A Full Roster Reset is Here and Much Needed For UTEP Basketball

The Miners are losing virtually all of their returning players for the 2026-27 season as they prepare for their first year as a member of the Mountain West Conference. After a disappointing 11-20 finish this past year, a huge disappointment in what was supposed to be a building season under head coach Joe Golding, the program faces a complete roster overhaul.

Golding will embark on his sixth season at the helm of an entirely new group. The Miners’ best players from the 2025-26 season are gone, either through graduation or the transfer portal. All Conference forward Jamal West Jr. exhausted his eligibility, while the trio of Kaseem Watson, Caleb Blackwell and Elijah Jones all hit the portal. If UTEP theoretically had a hit list of players to keep, surely these three would have been priority keeps.

Then, came the next wave of transfer portal entries from the 2025-26 team. Players like David Tubek, Tyreese Watson, KJ Thomas, Bobby Montgomery Jr., C.J. Smith, LA Hayes and Trey Horton III all hit the transfer portal over the past week.

El Pasoan Jordan Hernandez and Mouhamed Mbaye are the only ones that haven't officially entered the portal.

The players who will be on next year's roster include a trio of high school graduates from Brennan (SA): Donovan Criss (No. 9 recruit in TX by 247Sports), Isaiah Ward (No. 20 recruit in TX by 247Sports) and Delano Tarpley (6-foot-11 center). Seven-footer Alexandre K'Medehouto from South Plains College rounds out the signed player group for UTEP. Based on previous years, the Miners shouldn't expect these four players to immediately contribute. Theoretically, these are players they would like to see mature over time.

After a disappointing finish to last year's season, a complete roster overhaul is much-needed for a program searching for success entering the Mountain West, a league with more depth and talent than Conference USA. The Miners will go from competing in a one-bid league to facing teams that routinely push for NCAA Tournament at-large bids.

UTEP is expected to have considerably more NIL money available for the 2026-27 season. That financial boost could give Golding and his staff a stronger hand in the portal to fill the void left behind. Even though they will have more NIL resources to pull from going into next year, most teams across college athletics project to add spending power through NIL due to revenue sharing taking shape across mid major leagues like the Mountain West. College basketball could experience a bit of an "inflation" on specific players over the next several years because of this.

For now, the focus shifts entirely to this offseason. Every position needs to be addressed. Though it's unclear at this point, new assistant coaches could be in play. The Miners must find scorers, defenders, and, most importantly, players who can develop chemistry quickly in a brand-new system and conference.

How Golding and his staff navigate the portal amid the increased NIL landscape over the next several months will set the tone for UTEP basketball in the Mountain West era. One this is certain: the program needed a breath of fresh air.