Boeheim’s Army has its full group in place for next week’s run at The Basketball Tournament, and the Syracuse-connected squad is bringing a mix of familiar names, fresh legs and a little revenge into Walsh Gymnasium.
The team opens against Hall In, the Seton Hall alumni group, on Tuesday, July 21, and the roster is now set with six former Orange players and four additions from outside the Syracuse pipeline. The Syracuse contingent had already been announced: Buddy Boeheim, Jimmy Boeheim, Wes Johnson, Eric Devendorf, Elijah Hughes and Cole Swider.
The new names round out the lineup with some useful variety.
Ty Nichols is the most eye-catching addition. He’s the same player who lit up Boeheim’s Army for 36 points in last year’s tournament, powering “We Are D3” to an 81-78 win in the second round of the 2025 TBT at the Onondaga Community Center. This time, Nichols is on the other side after connecting with general manager Shaun Belbey during the offseason and reaching an agreement to join the squad.
Boeheim’s Army also added Tyson Walker, a 25-year-old guard who most recently played in Australia’s NBL after a strong college career at Michigan State. Walker gives the backcourt another layer as the team chases the tournament’s $2 million prize.
Up front, the roster gets size and experience from JaCorey Williams and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu. Williams, 32, is currently playing in Greece after starring at Middle Tennessee State.
He was Conference USA Player of the Year in 2017 and helped lead the Blue Raiders to the NCAA Tournament. Akobundu-Ehiogu, 26, played at Memphis and checks in as the tallest player on the roster at 6-foot-10.
He’s known for rim protection and shot-blocking, and he also played with Jimmy Boeheim in Germany, which helped open the door.
There are still three injured reserve spots attached to the roster, though those players have not been announced.
Boeheim’s Army has to win two of three games against Hall In to move on. Game 2 is set for Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m. at the Onondaga Community Center, and if the series goes the distance, Game 3 will be played Friday, July 24, at 7 p.m.
In Other News...
Syracuse Fans Are Reopening A Recruiting Wound That Never Really Healed
Syracuse fans have been revisiting an uncomfortable pattern from the past decade, and the conversation has a way of circling back to the same place. The Orange have taken swings at highly regarded recruits, only to watch injuries, fit issues or a mismatch between promise and production keep those stories from ever fully landing the way everyone hoped. Donnie Freeman, Naithan George, Chance Westry and Benny Williams all fit somewhere on that spectrum, which is why their names keep surfacing whenever fans start sorting through the programs recent recruiting history.
What makes the debate linger is that none of these cases is simple, and the article makes clear it is offering an opinion rather than a verdict on the players themselves. Westrys path has already included a transfer and a fresh start, George has moved on after one season, and Williams remains the kind of prospect whose arrival once felt like a program-changing win. Freeman, meanwhile, is the latest reminder that even the brightest recruiting gains can come with a catch, and the full impact of his Syracuse chapter still feels like a story that has not quite finished writing itself. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Has A Receiver Fans Need To Reconsider Right Now
Elijah Moore arrived at Syracuse in January after starting his college career at Florida State, and the redshirt sophomore wide receiver is now in position to matter more than he did in his first season with the Orange. After a quiet 2025 in which he appeared in 10 games and finished with three catches for 52 yards, Moore is one of the names worth keeping in mind as Syracuse reshapes its passing game.
The timing matters because the Orange have moved on from their top receivers, opening the door for someone like Moore to climb the depth chart quickly. With a bigger role possible in the passing attack, he could become a much more visible piece of the offense and, in the right setup, a real third option in a spread look. [Read more 🡒]