Syracuse has contacted transfer forward who was top defensive player in his league

Syracuse basketball is among the college teams that have reached out to Stephen F. Austin transfer big man Jerald Colonel, who was the top defensive player in his conference this past season.

According to a post on X from Tobias Bass of The Athletic, since the transfer portal opened on April 7, the 6-foot-9, 200-pound Colonel has heard from schools including the Orange, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, LSU, SMU, USC, Seton Hall and Texas A&M, among others.

In the 2025-26 season, Colonel was a senior at Southland Conference member Stephen F. Austin, although he has played two seasons of basketball at the junior-college level. He competed for Northwestern State in 2024-25 and for two campaigns before that at Chipola College, a JUCO program in Marianna, Fla.

This past term, Stephen F. Austin went 28-6 overall and competed in the NIT. Colonel averaged 25.0 minutes, 5.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.6 blocks and 0.9 steals per game while connecting on 50.4 percent from the field.

For his efforts in 2025-26, Colonel, who hails from Savannah, Ga., was named the Southland Conference's defensive player of the year and resided on the league's All-Defensive team.

In 2024-25 at Northwestern State, another Southland Conference school, Colonel averaged 20.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per affair while hitting on 58.0 percent from the field. He was named to the Southland Conference's All-Defensive squad in 2024-25 as well.

Syracuse basketball needs more front-court players for its 2026-27 roster.

This past term, when the Orange went 15-17 overall, the 'Cuse wasn't good on defense. SU allowed 74.2 points per game, which was No. 11 in the 18-member Atlantic Coast Conference. That makes a transfer big man such as Colonel appealing.

The transfer portal opened this past Tuesday and will run through April 21. New head coach Gerry McNamara and his staff are relying on the portal and other recruiting avenues to build out their roster for the 2026-27 campaign.

SU freshman guard Kiyan Anthony and fellow freshman Sadiq White Jr., a forward, are returning next season. On Saturday afternoon, the Orange secured a pledge from McNeese State junior Garwey Dual, a four-star combo guard in the transfer portal.

Beyond Dual, McNamara & Co. have picked up pledges from Siena transfers Gavin Doty, a four-star sophomore guard, and Tasman Goodrick, a junior power forward/center. The 'Cuse has also landed Slovenian wing Mark Morano Mahmutovic, who is a four-star prospect in the 2026 class.

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