Most college sports fans saw Thursday’s news that the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four, turning it into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

We already talked about what expansion means for both Ole Miss programs, and it’s still way too early to know which teams will actually benefit next season. But you know that won’t stop anyone from trying.

NCAA.com analyst Andy Katz posted his first 76‑team projection Friday morning, based on his initial Power 44 rankings for 2026‑27. Katz or his model must really like what Ole Miss has done this offseason. The Rebels show up at No. 39 in the Power 44 and land as a No. 10 seed in the South quadrant.

🚨 FIRST 76-TEAM BRACKET PREDICTION 🚨@TheAndyKatz makes his first bracket prediction for the 2027 tournament, complete with matchup projections for the new Opening Round 🔮 pic.twitter.com/hNeK8q7QDe

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 8, 2026

Again, it’s early. The last season ended a month ago. Ole Miss shouldn’t start booking hotel rooms in Pittsburgh just yet.

Still, this tells us two things about Ole Miss and the new tournament format.

First, it’s going to be hard for a middle‑of‑the‑pack SEC team to miss the field now. Second, if the bracket had been at 76 teams this past season, the committee would’ve had a real decision to make about the Rebels.

Maybe they get in. Maybe they don’t. Did they deserve a spot? Probably not, and adding eight more at‑large bids doesn’t change that much.

But the future looks better now for Ole Miss.

Full seed list from @TheAndyKatz ✍️ pic.twitter.com/fN4jvq9w83

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 8, 2026

Andy Katz’s Initial Power 44

1. Duke

2. Florida

3. Michigan

4. Illinois

5. Tennessee

6. UConn

7. Arizona

8. Arkansas

9. Texas

10. Michigan State

11. Vanderbilt

12. Virginia

13. Kansas

14. Houston

15. Louisville

16. Alabama

17. Nebraska

18. Iowa State

19. Purdue

20. USC

21. Gonzaga

22. St. John’s

23. Miami (FL)

24. Indiana

25. Missouri

26. VCU

27. Saint Louis

28. UCLA

29. Ohio State

30. BYU

31. Iowa

32. Texas A&M

33. North Carolina

34. Providence

35. Baylor

36. Wisconsin

37. Auburn

38. Xavier

39. Ole Miss

40. Marquette

41. Texas Tech

42. Kentucky

43. Maryland

44. New Mexico

It’s been two weeks since the transfer portal window closed, and after a slow start, Ole Miss is finally nearing the end of its roster‑building phase.

The Rebels have added seven transfers, plus TJ Clark who committed back in December. Four‑star recruits Jaron Saulsberry, Yohance Connor and Daniel Patton are also on the way this summer.

Those 10 newcomers will join Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins, the only returning Rebels, to form the foundation of next year’s roster.

The question is whether that’s enough, and whether Chris Beard is actually done adding.

The honest answer is maybe and probably not.

Nobody knows yet if this group will be better or worse than what Ole Miss just put on the floor.

There’s no headline addition, but that doesn’t mean the roster can’t mesh, grow together and avoid needing a miracle run in March.

There’s also the chance it looks like last season, when the pieces never fully clicked.

Given the current guard‑heavy build, it feels likely Beard will look for more frontcourt help. Stefan Cicic gives Ole Miss a true 7‑footer and Santiago Trouet adds more size, but the Rebels could still use another proven interior presence.

One name to watch is former Florida Atlantic forward Devin Williams, who has reportedly met with Ole Miss over Zoom and is visiting Arizona this week. Williams finished fifth nationally in blocks last season at 2.58 per game, which would give Beard a real defensive anchor inside.

In the end, Ole Miss won’t know what this roster really is until the group gets on the floor together, but the picture is at least starting to take shape.

Beard has rebuilt almost the entire program for the second straight offseason, and there’s still room for one or two more pieces to round it out.

Whether this version ends up being better, worse, or simply different from last year’s team is impossible to know in May, but the next additions will tell us plenty about how the Rebels plan to finish the job.

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker

Men

Outgoing

• Niko Bundalo, F, 6-10, Fr.
• Augusto Cassiá, F, 6-8, Jr. (UTEP)
• Corey Chest, F, 6-8, So.
• Hobert Grayson IV, G, 6-4, Sr.
• Eduardo Klafke, G, 6-5, So. (Butler)
• Koren Johnson, G, 6-2, Jr.
• Tylis Jordan, F, 6-9, Fr. (Georgia Tech)
• Travis Perry, G, 6-1, So. (Dayton)
• James Scott, F, 6-10, Jr.

Incoming

• Christian Brown, F, 6-8, Fr. (James Madison)
• Stefan Cicic, C, 7-0, Fr. (Pepperdine)
• Adam Clark, G, 5-10, Jr. (Seton Hall)
• TJ Clark, G, 6-3 (Hermosillo)
• Dasear Haskins, G, 6-8, So. (St. Joseph’s)
• ND Okafor, F, 6-7, Jr. (Washington State)
• Roman Siulepa, F, 6-6, Fr. (Pittsburgh)
• Santiago Trouet, F, 6-10, Jr. (Arizona State)

Women

Outgoing

• J’Adore Young, 6-4, C, Soph.
• Sira Thinenou, 6-1, F, Soph.
• Tianna Thompson, 5-10, G, Soph. (Baylor)

Incoming

• Maya Anderson, 6-1, G/F, So. (San Jose State)
• Jaida Civil, 6-0, G, Fr. (Tennessee)
• Talaysia Cooper, 6-0, G, Jr. (Tennessee)
• Knisha Godfrey, 5-9, G, Sr. (Florida)
• Emily Howard, 6-5, C, Jr. (Boise State)
• Rachael Okokoh, 6-4, C, Fr. (Penn State)
• Jada Richard, 5-7, G, So. (LSU)
• Jade Tillman, 6-1, F, Jr. (UMBC)
• Doneelah Washington, 6-1, F, Jr. (Illinois State)

Ole Miss added size on Tuesday, even if it didn’t add the kind of game-changer fans are still waiting on.

Pepperdine center Stefan Cicic committed to the Rebels out of the transfer portal, giving Chris Beard a true 7-footer for next year’s roster. And in a portal cycle where options are drying up fast, adding a 7-footer is never a bad thing.

BREAKING: Pepperdine transfer center Stefan Cicic has committed to Ole Miss, @PeteNakos reports.https://t.co/MorD1lSVIl pic.twitter.com/LcpiCVrdNt

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) April 28, 2026

Cicic is the second commit of the week after St. Joseph’s guard Dasear Haskins. At 7-foot and 260 pounds, he brings the kind of physical presence Ole Miss simply didn’t have on the roster. The production hasn’t matched the frame yet, but the staff needed another big body and he checks that box.

Last season at Pepperdine he averaged 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the field. He played in 32 games with five starts. Before that he redshirted at Tulane after being recruited by Georgia Tech and Miami out of high school.

The numbers don’t jump off the page, but there’s at least a little upside. Cicic closed the season with a breakout game against Washington State, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds on 63 percent shooting.

No one should expect that kind of night in the SEC, but it’s a reminder that he has tools worth developing. And again, adding a 7-footer is rarely a bad idea.

His high school career showed more of that potential. As a senior at Riverside Brookfield he averaged 19 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks while shooting nearly 67 percent. He was a two-time Class 4A All-State selection, scored more than 1,300 points in two seasons, and led his team to back-to-back conference titles.

Cicic joins Haskins, Roman Siulepa, Christian Brown, ND Okafor, and Adam Clark in Ole Miss’s transfer class. Beard has added pieces, and the class is starting to take shape, but the Rebels still haven’t landed the kind of difference-maker that changes the ceiling of the roster.

With the portal window closed, there aren’t many left to chase. It might already be too late.

For now, Ole Miss gets size, depth, and another option in the frontcourt. But the big swing the fan base is waiting on still hasn’t arrived.