Maryland Basketball: 2 Terrapin transfers make ESPN's Top 100
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Facing a complete rebuild from last season, head coach Buzz Williams needed to hit the transfer portal hard to build his Maryland roster. He ended up bringing in 9 players from the portal, including 4 players who followed him from Texas A&M to College Park.
According to ESPN's latest rankings, two of Williams' transfers cracked the Top 100 heading into the 2025-26 season.
No. 52: Pharrel Payne, PF
Payne is one of those players who followed Williams from Texas A&M to College Park, and he's viewed as the biggest pickup out of the portal for the Terrapins. ESPN notes that Payne put together back-to-back games of 25+ points to close out his career with the Aggies, and that he should see an increase in his 10.4 point scoring average from last season.
Via ESPN:
"We've seen Payne produce at the Power 5 level, and we've seen him produce in Buzz Williams' system. As a result, the fit at Maryland -- especially with two other Texas A&M transfers around him -- should come without issue. We're expecting him to make a jump statistically in College Park."
No. 87: Myles Rice, G
The transfer guard from Indiana is projected to be Maryland's starting point guard for the 2025-26 campaign. Although the Hoosiers struggled mightily last year, Rice averaged 10.1 points and 2.8 assists per game, along with shooting 32.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Via ESPN:
"Rice took a step back going from Washington State to Indiana, but a season in the Big Ten should help him under Buzz Williams in College Park. As things stand, Rice is the likely starting point guard for the Terrapins and will look to regain his freshman form."
The folks in College Park understand that the basketball program is in the midst of a significant transition from where it was last year, but the expectations remain high. Buzz Williams is an experienced head coach who's achieved plenty of success during his 18 years at the collegiate level, as evidenced by his 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. And his roster, while new, is loaded with experienced guys who know how to win at this level.
The staff and the roster may be new, but the goal for Maryland remains the same in 2025-26.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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