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Samford reloads around Cooper Noard and Brandon Fussell after major losses, but an unproven frontcourt could limit its SoCon title hopes.
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Samford tied for second in the Southern Conference in Lennie Acuff's first season. The Bulldogs went 18-14 and 11-7, then lost to Furman in the quarterfinals in Asheville, 86-81. It was their third loss to Furman of the season. Jadin Booth was the league's player of the year. Dylan Faulkner was a first-team pick. Between them they scored 46 percent of Samford's points, and neither is back.
The league's coaches picked Samford fourth with 70 points, eight behind Wofford and 11 ahead of Chattanooga. Cooper Noard, a two-time All-Ivy guard from Cornell, made the preseason all-conference team before playing a game in the league. That is a vote of trust in Acuff, and in the shooter he found to replace Booth.
Seven players from last year's roster are gone. Together they scored 1,844 of Samford's 2,525 points, about 73 percent. They also made 223 of the team's 310 threes.
Booth was the best scorer in the league. He started all 30 games he played and averaged 21.6 points, the top mark in the SoCon. He made 127 threes at 43.6 percent and shot 86.9 percent from the line. He was the first Samford player to win SoCon player of the year, and he was also the newcomer of the year. He was a graduate student and is out of eligibility.
Faulkner was the inside half. The 6-foot-9 junior followed Acuff from Lipscomb and averaged 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds in 30 starts. He shot 61.7 percent and led the team with 44 blocks. He made first-team All-SoCon and the all-defensive team. He transferred to Clemson.
Keaton Norris was the point guard. He started all 28 games he played, averaged 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds, and led the team with 136 assists. He was a redshirt senior and is out of eligibility. Jaxon Pollard, a graduate forward, averaged 3.2 points and 3.7 rebounds and is also done.
Kam Martin averaged 5.7 points in all 32 games and scored 17 at New Mexico State. He transferred to Denver. Zion Wilburn averaged 4.6 points and scored a career-high 18 at The Citadel. He transferred to Georgia State. DaJion Humphrey, a graduate guard from Bowling Green, tore his Achilles in an exhibition and never played. He is not on the 2026-27 roster.
That is the player of the year, a first-team big man, and the guard who got them the ball. Samford is replacing its top three scorers and its assist leader at once.
Cade Norris is the most important returner. He started 31 of 32 games as a sophomore and averaged 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. He shot 45.3 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three. He took about six shots a game next to Booth and Faulkner. That number has to go up.
Isaiah Campbell-Finch is the other piece of the young core. The 6-foot sophomore started 19 of 29 games as a freshman and averaged 7.4 points. He scored in double figures nine times and had a career-high 21 against Texas Southern. He shot 42.1 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three.
Will Shaver is the big man who was already in the program. The 6-foot-10 redshirt senior has played at North Carolina, UAB, and Samford. He averaged 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in about 10 minutes a game and blocked 17 shots. Those minutes have to get longer.
Judson Bjornstad, a 6-foot-8 junior, averaged 2.2 points in 24 games. Caleb Harrison, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, played 13 games. JD Gossett redshirted after a 32-2 senior season at Huntsville High. Zach Lamey, Corey Brown, Joshua Hughes, and Cooper Davenport round out the group.
Acuff added seven transfers and one freshman. Most of them come from bench roles at bigger programs or starring roles at smaller ones.
Noard is the headliner. He started all 28 games at Cornell last season and averaged 18.2 points. He shot 50.0 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three, and 90.3 percent from the line. He made 80 threes. He led the Ivy League in scoring in the regular season, scored 34 at Kent State, and made second-team All-Ivy for the second time. He scored more than 1,000 points at Cornell. Samford beat Cornell 93-90 last December.
Brandon Fussell is the Division II star. He started 79 of 90 games over three seasons at Montevallo and averaged 17.3 points, 5.4 assists, and 2.1 steals last season. He made first-team All-Gulf South. He once scored 50 in a game. He is the most natural replacement for Keaton Norris.
Najimi George started 29 of 30 games at New Haven and averaged 11.2 points and 3.6 rebounds. He scored 21 against Wagner.
Ty Davis played two seasons at Creighton. He made 11 starts last season but averaged 1.2 points and 1.2 assists in 11.3 minutes. Win Miller played three seasons at Belmont. He averaged 2.9 points last season and shot 40.5 percent from three. Both are from the Birmingham area.
Braeden Macvicar is a 6-foot-11 forward from Coastal Carolina. He averaged 6.1 points and 4.0 rebounds as a freshman with 16 starts, missed 2024-25, and averaged 2.6 points last season. Lawson Lee is a 6-foot-11 freshman from Battle Ground Academy who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds and was a finalist for Tennessee Mr. Basketball. Bradley Kemp, a 6-foot-7 forward from Mount Paran Christian, is the other new face.
The backcourt should score. Noard, Fussell, Cade Norris, and Campbell-Finch can all shoot, and Fussell and George can get to the rim. Booth took a huge share of the shots. Now the shots get spread across four or five guards. That can work. Samford made 9.7 threes a game last season, and Noard alone made almost three a game at Cornell.
The question is inside. Faulkner was the center for long stretches at 6-foot-9. He had 12 double-doubles before the tournament. Nobody on the roster has done anything close to that at the Division I level. Shaver, Macvicar, and Lee are the options. Shaver has never averaged more than 10 minutes. Macvicar's best year was two seasons ago. Lee is a freshman. Samford outrebounded opponents by less than one a game last year, with Faulkner. Without him, the glass is the worry.
The point guard spot is open too. Keaton Norris had 136 assists. No returner had more than 66. Fussell is the likely answer.
Samford plays three exhibitions: Alabama A&M at Boutwell Auditorium on Oct. 13, then at Jacksonville State and at Auburn. The season opens Nov. 2 against Berry. The nonconference road games are at UNLV, USC Upstate, Georgia Tech, UAB, Presbyterian, and Alabama. Wright State and UNC Asheville are the best home games.
League play starts early, at Tennessee Tech on Dec. 5. Wofford visits on Dec. 19. Samford plays at Chattanooga on Dec. 22. ETSU comes to Birmingham on Jan. 2, and the Bulldogs play at Furman on Jan. 6.
The middle of January is softer. The Citadel, VMI, and UNCG all visit, with trips to Mercer and Western Carolina in between. Then the top of the league comes back around. Samford plays at Wofford on Jan. 30 and hosts Furman on Feb. 3. It plays at VMI on Feb. 13 and hosts Chattanooga on Feb. 18. Mercer is the home finale on Feb. 24. The regular season ends at ETSU on Feb. 27. Samford won at Freedom Hall in overtime last season.
Samford lost the league's player of the year and a first-team big man. It replaced Booth with the Ivy League's leading scorer and Keaton Norris with a Division II guard who averaged 17 points. It did not replace Faulkner.
Fourth is a fair pick. If Noard scores like he did at Cornell and Fussell runs the offense, Samford can finish in the top three again. If the frontcourt cannot hold up against Furman and ETSU, the Bulldogs will score plenty and still finish in the middle of the league.
