The name, image and likeness era has changed the landscape of college sports. Whether it has changed it for better or worse is up for interpretation, but one thing is certain: Athletics at Ole Miss have benefited from the portal.
Head Coach Lane Kiffin has turned the football program from a solid team into one that fans expect to compete for championships. A major reason for this change is that he and his staff have built the roster in an NFL-style manner by going after players that best fit the program.
Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Beard and Women’s Basketball Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin have drawn national attention to their programs after Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament this season. Both look to reload for another run next year.
Football
Some of the bigger names out of the portal haul came in the winter window. They addressed some of the team’s many needs after losing several key contributors from last season’s squad.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Rebels got some key additions up front with experienced Arkansas transfer Patrick Kutas and UAB transfer Delano Townsend. There were a few questions surrounding the offensive line last year and how well it could protect quarterback Jaxson Dart. Kiffin and recruiting coordinator Kelvin Bolden have made the offensive line a priority this season.
The Rebels have also added weapons for Austin Simmons, expected to be the starting quarterback next fall, to distribute the ball to. Caleb Odom, Harrison Wallace, De’Zhaun Stribling and Luke Hasz will be joining Cayden Lee and incoming five-star Caleb Cunningham as pass-catchers for the Rebels.
Plus, Kiffin added running backs Kewan Lacy and Damien Taylor to bolster the backfield.
The additions on this side of the ball will ease some of the pressure on Simmons in his first year as starter.
In an attempt to steal the “Portal King” moniker from Kiffin, defensive coordinator Pete Golding has had another great run. With former portal additions Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen and Trey Amos all drafted into the NFL, Golding was in search of some big names to fill those gaps.
Golding replaced one Umanmielen with another, acquiring Princely’s brother, Princewill, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It has yet to be determined whether the latter can replicate what the former did in 2024, but the early indications are promising.
Golding also earned a commitment from LSU transfer and former five-star edge Dashawn Womack. It will be interesting to see how the interior of the Rebels’ defensive line is set up after losing Nolen and JJ Pegues, but the edges on either side will be very talented.
Arkansas transfer Jaylon Braxton and Washington State transfer Kapena Gushiken will aid the secondary.
The cherry on top is Western Kentucky transfer Lucas Carnerio, who will replace Caden Davis as kicker.
Basketball
The basketball portal for both men’s and women’s teams is fairly fresh given that the season officially ended under a month ago. Still, both Beard and McPhee-McCuin have already begun rebuilding their rosters.
So far, Beard has four incoming portal recruits: AJ Storr, Koren Johnson, Corey Chest and Augusto Cassiá.
Storr is perhaps the most promising of that group. He had a breakout sophomore season at Wisconsin in 2023-24, averaging 16.8 points per game (PPG). He played at Kansas last season but averaged only 6.1 PPG. Ole Miss will be Storr’s fourth team in four years of college basketball.
Similar to Storr, Johnson had a breakout sophomore season before transferring. In 2023-24 with Washington, Johnson averaged 11 PPG, nearly doubling his average from his freshman season. Johnson comes to Oxford from the University of Louisville, where he played in only two games before suffering a season-ending injury.
LSU transfer Chest will give Beard size and athleticism inside with his 6-foot-8, 210-pound frame. In his freshman year with the Tigers, Chest averaged 6.8 PPG on 4.3 shots a game.
Butler transfer Cassiá committed to the Rebels on April 28. The power forward averaged 5.1 points in 10 games with the Bulldogs before injuring his knee.
At 6-foot-8, Cassiá should give the Rebels even more size on the interior; additionally, Cassiá will rejoin former teammate Edouardo Klafke, whom he played with a few years ago in the NBA Academy Latin America.
On the women’s side, McPhee-McCuin added several players. Cotie McMahon committed to Ole Miss from Ohio State. She was one of the most highly sought recruits in the portal. McMahon averaged 14.4 points last season and was an All-Big Ten First Team selection in 2024 and 2025.
A pair of Mississippi State transfers, Denim DeShields and Debreasha Powe, produced solid numbers for the Bulldogs. They averaged 5.7 points and 8.5 points, respectively.
Latasha Lattimore is a 6-foot-4 senior transfer from Virginia. Lattimore averaged 14.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game last season for the Cavaliers. Ole Miss will be the fourth team she has played for.
