2022 Record: 31-4 (16-2)

Head Coach: Pat Kelsey (Career Record 234-114) (Charleston Record 48-19)

Projected Rotation:

PG: CJ Fulton (Lafayette 10.4 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 5.0 Ast)

SG: Reyne Smith (10.8 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 1.3 Ast)

SF: Bryce Butler (West Liberty 22.4 Pts, 7.6 Reb, 3.6 Ast)

PF: Frankie Policelli (Stony Brook 13.7 Pts, 9.4 Reb, 1.8 Ast)

C: Ante Brzovic (11.6 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 0.9 Ast)

6: SG Kobe Rogers (Nova Southeastern 12.8 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 2.3 Ast)

7: PF Ben Burnham (8.8 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 0.5 Ast)

8: SF Mayor Wol

9: PG Jordan Crawford (RS)

10: C James Scott

11: PG Evan Kilminster (RS)

12: SG Khalil London (RS)

13: PG Jack Miller (0.5 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.1 Ast)

Charleston returns starters Reyne Smith and Ante Brzovic this upcoming season. Smith is a rising junior from Australia who is a great three point shooter. He’s a career 36% three point shooter but has the potential to be shooting in the 38-40% range. Nearly 90% of the total shots Reyne Smith takes are from beyond the arc. Brzovic is a former Division 2 transfer out of Southeastern Oklahoma State. He was the 2nd leading scorer for the Cougars last season. In addition to being very sound around the rim, Brzovic also has the potential to stretch the floor where he shot 30% from 3 at 6-10 on 3 attempts per game. Ben Burnham is also returning for the Cougars this upcoming season. The 6-7 forward adds great depth off the bench as he averaged nearly 9PPG last season. Burnham is another player that adds to the elite three point shooting of the Cougars as he shot 45% from beyond the arc this past season.

Charleston also used the transfer portal to add guards CJ Fulton from Lafayette and Kobe Rogers from Nova Southeastern. Rogers is a D2 national champion who averaged 13PPG with Nova Southeastern last season. He is a very athletic guard that is able to score on all three levels and defend at a high level as well. Rogers will bring that winning culture and mindset that Charleston looks for in the transfer portal. CJ Fulton is a point guard transfer coming over from Lafayette. Fulton is an elite passer who averaged 5APG last season with the Leopards. Fulton, an Ireland native, will fill the void left by the recently graduated Ryan Larson.

Charleston also got transfer commitments from forwards Frankie Policelli and Bryce Butler. Policelli from Stony Brook is a 6-7 forward who also previously played for Dayton. He has great length at the position and excels on the defensive side of the ball. Entering his 5th season, Policelli could be in line to have his best season of his career even with the rise in competition. Policelli also shoots free throws at an 80% clip and is a fantastic rebounder who could even average a double double next season. Bryce Butler was a highly productive player at the Division 2 level last season and he has a chance of being the leading scorer for the Cougars next season. Butler averaged just over 22PPG on a D2 team that went 33-4 and made the D2 national championship game. He also shot 59% from the field overall and 44% from beyond the arc. Butler also plays bigger than he is as he grabbed nearly 8 rebounds per game being 6-5.

Charleston also returns 3 players that redshirted on their roster last season. The players are: guard Evan Kilminster from Australia, guard Jordan Crawford from North Carolina, and guard Khalil London from New York. All of them have potential to crack the rotation this season and just needed a year of getting adjusted to the college game in order to generate productivity. The Cougars also got 2 commitments in the 2023 class. Charleston signed 4 star forward Mayor Wol who had offers from many high major programs and could be a key player in the Cougar rotation. They also got a commitment from 3 star center James Scott who had offers from a variety of MM+ programs.

It’s going to be very tough for Charleston to repeat and win 30 games like they did last season considering some of the losses they had this offseason. Charleston will still, however, be the favorite in the CAA going into next season. The expectation for them is to win both the regular season and conference tournament titles earning them another trip to the big dance. It won’t be an easy ride though. Some teams that can challenge the Cougars are: Drexel, UNCW, Towson, and Hofstra.