With just more than two months until the 2026-27 season begins there are only four players on LSU's official men's basketball roster. That's not an error and says a lot about the team he is trying to build in his first season during his second act as LSU's coach.
Recent court rulings have given teams a late chance to add to their rosters and Wade and his coaching staff are doing just that.
LSU got good news on Monday when a judge in Baton Rouge granted former Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. a preliminary injunction for immediate eligibility during the 2026-27 season. Luis would join Divine Ugochukwu, Abdi Bashir Jr., Austin Nunez and Mouhamed Dioubate -- the four players currently listed on LSU's roster -- if his injunction holds.
Although Luis was granted the injunction, the fight for him to actually suit up later this fall is far from over. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey asked Judge Ronald Johnson in East Baton Rouge Parish court to uphold NCAA rules that prevent athletes from returning to the college level in an affidavit filed earlier this month.
Putting context clues together, the likely target of that affidavit was Luis, who went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft and signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz shortly after.
Pros returning becoming a problem for SEC
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Sankey filed an affidavit because speaking out about a former college player returning to the sport after signing a professional contract isn't new for him.
Sankey filed an affidavit earlier this year on former Alabama center Charles Bediako after he returned to the school following a stint in the G League. Bediako appeared in five games with the Crimson Tide before being ruled ineligible.
One key difference between Bediako and Luis is that the former Alabama big man played in several G League games before returning to school. Meanwhile, Luis missed the entire season and didn't play in the G League despite signing a professional contract.
Who else is landing at LSU?
Despite a slow start in recruiting players in the transfer portal after being hired in March for his second stint as LSU's coach, Wade has dipped into the five-for-five waters this month by adding two former UCLA guards: Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent.
Dent is arguably the biggest name who could return for another year of college basketball of all the Class of 2022 players ruled eligible for this season. Despite having an up-and-down season during his lone year at UCLA, Dent is one of the best true point guards in the sport and can raise the floor and ceiling of any roster he's on. Clark is a valuable depth piece for LSU and could start next to Dent, as he did at UCLA.
LSU also is tapping into the international market to build out its roster. Glilad Levy, a 7-3 center from Israel, committed to the Tigers on Tuesday. Wade also landed commitments from Márcio Santos (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Saliou Niang (Virtus Bologna), Brice Dessert (Anadolu Efes) and Michael Ružić (Joventut Badalona) this offseason. However, it remains unclear how many of those players will be ruled eligible to play in 2026-27.
Niang was the No. 58 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers but never signed an NBA contract. Santos went undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and played in summer league with the Atlanta Hawks before returning to play for Franca Basquetebol Clube.
LSU's 2026-27 roster a work in progress
Players who could be playing for LSU this season.
Players on LSU's official roster
(as of Aug. 25)
| Player | Position | Class | Last team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdi Bashir Jr. | Guard | Sr. | Transfer from Kansas State |
| Austin Nunez | Guard | Sr. | Transfer from UTSA |
| Divine Ugochukwu | Guard | Jr. | Transfer from Michigan State |
| Mouhamed Diabete | Forward | Sr. | Transfer from Kentucky |
Players committed after recent 5-in-5 court rulings
| Player | Position | Class | Last team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skyy Clark | Guard | Fifth year | Transfer from UCLA |
| Donovan Dent | Guard | Fifth year | Transfer from UCLA |
| RJ Luis | Guard | Fifth year | St. John's/G-League |
International players committed
| Player | Position | Last team |
|---|---|---|
| Brice Dessert | Center | Anadolu Efes |
| Gilad Levy | Center | Hapoel Afula B.C. |
| Saliou Niang | Forward | Virtus Bologna |
| Michael Ružić | Center | Joventut Badalona |
| Márcio Santos | Center | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
Wade, Kiffin following similar strategy
Wade and LSU football coach Lane Kiffin are both building rosters in unconventional ways. Kiffin has recruited two players (Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris) who participated in NFL training camps this month and are attempting to return to college.
Wade's grand plan will come down to the courts, literally and figuratively. If all the players he recruited are eligible to play, LSU will have one of the oldest and most experienced rosters in the sport. However, it could come crashing down if some or a majority of those players are ruled ineligible.
Is it a risk? Absolutely. Could it pay off? We will see.
When looking at the SEC landscape, the conference might not be as strong as it was in 2025 -- when a record 14 teams reached the NCAA Tournament -- but it will still be loaded. Florida will more than likely be the preseason top-ranked team in the AP Top 25 poll, while Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee will land somewhere within the top 15 of the poll.
Sportsbooks have LSU right behind those five teams to win the 2027 national title (+4000 via FanDuel Sportsbook). Those odds likely factor in the eligibility of players like Luis, Dent, and Clark, which would make LSU a popular "surprise" pick to win the conference.
Again, the way Wade has built this roster makes multiple outcomes possible this spring. The Tigers could massively overachieve, or have everything come crumbling down.
Love it or hate it, Wade is building a roster that has the potential to make noise. After LSU finished last in the SEC with a 3-15 record during the 2025-26 campaign, the Tigers are set to be one of the most improved teams in the conference, even if the worst-case scenario plays out and a handful of the players he recruited are ruled ineligible.
Why Luis' legal case is unique
Technically speaking, Luis falls into the bucket of a Class of 2022 high school graduate seeking an additional year of eligibility. Luis began his career at UMass in 2022 before transferring to St. John's the following offseason. After starting 10 games as a sophomore, Luis had a breakout junior campaign and helped St. John's earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament while winning Big East Player of the Year honors.
While the majority of Luis' season at St. John's was full of highs, the ending was sour. Luis was benched for the final five minutes in an eventual loss to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which was a decision St. John's coach Rick Pitino defended afterwards.
"He played 30 minutes and I went with other people," Pitino said. "... Don't ask me leading questions. You already know why he didn't play."
That game set off a chain reaction. Luis entered the transfer portal shortly after and despite heavy interest from other college teams, he kept his name in the NBA Draft despite being projected to be taken late on Day 2 or go undrafted. With so many college players passing up the NBA Draft to return to school for big paydays, Luis' decision, in retrospect, might be one of the worst calculated decisions of the NIL era.
And it might not even matter if the injunction holds and he returns for another season.
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