Boise State basketball has plenty of new faces. Coach Leon Rice assesses them
In the immediate aftermath of Boise State men’s basketball’s loss to hapless San Jose State in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament last March, head coach Leon Rice declared he needed to go “hunting for some dawgs” in the offseason.
Boise State failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and was never really in the picture, and Rice hinted at an offseason of upheaval if the Broncos wanted to be competitive in the new Pac-12.
And that’s exactly what happened. Just one starter from last season — rising junior forward Pearson Carmichael — is returning in 2026, while five players arrived via the transfer portal.
Rice met with the media for the first time since March on Monday afternoon and said he was looking to make Boise State more “athletic.” Last year’s team certainly felt unbalanced in that regard, with too many shooters and not enough large bodies inside to provide a balance on offense.
“You look at that (2021-22) team with Abu (Kigab) and Emmanuel (Akot), and those kinds of guys, we were big, long and athletic,” Rice said. “No giants in the middle, no 7-footers, but we were big at every position, and strong.”
Here’s what Rice had to say about each newcomer. The class listed will be for their 2026-27 season.
Ty Rodgers - Redshirt senior guard
Rodgers is arguably Boise State’s marquee addition this spring, joining from Illinois after a couple of injury-stricken seasons. Before missing the entirety of the past two seasons, he was a key player in Illinois’s run to the Elite Eight in 2023-24, starting all 38 games.
Rodgers previously played under Rice when the latter was an assistant coach for the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team in 2022. Rodgers played alongside current NBA players such as Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs) and Jared McCain (Oklahoma City Thunder), and averaged 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as the U.S. won gold.
“He’s the guy you count on day in and day out; he can do everything,” Rice said. “He can guard five positions, the highest of character, the greatest work ethic.”
Rodgers is expected to make more of an impact on defense than on offense as a high-motor, versatile defender. New assistant coach Max Rice also described Rodgers as a “unique player” who’s going to be “very special” for the program.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas - Redshirt senior guard
Wheeler-Thomas arrives at Boise State off the back of an NCAA Tournament appearance with North Dakota State. He’s likely to be the Broncos’ starting point guard in 2026.
“(Rodgers) and Damari, there’s no gym that we can walk into that they’re going to be intimidated by,” Rice said. “They can walk into some place, and they’re not tourists or sightseers, and that’s the value of experience. ... It’s something to have those guys kind of be the leaders.”
In his final season with the Bison, Wheeler-Thomas started all 32 games and averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. In his final game, against No. 3-seeded Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, Wheeler-Thomas scored a team-high 16 points.
Jerquarius Stanback - Redshirt sophomore forward
Stanback was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference defensive player of the year in his first full year of competition with Alabama State, and Rice said Monday that Stanback reminds him somewhat of former forward Naje Smith.
“I saw some similarities with Naje, the way (Stanback) can make plays no one thinks he could get to,” Rice said. “... He’s a bigger version (of Smith), so I think he’s one of those guys with a tremendous upside because of his athleticism.”
Listed as 6-foot-9, Stanback started all 32 games for Alabama State in 2025-26, averaging 8.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks while shooting 52.2% from the field. Across the entirety of men’s college basketball last season, Stanback was one of just six players to average at least eight points, five rebounds, one steal and two blocks.
Dovydas Butka - Junior forward
Butka began his career with Pepperdine before transferring to Campbell for his sophomore season.
Despite the large jump in talent that Butka will see in the Pac-12, Rice said he watched Butka play against Gonzaga and Wisconsin last season, and was highly impressed. Butka had a team-high 19 points against Gonzaga, and eight points and eight rebounds against the Badgers.
“He’s got that mindset that he can score on anybody one-on-one in the post,” Rice said. “There aren’t many guys that are like that in college basketball anymore, that think they can just go down to score in the post.”
Jikany Deang - Junior center
Deang is another player taking a big step up, arriving after two years at North Dakota State College of Science. The 6-foot-11 center not only adds size, but also offers a dangerous shooting component from beyond the arc.
He averaged a team-second-best 17.6 points last season, while shooting 46.3% from the field, 36.2% from 3-point range and 81.5% from the free throw line. He also averaged 9.2 rebounds per game.
“His ability to shoot the 3 ... he reminds me a little bit of a young (former Bronco) Ryan Watkins,” Rice said. “The way he moves, his feel for the game, and his good hands that you can’t teach with big guys, that’s what I’m really excited about.”
