FSU basketball offseason thread: Tracking departures, pickups and returning players

Twelve months ago, Luke Loucks took his first-ever head coaching job and transitioned from the NBA into college basketball. He had only a few weeks to hire a staff, learn the roster, and get prepared for the portal before it opened. With a first-year head coach and a roster made up of mostly mid-major players, most outlets picked Florida State to finish at the bottom of the ACC.

Instead, Loucks proved the general public wrong and delivered a proof of concept for what his tenure at Florida State can hold.

FSU finished the 2025-26 season on a tear, winning 10 of its final 13 games and finished three inches shy of defeating Duke in the ACC tournament. Instead of being a program in question, Seminoles basketball is on the rise, with people from all over the country calling.

What a difference a year makes.

“We get a lot of calls from a lot of different people,” Loucks told the local Tallahassee media at his end-of-season press conference about the excitement around his program. “Especially when you (start gaining) steam and winning games and building a real program that people want to be a part of…Currently, you have agents reaching out to us, and not vice versa.”

However, the head coach will need to bring in multiple players from the portal to replace the six seniors leaving, including do-it-all point guard Robert McCray V, and other players departing the program, to maintain its trajectory.

“I could see anywhere from three to five (portal pickups). Some of that will be dependent on how much money I can raise. I’m not just going to fill a team with players just to fill a team with players. You have to bring in impactful players that can help you win, and that are about the right things.”

We’ll be tracking all the moves FSU men’s basketball makes this offseason including portal pickups, departures and returning players. The portal officially opens Tuesday, April 7, with official visits beginning on the 10th. The 21st marks the closure of the transfer portal window with the 30th serving as the final day of the recruiting period.

FSU basketball: Portal departures

Quick analysis: Miles saw his playing time dwindle as the year went on and did not see action in either ACC tournament game. His departure is not a surprise, as he began the year in the rotation and quickly fell out of it, while he holds multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Quick analysis: Muhammad became an impactful, veteran leader for a Florida State team that was thrown together at the beginning of the year. The senior also held his own when asked to suit up, but, like Miles, he was not a consistent rotational piece. It is unclear whether he has eligibility left to keep playing college basketball.

Quick analysis: Somerville turned into FSU’s sixth man this year and became Florida State’s best ball handler besides Robert McCray V. The sophomore carried the Noles at multiple points during the season, including dropping 23 points against Virginia Tech and recording seven assists in round one of the ACC tournament. Florida State will now need to replace its two best ball handlers, Somerville and McCray, in the transfer portal.

FSU basketball: Portal additions

The transfer portal has not yet opened.

FSU basketball: Returning players

Freshman guard Jasen Lopez (early enrollee, dual-sport athlete)

FSU basketball: High school prospects

Signees

Bass Jr., a four-star recruit, averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.2 steals as a junior. He set the Windermere Prep school record for most points scored in a game, 43, during the 2024-25 season.

Bass Jr. (6-5, 190) played in the NBPA Top 100 Camp in the summer of 2025. He played in the invitation-only 2025 Pangos All-American Camp and the 3SSB circuit All-American Camp in 2025. He averaged 13.7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist on the 3SSB AAU circuit.

Paul (6-7, 225), a four-star recruit, averaged 13.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals during his junior season at Calvary Christian Academy. Playing with SOH Elite this spring, Paul averaged 16.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks on the Under Armour AAU Circuit. During the 2025 UAA Session I, Paul was a standout as he was named as the Defensive MVP and to the All Session I First-Team.

He played in the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp in the summer of 2025.

Ponder (7-0, 285) averaged 9.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, and 2 blocks while shooting .500 from the field as a junior at West Oaks Academy during his junior season.

Ponder, a four-star recruit, played in the 2025 Nike/Slam New York vs. New York game and in the NBPA Top 100 Camp during the summer of 2025. Ponder was the MVP of the Grind Session All-Star game in 2025. He led Team Breakdown to back-to-back national championships on the New Balance P32 circuit.