Rutgers is deep into summer work on the basketball side, and the early July picture is starting to come into focus. The Scarlet Knights have new faces in the mix, but the bigger storyline right now is the group that came back and spent the offseason making real strides.
Sophomore point guard Lino Mark stood out Tuesday, and head coach Steve Pikiell made it clear the expectation level is rising.
"Last year at this time he was sore, he didn't practice," Pikiell said of Mark last week. "It's good, you know, it's good.
He's a veteran guy now, and he's improved his shooting, he's improved his ball handling. He's going to have a good year for us -has to, has to.
Got to keep them healthy."
Rutgers was not at full strength that day. Will Sydnor and Martin Tonejc both sat out, with Sydnor working back from a sprained ankle and Tonejc dealing with a blister issue on his feet. Pikiell said both should return this week, and he also had plenty to say about Sydnor’s profile.
"He is very athletic," Pikiell said of Sydnor. "And he is high energy and he is competitive.
…He likes to play, he likes to practice. He is a worker.
He gained some weight since he's been here but very bouncy and big and can put the ball in the basket. He likes to score."
Another player drawing attention is Virginia Tech transfer center Christian Gurdak, who appears to be settling into the role of Rutgers’ new man in the middle. He’s already looking ahead to the physical challenge ahead.
"The ACC was physical, and I can imagine it's not even close to the Big Ten. So I'm excited to see, I mean, I know I'm going to be physical, and you know those guys, I'm going try to make them adjust to me to a degree," Gurdak said.
"But I'm ready, ready to see it. We got some good out of conference games too, at Houston, Syracuse.
We got some wars ahead of us."
Pikiell also said the roster still isn’t finished. Lewis Duarte has not yet been able to gain a waiver from the NCAA, so it does not appear he will join the team, but more help is expected.
"We are going to add a couple more pieces, we are going to be much improved."
On the football side, Rutgers is in one of those rare quiet stretches before training camp gets going, with coaches away on vacation. Even so, there was still news to track last week.
Wide receiver KJ Duff added another preseason honor, landing on the Walter Camp Preseason All-America Second Team. The Walter Camp Foundation’s selections are the oldest in college football, dating to 1889, and only four wide receivers were named across the preseason teams nationally.
Duff already has an Academic All-Big Ten selection on his résumé, and his 2025 season put him in the conversation with the nation’s top pass-catchers.
There was also a notable Rutgers-to-the-NFL update. Former quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, now with the Washington Commanders after being selected in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, said Rutgers played a major role in getting him there.
"I wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere else. Coach Schiano, you know, in terms of life, in terms of situations, prepared us better than I think anybody now, and anybody else in the country can possibly prepare you," Kaliakmanis told Scarlet Nation.
In Other News...
PFF Just Put KJ Duff Among College Footballs Elite Again
KJ Duff keeps showing up on the kind of lists that usually reserve space for the sports most established playmakers. Pro Football Focus placed the Rutgers wide receiver at No. 27 heading into the next season, a nod to the breakout year that made him one of the Big Tens most dangerous targets and Rutgers first 1,000-yard receiver since Leonte Carroo in 2014.
Duffs value goes beyond the box score, too, with his contested-catch ability giving the Scarlet Knights a reliable answer when plays break down. The bigger question now is who will be throwing him the ball, because Rutgers is still sorting out its quarterback competition and the winner will inherit a clear No. 1 target with preseason All-American buzz already attached. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Pikiell Sees A Different Rutgers Backcourt Taking Shape
Rutgers is heading into the season with a backcourt that looks a lot more established than it did a year ago, and Steve Pikiell is leaning into that shift. Lino Mark, Tariq Francis and Kaden Powers are all back, giving the Scarlet Knights a trio of guards who have already logged meaningful Big Ten minutes and, in Pikiells view, grown into the kind of players the program can build around. Marks development as a more polished, sturdier option, Francis scoring punch and Powers expanded role all point to a group that should feel less like a work in progress and more like a real foundation.
There is still some roster business left to sort out, though, and that keeps the full picture from coming into focus just yet. Rutgers is still waiting on the status of guard Luis Duarte, while the staff also wants to add two more frontcourt players before the offseason is over. So even as the backcourt takes shape, the final version of this team still depends on how the rest of the roster fills in around it. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Golf Just Got Another Huge Chris Gotterup Moment
Chris Gotterup keeps giving Rutgers golf another reason to brag, and this latest one came at the John Deere Classic. The former Scarlet Knight closed with a bogey-free 9-under 62 at TPC Deere Run, finishing at 20-under par and adding another PGA TOUR title to a rsum that keeps growing fast.
For Rutgers fans, the appeal goes beyond one hot week. Gotterup left New Brunswick as one of the most decorated players in program history, and this win only sharpens the sense that his game still has room to climb. The John Deere also carries extra meaning in his pro story, which makes this latest breakthrough feel less like a surprise and more like another checkpoint in a career that is starting to stack up big moments. [Read more 🡒]