The Schedule
- 11/4 – Evansville
- 11/7 – Oakland
- 11/13 at Alabama
- 11/16 – Akron
- 11/20 – Memphis (Baha Mar Championship – Bahamas)
- 11/21 – Texas Tech or Wake Forest (Baha Mar Championship – Bahamas)
- 11/28 – Eastern Illinois
- 12/2 – at Rutgers
- 12/6 – Iowa State
- 12/10 – Minnesota
- 12/13 – Marquette
- 12/20 – Auburn (Indy Classic – Indianapolis)
- 12/29 – Kent State
- 1/3 – at Wisconsin
- 1/7 – Washington
- 1/10 – Penn State
- 1/14 – Iowa
- 1/17 – at USC
- 1/20 – at UCLA
- 1/24 – Illinois
- 1/27 – at Indiana
- 2/1 – at Maryland
- 2/7 – Oregon
- 2/10 – at Nebraska
- 2/14 – at Iowa
- 2/17 – Michigan
- 2/20 – Indiana
- 2/26 – Michigan State
- 3/1 – at Ohio State
- 3/4 – at Northwestern
- 3/7 – Wisconsin
- 3/10-15 – Big Ten Tournament (Chicago)
Matt Painter has consistently scheduled up and that trend will continue once again this season. A week into the season Purdue will travel south to once again face Alabama, while their early season trip to the Bahamas will see them face Memphis and then either Texas Tech or Wake Forest. Also included on the schedule are home games against Iowa State and Marquette, as well as a rematch against Auburn in Indy the week before Christmas. The first two months will provide plenty of tests and obstacles for Purdue and Painter is once again hoping to prep his team for March.
Purdue does draw a favorable start to league play with Rutgers and Minnesota in December and a five game start in 2026 that should see Purdue favored in every game outside of possibly a road trip to Madison against Wisconsin. There is an eight game stretch starting in mid-January that includes six road games, including at UCLA and Indiana, and is immediately followed by a three game home stretch against Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State. The schedule does Purdue no favors but it should help people find out if Purdue is for real or not this season.
Biggest Obstacle
Managing expectations.
There’s some rotation questions heading into the season, with the big one being if Cox and Harris can step up in their sophomore seasons with an expected higher usage rate. Either way both players need to be more active on the offensive side of the ball or Painter could be forced to turn elsewhere. It also remains to be seen just how well a starting five with both Kaufman-Renn and Cluff inside will be, with the chance of potential clogging the lane.
While the rotation will likely get worked out as the season gets under way, the massive expectations will put a lot of pressure to perform this season. Purdue and company have largely met those expectations for awhile now, at least when it comes to performance in the regular season. A few bad losses in the NCAA Tournament have been wiped from recent memory after a run to the title game two seasons ago and a narrow defeat in the Sweet 16 to the national runner-up last March.
Realistic Expectations
Entering the season as the top ranked team the expectations are relatively simply: contend for a Big Ten title, contend for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and make a run into April. Winning the Big Ten and earning a top seed will of course be secondary to success in the postseason, with more fans looking ahead to the possibility of a title in 2026.
This team has a ton of returning talent, a ton of incoming talent and one of the most consistent coaching staffs in the nation. That alone should put this Purdue team in the race for another Big Ten title and high tourney seed. At this point anything else would be a massive disappointment.
Big Ten Prediction: 1st Place
