Cincinnati Bearcats Continue to Build Roster, Add Big Man in Transfer Portal

Jerrod Calhoun and the Cincinnati Bearcats continue to add to their roster. They added Deshaun Vaden from Mount Union on Friday afternoon. Vaden has two years of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-11 center should give Cincinnati’s defense a major boost.

Vaden finished with 102 blocked shots last season, including a career-high eight blocks against Case Western Reserve. He averaged 15.6 minutes per game. Vaden was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He appeared in 29 games.

“We are extremely excited about Deshaun joining the Bearcat family,” Calhoun said in a statement. “His ability to impact the game on the defensive end will be a big boost for our front line. He has strong intangibles with size and length and, with his significant improvement in just a short time playing basketball, has room to grow substantially in our system.”

Vaden started playing basketball in the seventh grade and has quickly developed into a quality defender. He averaged five points and 4.8 rebounds last season on 64.2% from the field. He scored a season-high 15 points against Muskingum.

Vaden gives the Bearcats another big man to lean on defensively.

Roster Update

The Bearcats have reeled in 12 transfers from across the nation. According to 247Sports, Cincinnati currently ranks as the third-best Big 12 school, and No. 21 overall. Only Houston and West Virginia are ahead of the Bearcats.

"So we want to identify guys that want to be part of the University of Cincinnati's campus community and it's been really good. I'll be honest, I'm really excited where we're at. We just have to finish the last couple spots, we're going to get some developmental guys probably at the end of this, but we're just a couple pieces away,” Calhoun said last month. "We've hit on almost every kid that's come on our campus. I think whatever we've signed, we've only not gotten one commitment (from players who visited). So I think the first and foremost is we're not wasting our time bringing in kids and chasing kids we can't get right. That's one thing that Coach (Rollie) Massimino taught me years ago in recruiting: some guys spend more time chasing guys they can't get."

Welcome to Cincinnati, @DeshaunVaden!

📝: https://t.co/wVCDVow6zJ pic.twitter.com/snln4AuH6t
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) May 15, 2026

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