Duke basketball didn’t lose a scholarship player to the transfer portal ahead of the 2025-26 season.
But the Blue Devils will likely have to replace their entire starting lineup from a team that swept the ACC championships and made the Final Four.
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Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor have declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. Khaman Maluach, a projected top-10 pick, is expected to do the same before the early entry deadline on April 26. Sion James, who spent his graduate year at Duke, is out of eligibility.
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Still, the Blue Devils will have some stability with the return of four rotation players: Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba and Maliq Brown. Head coach Jon Scheyer also brings in another top recruiting class, featuring headliner Cameron Boozer.
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Ahead of his fourth season, Scheyer also figures to add a few players via the transfer portal. Focusing on the players committed to play for the Blue Devils in the 2025-26 season, here are the most important pieces on the roster, as of April 23.
Isaiah Evans
High school recruiting hasn’t been a problem for Duke and the Blue Devils struck gold in the transfer portal last season. But roster continuity is another key element to building a championship squad. Isaiah Evans will be a big part of that as a sophomore after experiencing highs and lows in his first season. The 6-foot-6 wing made multiple 3-pointers in 17 games, including five in a row during his best stretch of the season, as a 41.6% shooter from beyond the arc. Evans can fill it up in a hurry, but his continued development as a defender will be vital for a team replacing several high-quality stoppers.
Caleb Foster
His sophomore season didn’t live up to preseason expectations, but Foster isn’t running away from the challenge of becoming a consistent contributor for the Blue Devils. As a junior guard, Foster will be expected to lead as a facilitator and defender. He had some key March Madness moments in the postseason, but Duke needs more consistency this season. Foster had eight games with double-digit points in each of his first two seasons. He’ll be asked to level up as a veteran next season.
Maliq Brown
Even when he was hindered by a shoulder injury, Brown found a way to terrorize opponents with his knack for defending and racking up deflections. Brown ended the season with hundreds of deflections and was among Duke’s best passers as an undersized center. With Flagg and (likely) Maluach gone, Brown could be Duke’s starter alongside Cameron Boozer. He’ll have a chance to be the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Patrick Ngongba
Arguably Duke’s most surprising contributor last season, Ngongba’s journey started with preseason injuries that carried over from him missing his senior year of high school. Because of that rocky start, Ngongba was positioned to play a limited role for the Blue Devils. By the end of the year, he became the first big off the bench to replace Maluach. The 6-foot-11 center played double-digit minutes in 11 of the final 14 games. With his footwork, passing and rebounding, Ngongba could put Duke’s frontcourt up there among the best in the nation.
Cameron Boozer
Not to diminish the importance of Cayden Boozer and Nikolas Khamenia, but Cameron Boozer has the potential to be the Blue Devils’ go-to player next season. The latest prospect to arrive in Durham as a one-and-done talent, Cameron Boozer is the first two-time Mr. Basketball USA winner since LeBron James. The 6-foot-9 forward is an all-around terror on both ends of the court, capable of being a double-double threat on a nightly basis for Scheyer’s squad. He’ll be among the favorites to win ACC Player of the Year.
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Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Isaiah Evans, Duke basketball most important players on 2025-26 roster
