With the transfer portal closed and the summer approaching, both Marist basketball programs have lost and gained new players as they prepare for the 2025-26 season.
Coming off the thrilling loss to Mount St. Mary’s in the first round of the MAAC tournament, one player has transferred on the women’s side, while two others have committed to play for Erin Doughty.
On the men’s side–who lost to the eventual MAAC champion Mount St. Mary’s–five players have entered the portal, but John Dunne has added three transfers in return.
Let’s dive into the roster changes and the ramifications for each Marist team with a concluding piece from beat writers Michael Burns and Marley Pope.
Women’s Roster Changes
Who’s out:
The only Red Fox transferring just so happens to be one of their most impactful players: Morgan Lee. Entering the transfer portal on April 11, according to Dan Aulbach, the 6-foot-5 junior center announced her commitment to Clemson University on April 22 following an All-MAAC Second Team season with Marist. Lee delivered a team-leading 12.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game this past season. Her 2.4 blocks per game not only led the MAAC but also ranked 11th in the nation among all Division I players.
Clemson has added seven new transfers so far, with Lee currently listed as the tallest player on the roster. The Tigers finished 13th in the ACC last season, losing in the second round of their tournament to Louisville by two points. Lee will look to help Clemson put together their first winning conference record since the 2018-19 season.
“Morgan adds legit size to our front court that we have not had during my time.” Said head coach Shawn Poppie in an Instagram post.
Marist will also be graduating one of their key bench pieces in Catie Cunningham. The senior guard averaged 18.9 minutes per game, recording 3.5 points and 3.9 rebounds for the season. Cunningham played a serious role in the Red Foxes’ success on defense, where they finished with the second-lowest field goal percentage in the MAAC at 37.9%.
Who’s in:
Marist has made two new additions since the transfer portal opened while adding one high school recruit. The first to transfer to the Red Foxes was sophomore road runner Karly Fischer, an in-conference transfer from Fairfield. Fischer missed all of last season, but logged 3.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game as a freshman. She provides some much-needed size for the Red Foxes after losing Lee, standing at 6-foot-2. After redshirting her sophomore year, Fischer leaves the perennially dominant Stags and will look to provide success for a different MAAC team in Marist.
The second transfer is Kasey Bretones out of UMass Amherst. The 5-foot-11 freshman guard played just under seven minutes per game in her first collegiate season. She logged 1.7 points on the season, going 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. She scored a season-high seven points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field while recording three assists in a win against St. Bonaventure. Bretones is at her strongest finishing around the basket, which she showed often in her time at Mainland High School in New Jersey.
Rounding out the new insertions to the Marist roster is high school recruit Justine Henry. Coming out of Mary Louis Academy, she averaged 18.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.7 blocks in her senior season. Henry earned First-Team All League in the CHSAA in February for her performance this past season. Doughty complimented her ability to “play both the point and the wing,” as well as her capacity to “score around the basket and stretch the floor from 3,” according to a press release from Marist Athletics.
Men’s Roster Changes
Before examining the roster, the men’s program had other changes. Head coach John Dunne signed a contract extension on April 17. In year seven in Poughkeepsie for Dunne, Marist had its first 20-win season since 2007.
Who’s out?
Five Red Foxes entered the portal in March/April, most notably sophomore guard Josh Pascarelli. The All-MAAC first teamer announced his transfer on March 24 after a stellar season in Poughkeepsie, averaging 15.9 points per game. The first Marist All-MAAC first team selection since 2007, Pascarelli committed to Colorado State of the Mountain West on April 4. The Rams made the NCAA Tournament and upset No. 5 seed Memphis in the West Region before losing to No. 4 seed Maryland in the second round.
CSU is a strong mid-major program that has developed NBA talent recently (David Roddy, Isaiah Stevens, Nique Clifford), providing Pascarelli a chance to play at a higher level. New head coach Ali Farokhmanesh has brought in four other guards so far, who will compete for Pascarelli’s minutes.
Former Marist rotation players junior guard Caleb Mackrey and junior forward Travis Roberts both entered the portal after seeing limited playing time in 2024-25. Each averaged around nine minutes and two points per game. Roberts committed to Alcorn State of the SWAC on April 19. Mackrey has yet to commit to another school.
The final two transfers are junior forward Matt McCool and freshman guard Jagger Bascombe. McCool appeared in just seven games this season, and after graduating in three years, he will play at Division II school Thomas Jefferson University. Bascombe, a walk-on in 2024, has yet to announce his next destination.
Who’s in?
Dunne and his staff have brought in three transfers and two high school recruits to reload after a 20-win campaign. The first is an in-conference transfer, with former Iona guard Justin Menard committing to the Red Foxes on April 3. He averaged 5.5 points per game for the Gaels, shooting 35% from behind the arc in his freshman season. Menard played 22 minutes a night, usually off the bench, and started just eight games. At 6-3, he can play the one or two spots on the floor as a good decision maker. He recorded a 20%+ assist rate and the fourth-highest offensive rating in the MAAC per KenPom.com.
Marist added another former DII player, this time Rhyjon Blackwell from USC Aiken. The 6-0 guard scored 13 points per game, knocking down 65 3-pointers last season. He’s a quick scorer who can create his own shot and get hot from the perimeter. His role for the Red Foxes is likely to be as a scorer off the bench who looks to spark some offense.
The most recent Marist transfer is freshman Ricky McKenzie from Kennesaw State. He did not play for the Owls last season and may have redshirted. McKenzie is a 6-4 guard from Marietta, Ga, who played for Wheeler High School, a strong program in the state. He has a solid frame that can allow him to play at the small forward spot and bring energy off the bench.
The other two incoming players are high school recruits. First, Myles Parker from Rutgers Prep. He played with sophomore guard Jadin Collins-Roberts and is a wiry 6-7 lefty with a silky shooting stroke. With some added weight and strength to his slighter frame, Parker can quickly impact the game with his shooting, a key weak point that Marist is working to attack this off-season.
Lastly, big man Jordan Gabriel rounds out the Red Foxes’ 2025 class. Gabriel played at Archbishop Stepinac High School in NY before a post-grad season at Perkiomen School in PA. At 6-8, Gabriel will back up Tarik Watson and Jason Schofield and potentially get on the floor.
Edited by Ryan Eichem and Dan Aulbach
Graphic from Nate Babcock
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