2025-26 Big Ten offseason at a glance: Maryland Terrapins

Welcome to “Big Ten offseason at a glance,” a team-by-team look at the conference at the start of the summer. We’ll examine roster movement for each Big Ten roster and give an early outlook for each Big Ten program for the 2025-26 season.

Previously: Rutgers, Penn State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska

Today: Maryland (27-9 overall in 2024-25, 14-6 in Big Ten play)

Last year was an eventful one in College Park, especially in March. The Terrapins surged to a 27-9 record and tied for second in the Big Ten behind the “Crab Five,” headlined by Big Ten freshman of the year Derik Queen. Queen drilled a buzzer-beater to advance Maryland to the Sweet 16 before falling short to eventual national champs Florida. Then, head coach Kevin Willard – in the midst of March Madness – leveraged his way to the Villanova coaching vacancy. Now, Buzz Williams takes over.

Maryland’s roster movement

Players returning with eligibility: None

Players departing due to exhausted eligibility: Julian Reese, Jordan Geronimo, Selton Miguel

Players departing for the NBA draft: Derik Queen

Players departing via transfer portal: Rodney Rice (to USC), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (to Tennessee), DeShawn Harris-Smith (to Georgetown), Braden Pierce (to Villanova), Malachi Palmer (to Villanova), Jahari Long (to George Mason), Chance Stephens (to Minnesota), Jayhlon Young (to Bryant), Tafara Gapare (to Villanova)

Players arriving via transfer portal: Myles Rice (from Indiana), Pharrel Payne (from Texas A&M), Solomon Washington (from Texas A&M), Andre Mills (from Texas A&M), George Turkson Jr. (from Texas A&M), David Coit (from Kansas), Rakease Passmore (from Kansas), Elijah Saunders (from Virginia), Isaiah Watts (from Washington State), Collin Metcalf (from Northeastern)

Players arriving from high school/overseas: Darius Adams (247sports Composite top 25), Guillermo Del Pino, Aleks Alston, Jaziah Harper

Last year’s success carries no weight for Maryland’s upcoming season – it’s a complete overhaul with a completely new roster and new coaching staff. That being said, Williams has secured a top-20 transfer class, currently comprising ten commits. Four players follow Williams from Texas A&M, with top 40 transfer Pharrel Payne the main attraction. Six of the 10 are ranked inside the 247Sports Composite top 150. Metcalf finished inside the top 10 nationally in total blocks and blocks per game.

What to like about Maryland

There’s a lot of talent on this roster. Payne has developed into a solid big and has experience in the Big Ten – he started his career at Minnesota for two years. Rice is the former Pac-12 freshman of the year and while his sophomore campaign at Indiana didn’t as expected, there were still flashes of the electric potential he displayed in Pullman. Darius Adams was a McDonald’s All-American who has great size for a guard and will only continue to improve.

The Terrapins are well-balanced. They have a rotation of guards who provide a blend of shooting and facilitating, they’ll probably run a three-guard lineup given their roster configuration. Payne will provide an offensive threat inside while Metcalf will serve as a rim protector. Maryland boasts a few proven shooters and more who can score at the rim.

Buzz Williams is a good floor raiser, too. He’s only had four sub-20-win seasons in 17 years of high-major experience, and that was even before the transfer portal era. How he fits in the Big Ten will be interesting, but his teams are usually consistent.

What to question with Maryland

The Terps are another Big Ten program that epitomizes the transfer portal era – the definition of unpredictable. On paper, this appears to be a solid team, but who knows how it will truly translate on the court?

This is a relatively small team. Maryland’s guard depth is far better than its wing depth and the post size caps out at 6-foot-9. In a Big Ten league where size and physicality matter most year after year, the Terrapins will be at a disadvantage in those regards.

Maryland’s outlook for the 2025-26 season

Home: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Washington

Away: Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC

Home/Away: Illinois, Iowa, Rutgers

Maryland follows up last year’s top-10 finish in Bart Torvik’s rankings with current projections of 10th in the Big Ten and inside the top 35 nationally.

This looks to be a solid team and the middle of the pack in a loaded Big Ten seems pretty accurate. The new regime won’t contend for a Big Ten title, but it should be in the NCAA tournament mix at the very least.

(Photo credit: Maryland Athletics)

Category: Commentary

Filed to: 2025-26 Big Ten preview, Maryland Terrapins