Matt Painter Confirms Purdue Plans to Add to 2026-27 Roster
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Purdue's roster for the 2026-27 season is already in great shape, but head coach Matt Painter says it isn't set just yet. The Boilermakers are still looking to add one more player to next year's team.
During the latest episode of the For Pete's Sake podcast, Painter was asked about next year's team. Specifically, he was asked if the roster is set for the 2026-27 campaign, with 10 players returning, four freshmen joining the program and Caden Pierce committing to the team via transfer portal.
"We're still working," Painter said. "We're still going to take another guy."
Painter did not provide any specifics regarding what type of player the Boilermakers are looking for, though it is likely they would be pursuing a player who could add depth to the four or five spot.
Purdue may still be pursuing another player, but Painter really likes the returning talent and newcomers to the program.
"I'm excited about it," he said. "I think we have a good group."
The Boilermakers return only one starter from last year's team: C.J. Cox. However, they do bring back several key role players, including Jack Benter, Omer Mayer, Gicarri Harris and Daniel Jacobsen. Raleigh Burgess and Antione West Jr. are coming off redshirt seasons.
What is Purdue's frontcourt situation?
Even if Purdue didn't add another big man to next year's roster, it's in pretty good shape from a depth perspective. The Boilermakers return Jacobsen and bring in 7-foot-1 freshman Sinan Huan. They also have multiple guys who slot into the four spot, including Burgess, Benter, Pierce and freshman Rivers Knight.
But the Boilermakers are looking to replace a lot of production from those two positions. Starters Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn did a lot of damage in the post, specifically on the glass and in the paint.
Combined, Cluff and Kaufman-Renn averaged 24.8 points and 15.8 rebounds per game. Those are some big shoes to fill.
Jacobsen came off the bench and averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds last season. Burgess didn't play during the 2025-26 campaign, but did average 1.9 points and 1.3 boards per contest as a true freshman in the 2024-25 season.
The biggest addition to the frontcourt, at least on paper, was getting Pierce from the portal. Like Burgess, the former Princeton star did not play last season, choosing to recover from injury, utilize a redshirt year and enter the transfer portal.
Pierce was the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year and averaged 11.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in three years at Princeton.
Heading into the season, Purdue has plenty of depth at each position group. Can the returning frontcourt fill the shoes left by Cluff and Kaufman-Renn?
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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