Pharrel Payne Officially Returning to Maryland Men's Basketball

The Terps' big man was granted a waiver for another season after sustaining a knee injury last December.

Dec 2, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins center Pharrel Payne reacts after dunking during the second half against the Wagner Seahawks at Xfinity Center. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

When Buzz Williams and the Maryland Terrapins missed out on five-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr., there was at least a silver lining in having a veteran big coming back to College Park instead.

At least, that had been the implication.

Pharrel Payne intended to spend his senior season with the Terps, but he only appeared in 10 games before being shut down for the remainder of the 2025-26 season with a nagging knee injury.

He applied for a medical hardship waiver, and while he was technically just over the typical 30% of games played cutoff, there was never much indication that the NCAA would deny his request.

But as the offseason dragged on and no official word was given, there may have been some lingering doubts creeping in... until now.

According to Maryland Director of Athletics Jim Smith, Terps fans can lose any fears of the worst case happening: Payne has been granted his waiver.

"We're going to get Pharrel Payne back," Smith said Monday during an interview with Rick Pizzo of the Big Ten Network. "He was the linchpin to the team, and when he went down, it was going to be a really hard season, and it was."

"We're really excited to see what happens this upcoming year."

Rick Pizzo spoke with @umterps AD Jim Smith on #B1GToday about @TerrapinHoops' upcoming season. pic.twitter.com/LgUkhHM13J

— Maryland On BTN (@MarylandOnBTN) June 22, 2026

Payne was Maryland's top scorer throughout the non-conference slate, averaging 17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists - all career highs - while shooting 62.4%.

Following his injury on December 13, the Terps went a combined 6-15 the rest of the way to finish 12-21 - the worst overall record among Big Ten teams. Only Penn State had a worse conference record than Maryland's 4-16 mark.

Before joining the Terps, Payne played one season under Buzz Williams at Texas A&M, also averaging double figures, and two before that with Minnesota. Now the 6'9" super senior will be a crucial piece in Buzz's year two roster.

Guard Andre Mills is the only other significant contributor to return from last season. Instead, Maryland is mainly composed of a strong transfer class of six players.

The group features three of 247 Sports top 150 transfers - all of whom were established starters at their previous homes of Arkansas, New Mexico, and Tennessee - as well as another starter from Boston University.

Also joining the program are four freshmen, including local five-star prospect Baba Oladotun. Put together, the Terps are widely regarded as having one of the nation's top incoming crops.

Schedule-wise, the upcoming season is largely set. The Terps have their conference opponents set, as well as these six non-conference ones:

• A home game against old ACC foe Virginia on Friday, November 13.

• Three games in Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival, beginning with Tenessee on Tuesday, November 24.

• A return to Baltimore to face South Carolina on Saturday, December 19.

• Another local trip to face Georgetown in D.C. at a to-be-determined date.

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