Cincinnati Misses Out On Any Chance To Add Potentially Impactful Transfer

Now that Jerrod Calhoun has taken over the Bearcats, it is his turn to assemble a staff and a team that is prepared to win immediately.

In the era of collegiate athletics that we live in today, (whether right or wrong) sometimes the easiest thing to do is to look at your old team and try your best to sway players to your new stop.

With Calhoun leaving the Utah State Aggies before taking the Cincinnati job, it would be entirely natural for fans of the Bearcats to take a keen interest in any Utah State player who hits the portal.

But earlier today, the biggest possible name Calhoun could have landed for his new school has ruled himself out of leaving.

Mason Falslev Announces His Return To Utah State

🏀 MWC POY Mason Falslev will be staying at Utah State for his final season of college basketball ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/fY3DMJRJDU
— The Bearcat Bunch (@bearcatbunch) April 6, 2026

Falslev would have jumped to the top of not only Cincinnati’s prospect board, but of many other high-major programs as his 16 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game last season would demand.

Here is a list of accolades from this past season alone that proves why he may have been a pretty big get for the Bearcats.

Mountain West Player of the Year, All-Mountain West First Team, Mountain West All-Defense Team, and lastly the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Falslev’s 2025/26 campaign was the fact that he did it on 51.4% from the field, including 39% from beyond the arc.

Falslev's season high of 27 points came in Utah State's narrow 85-83 win over Wyoming in early February.

Falslev’s stats are backed up by John Hollinger’s gamescore metric, where the junior guard has a 14.2 average game score. A 10 is what Hollinger labels as “average.”

Calhoun and general manager Corey Evans are on the hunt for players as good or better than the USU star.

"I remember Corey when he was just getting into scouting and starting," Calhoun said about Evans at his opening press conference. "Corey is a prime example of getting in the business and understanding the sky's the limit, right? If you put your head down, you work, you get better, you try to grow. College basketball has changed, and I think you need a general manager. 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."

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