Creighton men’s basketball begins its 2025-26 campaign against South Dakota today, and while the Bluejays lost the four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and two starting guards, Greg McDermott has no intention of taking a step back in the twilight of his career.
Creighton has made an appearance in three of the last five Sweet Sixteens, including one run to the Elite Eight, and had an aggressive offseason in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail in hopes of taking the next step in the Big Dance.
Losing Ryan Kalkbrenner, Steven Ashworth and Jamiyah Neal yielded a large hole in Creigton’s roster, especially its returning scoring. Losing four additional players to graduation or the transfer portal was to be expected. But the NCAA’s offseason challenge of Fedor Zugic’s eligibility cemented this staff’s commitment into the transfer portal and beyond.
Needing to replace seven men on its roster, including three starters, plus potentially Zugic, Greg McDermott and his staff went to work. Creighton will feature nine new members on its roster, with six coming via the transfer portal, one from high school in the U.S. and two from overseas.
Let’s take a look at those new faces on Creighton’s 2025-26 roster.
#1 Austin Swartz – G | Sophomore | Miami (Fla.)
Swartz started seven games for the Hurricanes as a freshman last season and scored in double figures five times. Swartz was a former four-star recruit and was ranked in the top 50 of 247Sports’ composite rankings as a senior. He will be asked to provide scoring from the wing for Creighton likely in moderate doses this season. Swartz had a strong showing in Creighton’s exhibition win over No. 16 Iowa State, providing 10 points on 50 percent shooting from three-point range.
#2 Blake Harper – G | Sophomore | Howard University
Blake Harper might be one of the most encouraging additions from this offseason by the Creighton staff. The true sophomore was the first player in the history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to be named Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season, according to the Creighton Basketball 2025-26 Media Guide. The only other freshman to be named as their conference player of the year last season was the eventual No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg. Harper can score at all three levels. He averaged 19.5 points per game shooting over 44 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range.
#4 Josh Dix – G | Senior | Iowa
Dix grew up as a Creighton fan, growing up just minutes away from the CHI Health Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After beginning his career at Iowa, he will get an opportunity to make an instant impact for his hometown team during his senior season. What jumps off the page about Dix instantly is his shooting prowess, shooting 41.9 percent from three-point range in three seasons with the Hawkeyes. However, he may end up being one of Creighton’s most important defensive pieces. Named Iowa’s Best Defensive Player after his sophomore season, Dix will likely draw the matchup against opponents’ best perimeter scorer each night.
#5 Nik Graves – G | Senior | UNC Charlotte
Graves gives Greg McDermott exactly what he wants to run his offense as a proven shotmaking point guard. Starting all 33 games last season at Charlotte, he led the 49ers in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game. One thing to watch for offensively – Graves can get to the free-throw line, which is something Creighton missed desperately last year. The Bluejays ranked 358th out of 361 teams in the country in free throw attempt rate. According to Creighton’s 2025-26 Media Guide, Graves attempted 233 free throws last season, good for the 15th-highest total in the nation.
#10 Hudson Greer – G | Freshman | Lakeway, Texas
Greer comes to Creighton from the prestigious Montverde Academy in Florida, ranked as the No. 47 recruit in the 2025 class by 247Sports. Greer is one of the highest-rated recruits in Creighton history and will look to make an instant impact off the bench in his freshman year.
#13 Liam McChesney – F | Junior | High Point University
McChesney is entering his seventh season at the collegiate level due to issues with a valve in his heart that required open-heart surgery, granting him two medical redshirt years. He comes to Omaha from High Point, where he was coached by Creighton Associate Head Coach Alan Huss, and has not appeared in a game since the 2022-23 season when he started 19 games for Illinois State. Standing at 6-foot-10, he will provide needed depth in Creighton’s unproven frontcourt.
#17 Kerem Konan – F | Sophomore | Doga College (Denizli, Türkiye)
Konan has played in numerous FIBA youth events as part of Turkey youth National Teams and won a silver medal at the 2022 U18 European Championships. The 6-foot-9 forward flashed both offensive and defensive skill in Creighton’s exhibitions this season and will likely play a significant role as Owen Freeman’s backup at the center spot.
#27 Aleksa Dimitrijević – C | Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia
Dimitrijević is a 7-foot center who won a silver medal as part of the Serbian U18 National Team at last summer’s FIBA U18 EuroBasket competition. Last season, he played for hometown KK Partizan in the EuroLeague. Dimitrijević is a raw, talented freshman who may end the year with more playing time than he will start with.
#32 Owen Freeman – F | Junior | Iowa
Coming in with former Iowa teammate Josh Dix, Freeman undoubtedly has the biggest role to fill this season, likely taking over the starting center spot for four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner. Freeman missed the second half of last season after receiving surgery on his finger, but he is a proven center at the collegiate level. He reached double figures in all 19 games he played last season, averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In 2023-24, Freeman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week a staggering nine times and was subsequently named Freshman of the Year by the conference that season.
Joining the nine Bluejay newcomers are seven returners, including two starters. Jackson McAndrew and Jasen Green each started a majority of Creighton’s contests last season and are both primed for a big jump in their production this year. Alongside them are players who add significant experience and leadership in juniors Isaac Traudt, Fedor Zugic and Josh Townley-Thomas, as well as sophomores Ty Davis and Shane Thomas.
Greg McDermott many times has had to reload his team, he rarely rebuilds. In the waning seasons of his career, he has no choice but to reload. This season is no different, with Creighton investing heavily in the transfer portal, searching overseas and bringing in elite high school talent to a roster with limited experience together. Wednesday night will showcase a wealth of new talent added to Creighton’s roster and concurrently its commitment to doing everything it can to win its first National Championship under future Hall of Fame head coach Greg McDermott.
