Richard Pitino knew he had some work to do if he wanted Xavier to be better in his second year as coach.
So he hit the transfer portal and grabbed seven new players to go with four freshmen.
“We just need to take everything one day (at a time) with so many new guys,” said Pitino, whose team went 15-18 overall and 6-14 in the Big East last season. “We have the ability to be a really good defensive team. We are long, we are physical and we have got willing defenders.”
The Musketeers open the season on Monday when they host Mount St. Mary’s in Cincinnati.
Jovan Milicevic is the only returning player who saw the court last season. He was selected to the preseason All-Big East third team after averaging 12.4 points in 2025-26.
The biggest addition is Mike Nwoko, who started 29 of 32 games for LSU last season, averaging 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. He also was named to the preseason third team.
“Mike was extremely productive and efficient last year,” Pitino said. “He’s a terrific scorer in the low post and can provide rim protection on defense. We expect him to make an immediate impact.”
Others expected to help get Xavier back on track include elite defender Tru Washington, perimeter shooter Ruben Dominguez, Italian forward Gabriel Pozzato and new point guard Chance Westry, who transferred from UAB and has also played at Syracuse and Auburn.
Meanwhile, the Mountaineers are coming off a 15-17 season with an 11-9 record in the Metro Conference.
Third-year coach Donny Lind hopes he has fixed a lot of the issues from last season, after making the NCAA Tournament in his first year in 2024-25.
“This time of year there is a lot of hoping that the guys we brought in can play,” Lind said. “Last year, I learned just how slim the margin of success is. One guy’s mental state can make a big difference. So, we tried to build a tighter group this year.”
The Mountaineers are led by Abdou Khadre Kebe, who was named first-team all-conference in the preseason. Kebe started 13 of his 22 games last season, scoring 7.7 points and collecting 5.6 rebounds per game.