Purdue’s roster is changing fast, but the Boilermakers still have a clear transfer headliner for 2026-27: Caden Pierce.
That matters because this is not a team being rebuilt from scratch. Matt Painter is coming off a run that included a trip to the national championship game in 2024, then a 30-win season and an Elite Eight appearance this past year. Even with that kind of success behind them, the Boilermakers are headed into a very different look in West Lafayette.
The departures are significant. Braden Smith is off to the NBA, Trey Kaufman-Renn is gone too, and Fletcher Loyer has run out of eligibility.
Oscar Cluff also leaves after giving Purdue a strong frontcourt piece. But the foundation beneath those exits is still sturdy.
Purdue brings back most of the depth chart, and that means rising juniors C. J.
Cox and Daniel Jacobsen are set for bigger jobs. Omer Mayer is also expected to take over at point guard in his second college season.
Painter’s roster construction continues to lean heavily on retention and development, and the incoming class fits that mold. Four-star point guard Luke Ertel is viewed as a Top 50 prospect, while fellow four-stars Jacob Webber and Sinan Huan should have chances to contribute soon. The five-man group also includes two three-star bigs, Rivers Knight and Jamyn Sondrup.
Still, the transfer who changes the picture most is Pierce, because he’s the only portal addition Purdue is bringing in. The 6-6 forward from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, spent his first three seasons at Princeton and built a reputation as one of the Ivy League’s best scorers. As a sophomore, he posted 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors before his production dipped slightly in his junior season.
Pierce sat out last year, but he arrives as a redshirt senior ready to give Purdue a veteran presence in the frontcourt. Painter and his staff are clearly betting that he can rediscover the kind of pop he showed three years ago, when he led the Ivy League in field goal percentage and stood out as one of the more dangerous scoring wings at the mid-major level.
That’s why Pierce looms so large for this group. Purdue will look different, and the preseason expectations may not be as loud as they were a year ago. But with Cox, Jacobsen and Mayer all stepping into bigger roles, and Pierce set to be part of the mix, it would be a surprise if the Boilermakers weren’t still near the top of the Big Ten standings.
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Purdue Just Set Up A Brutal Test Before Visiting Hilton
Purdues 2026-27 nonconference slate is already looking like a stress test, and not the kind that lets a team ease into winter. The Boilermakers finalized a schedule that stacks up with Gonzaga, Iowa State, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Colorado, plus eight opponents that finished in the top 100 of the NET rankings last season, a clear sign Matt Painter is not interested in a soft landing before Big Ten play ramps up.
There is also an exhibition against defending national champion UConn before the games count, which only adds to the edge of the early calendar. For Purdue, the bigger picture is obvious: by the time it gets to Hilton, it will have already spent weeks navigating a gauntlet designed to reveal plenty about where this group stands, even if one of the most intriguing personal matchups on the schedule is still waiting to unfold. [Read more 🡒]