Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Adding Veteran Center From 2026 Transfer Portal

The Bearcats added their first center from the 2026 transfer portal on Monday. Sam Kayser reports that George Mason center Riley Allenspach is playing his final college season with the Bearcats.

The 6-11 big fella posted 13.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this past season. An All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection, he ranked second in the A-10 and 36th nationally in field goal percentage (.566).

Transfer Impact

Mar 21, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Samford Bulldogs center Riley Allenspach (35) shoots against Kansas Jayhawks guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) during the second half in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Allenspach shot 56.6% from the floor and can shoot the three a little bit at his size as well (31.3% on 2.1 attempts per game). The veteran started his career at Samford before transferring to George Mason for the past two seasons.

He's a great offensive rebounder, ranking fifth in the A-10 with a 10.2% offensive rebound rate this past season. Allenspach figures to compete for a starting job and, at a minimum, should be a solid backup big man as the sixth, seventh, or eighth option on the roster.

His addition marks another highly efficient player to join Jerrod Calhoun's first team. Allanspech ranked second in the A-10 this past season with a 24.4 Player Efficiency Rating.

It marks Cincinnati's fourth transfer addition this cycle, joining Towson's Tyler Tejada, Wake Forest's Myles Colvin, and Utah State's David Iweze. Expect a bunch more transfers to commit throughout this week.

"College basketball has changed, and I think you need a general manager," Calhoun said about the roster build at his opening press conference. "I think you need somebody outside the coaching staff who can negotiate those contracts. I think the general manager and the coach have to be on the same page ... The relationship has to be two-way. I'm not a yes guy. I like confrontation every once in a while in a coaching meeting, but we have to be very aligned on the style of play we're going to play, and more importantly, the character of the player.

"We're not going to compromise talent over character. That ain't going to work, I can tell you that. And you know, if we can get to the NCAA Tournament back-to-back years, doing it the way we are, with the resources we had, now, you add bigger resources, you get good evaluations, you implement the plan. We should not just want to get into the NCAA Tournament. We should be wanting to advance week by week and get back to a Final Four."

Check out highlights from Allenspach's game below:

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