West Virginia got the kind of news every coach wants in June: Brenen Lorient is back. And when you start stacking his return against what other Big 12 teams are adding through the 5-for-5 ruling, the Mountaineers have a real case for one of the conference’s better frontcourt wins.
Lorient’s decision matters because he wasn’t just another body in the rotation. Last season, he put up 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks per game for West Virginia, and now he’s one of just three returners in 2026 - and the only one who actually started a game.
That’s a serious piece to keep in Morgantown, especially after he was also tied to the separate lawsuit that could still make him, along with Javan Buchanan, eligible to play this season. For now, though, the bigger takeaway is simple: WVU kept a coveted forward who other schools clearly wanted, and Ross Hodge’s connection to him helped seal it.
Across the league, the 5-for-5 ruling has produced some notable gains, but not all of them land on Lorient’s level.
Arizona addressed a major need at the 4 by landing Clemson transfer RJ Godfrey. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward averaged 12 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Tigers last season, including a 14-point outing against West Virginia.
He brings production, but not the same system familiarity Lorient already has. That makes this a strong addition for Arizona, though maybe just a shade below WVU’s retention because of the continuity factor.
Cincinnati also benefited by bringing in a familiar face for Jerrod Calhoun: MJ Collins Jr. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game with a 61.1 TS% for Utah State last season, and he should step right into the starting lineup.
The concern is the backstory - Collins struggled badly across three seasons with two different high-major programs before finding his footing with Calhoun in 2025. Still, recent history suggests Mountain West transfers can translate at a strong rate, and Collins has the numbers to make that leap.
Even so, the Lorient-Buchanan package feels stronger in a vacuum.
Houston’s addition is more of a fit play than a headline grab. The Cougars picked up Texas guard Chendall Weaver, a tough, useful role player who fits right into Kelvin Sampson’s style.
Weaver averaged 5.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game for the Longhorns last season. He should help, but Houston’s backcourt is crowded, so the real question is how much he’ll actually play.
Then there’s Texas Tech, which may have landed the biggest overall haul in the conference. The Red Raiders got back All-Conference talent Darrion Williams, a 6-foot-6 point forward who had back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons in Lubbock from 2023-24.
In 2024, he posted 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 stocks before transferring to NC State, where he was productive but not quite at the same level. Now he’s back with an extra year.
Tech also added UCF transfer Jamichael Stillwell, who averaged 11.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists last season and ranks among the league’s best rebounders. He may have to play small-ball 5 until JT Toppin returns, and his rim protection is a real concern, but the Red Raiders still look like the conference’s biggest winners, and they may not be finished.
Utah is also part of the conversation.
In Other News...
WVUs 2026 Backfield Already Has One Unsettling Camp Question
West Virginias backfield picture for 2026 already has a question mark hanging over it, and it centers on freshman running back SirPaul Cheeks. He is not currently listed on the roster, and the situation has only gotten murkier as summer has gone on, even though the Mountaineers still have two scholarship spots available and have been sorting through roster decisions tied to other players working through eligibility issues.
Rich Rodriguez has made it clear he is not going to push out current players to create room for fifth-year options or transfers, which only adds to the uncertainty around how the roster will settle. Cheeks also had been working back from an ACL injury, but with little recent update on his status, the larger concern is whether he is still on track to join the program at all, or whether the Mountaineers will have to plan around a backfield that may look different than expected before camp even fully takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginias Rebuilt Defense Faces Early Test Up Front
West Virginias defense is almost unrecognizable from a year ago, with a near-complete turnover in the two-deep and a reworked front that now includes junior college and FBS additions at defensive line and bandit. As preseason practice ramps up and scrimmages begin, Rich Rodriguez is getting his first extended look at how the new pieces fit together, while a few returning veterans could be asked to step into bigger starting roles.
For a unit still sorting out its identity, the early test comes up front, where the Mountaineers need the new personnel to come together quickly enough to handle the physical demands of camp. The staff has brought in bodies to compete and raise the floor, but the real questions are how fast the line can gel and which of the holdovers can stabilize a defense that has been rebuilt from the ground up. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Heads Into The Opener With Key Starting Jobs Still Unsettled
Rich Rodriguez used his final media session before next Wednesday to give a broad update on where West Virginia stands as the opener approaches, and the answer in several spots is still very much up in the air. He talked through position battles, player conditions and the way some players are shifting into coaching roles, while also clearing up a few eligibility questions and pointing to the progress made by transfers and younger players.
What stood out most was how much of the roster remains in competition mode even with game week here. Rodriguez stressed the technical side of football and the need for the Mountaineers to keep sharpening detail before the games begin, but he stopped short of settling every starting job, leaving a little mystery around how the lineup will look when the season finally kicks off. [Read more 🡒]