Boeheim’s Army has its final Syracuse-connected piece for 2026, and it came together the old-fashioned way: with Gerry McNamara picking up the phone.
Cole Swider, who once told Boeheim’s Army general manager Shaun Belbey that he wasn’t going to play in The Basketball Tournament, is now on board after McNamara made the pitch that mattered. Belbey had been after Swider for a while, but pro contract situations kept the former Syracuse forward out of the mix until now.
Swider’s answer changed after a call from the coach who first brought him to Syracuse.
“Gerry called and said, ‘Hey, we need you,’ ” Swider said. “When he told me that, I was like, all right.
I’d do anything for him. That made my decision very easy.”
Belbey said the phone call did the heavy lifting.
“I’m not sure what was said on that call,” said Belbey, SU’s new video coordinator. “But GMac was able to seal the deal for me.
Cole texted me after that phone call and said, ‘I’m in. Let’s do it.’
”
For Swider, the timing made sense. He was coming off what he called a difficult season in Turkey, where he played for Anadolu Efes and went through three coaches in one year. Even though he said he loved EuroLeague basketball, the season was unstable and left him in and out of the rotation.
“It was a pretty hectic year,” he said.
His one-year deal expired, his agent was already taking calls, and Swider was spending the summer sorting through what came next. Then McNamara reached out.
The connection between the two goes back to St. Andrew’s School in Rhode Island, when McNamara recruited Swider as an Orange assistant.
Swider originally chose Villanova, then transferred to Syracuse after three seasons with the Wildcats. McNamara stayed in touch through all of it, even when other coaches moved on after Swider’s college decision.
That relationship helped Syracuse when Swider entered the transfer portal in 2021, and it helped again this time.
In his lone season at Syracuse, Swider started all 33 games and averaged 13.9 points, a team-high 6.8 rebounds and 41.1% shooting from 3-point range. He played alongside Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim in 2021-22 and said his Boeheim’s Army commitment means he’ll be back with both of them and “wear the Orange again.”
Swider has long said Syracuse helped revive his college career, and now he becomes the latest former Orange player to join the Boeheim’s Army core. The 6-foot-9 forward is the last Syracuse-connected player to be added to the roster.
“He’s just a really good player. He’ll probably be one of the best 3-point shooters in the tournament.
Him and Buddy (Boeheim) will probably be going head-to-head for it,” Belbey said. “I think he’s going to be one of the best players in the tournament.
He’s going to surprise people with how much better he’s gotten since he left Syracuse.”
The roster currently stands at six players: the Boeheims, Wes Johnson, Elijah Hughes, Eric Devendorf and Swider. Boeheim’s Army still needs four more players, all without Syracuse ties, and Belbey expects to announce two point guards and two centers next week. Under new TBT rules, a 10-player roster must include six players with Syracuse connections.
Swider, 27, finished his college career as a 43.2% 3-point shooter. In the pros, he bounced around NBA organizations and G League teams in Los Angeles, Miami, Indiana, Detroit and Toronto. He was the darling of the Lakers’ 2025 Summer League, but said he was not offered a contract afterward.
Last season was his first abroad, and by the end of it he was ready for a change. He said he grew tired of the constant movement, the two-way uncertainty and the grind of that lifestyle. Istanbul, on the other hand, gave him something to enjoy, both culturally and on the court.
In 30 EuroLeague games, he averaged 5.3 points and shot 48.1% from 3-point range, going 38-for-79. In the Turkish pro league, he averaged 7.6 points and shot 35.6% from deep.
Swider and Anadolu Efes agreed to part ways after the season, and he and his agent are now looking through next season’s options. He wants another EuroLeague opportunity.
For now, though, he’s in Las Vegas supporting Buddy Boeheim, who is playing for Oklahoma City in Summer League. Swider said the trip also gives him a chance “to remain relevant a little bit.”
And after a rough year overseas, he’s looking forward to getting back on the floor with familiar faces and chasing a piece of the $2 million prize pool.
“I think it will be great just to play in that environment,” Swider said. “I’m excited to play.”
Boeheim’s Army opens July 21 against Hall In at Seton Hall’s Walsh Gymnasium. Game 2 is July 23 at the War Memorial in Syracuse, with a possible Game 3 there on July 24.
If Boeheim’s Army advances, it will face the winner of the Kentucky-Louisville alumni matchup on July 26. Teams must win five games to claim the $2 million prize.
In Other News...
Kiyan Anthony Opened Up About His Emotional Adrian Autry Goodbye
Syracuses frustrating 2025-26 season ended with a 15-17 record and six straight losses, and the final blow came in the ACC tournament against SMU. The next morning, the university moved on from Adrian Autry, closing out a tenure that had plenty of pressure attached to it long before the last game was over. For Kiyan Anthony, the change landed with the kind of emotion that usually follows a season spent around a coach every day, not just the kind of news cycle that follows a bad finish.
Anthony said he had a real relationship with Autry and spent the season getting a closer look at what the job demanded, even through the rough patches. He also addressed the benching at Virginia, saying Autry framed it as a basketball decision rather than a punishment, which gives a little more context to how the year unfolded behind the scenes. With Syracuse now heading into a new era, Anthonys perspective is one more reminder that the end of a coachs run is never only about wins and losses. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Browns Biggest Syracuse Fix Is About To Be Tested
Syracuse spent last season getting shoved around on defense, and the numbers told the story. Opponents averaged 5.27 yards per carry and 6.5 yards per play, a rough backdrop for a program trying to reset its identity, which is why Fran Brown and his staff spent the offseason reworking that side of the ball with several new faces on the defensive staff.
One of the most important additions is Vince Kehres, brought in from Toledo to help reshape the unit with an emphasis on effort, tackling and teamwork. His previous defense was far sturdier than Syracuses was a year ago, and now the real test is how much of that can carry over once the Orange start sorting out the details in camp, from the corners role in supporting the run to whether the pass rush can be rebuilt with help from the transfer market. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Adds Another Overseas Guard As Backcourt Questions Keep Growing
Syracuses backcourt continues to take shape with another overseas addition, as the womens basketball program has signed French point guard Claine Ricco for the upcoming season. Ricco arrives with a steady international rsum and is in the middle of representing France at the under-20 EuroBasket Tournament, where she has remained part of the national team pipeline after previous runs with Frances under-18 and under-19 squads.
For Syracuse, the move fits an offseason that has leaned heavily on players with international ties while the roster still has room to grow. The Orange currently list 13 players, and with SMU transfer Tyi Skinner expected to be the lead option at point guard, Ricco looks like another piece in a backcourt picture that is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]