ASU men’s basketball transfers: Randy Bennett attracts 2 from former school

They say it’s best to stick to what you know, and that’s exactly what Arizona State men’s basketball coach Randy Bennett did with his first transfer portal haul in Tempe.

Bennett spent the previous 25 seasons coaching Saint Mary’s and won the West Coast Conference seven times (four tournament titles), and now four of his first ASU portal additions have come from the same conference.

Bennett has now reportedly brought over two of his former Gaels.

Forward Paulius Murauskas, the No. 9 player in the portal, according to 247 Sports, committed Tuesday after averaging 18.4 points per game in 2025-26 to earn his second consecutive First Team All-WCC honors.

Dillan Shaw, a 6-foot-8 wing, also committed Tuesday after ASU previously hosted the Saint Mary’s standout freshman for a visit, per 247 Sports’ Dushawn London. Shaw made the WCC All-Freshman team after averaging 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 41.6% 3-point shooting.

Joel Foxwell (Portland), who made First Team All-WCC while dishing out a freshman-best mark 6.5 assists per game, was brought on as a likely starting point guard. His last game against Bennett and Saint Mary’s included 27 points and five assists in a six-point loss.

Gonzaga utility guard Emmanuel Innocenti was the other WCC addition, projecting as a connective role player on offense with stingy defense (2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game with just two total turnovers over his final 11 games, 371 total minutes).

The Sun Devils also flipped previously Saint Mary’s-committed JRob Croy, the No. 126 player in 2026 and the son of new associate head coach Rick Croy, who had spent the last 13 seasons as Cal Baptist’s head coach.

Bryce Ford and Vijay Wallace were the only remaining Sun Devils to not enter the portal after it closed on Tuesday, giving Bennett two holdovers.

ASU men’s basketball transfer portal tracker

Incoming transfers

C Ben Defty (April 25) from Boston University — Defty is a 7-foot, 255-pound big man who started 33 games last season for BU as a sophomore. The Berlin, Germany, native averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game to make the All-Patriot League Second Team.

F Dillan Shaw (April 21) from Saint Mary’s — The 6-foot-7, 205-pound small forward was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team after averaging 7.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 33 games played (22 starts). He shot 41.6% from 3 (52 for 125).

F Paulius Murauskas (April 21) from Saint Mary’s — The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward averaged 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 2025-26, his second First Team All-WCC season. He was the No. 9 player in the portal, according to 247 Sports.

PG Joel Foxwell (April 19) from Portland — The 6-foot-1 point guard led all freshmen in assists per game (6.5) and was 13th among all players. The No. 20 point guard to enter the portal, he added 15.6 points and 1.5 steals per game.

F Emmanuel Innocenti (April 13) from Gonzaga — The 6-foot-5, 198-pound forward averaged six points per game on 46.9% shooting and 28.4% from deep in 35 games played last year. He added 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a steal across 24.3 minutes per game.

C Nate Garcia (April 11) from Cal Baptist — The 7-footer played 98 minutes across 16 games this season, including a career-high 17 minutes against BYU. He scored a career-high 13 points in an overtime win against UT Arlington.

W Marcus Vaughns (April 10) from LSU — The son of a 1987 NBA Draft pick (Brian Vaughns), he came up through the NBA Global Academy in Australia and was the No. 92 prospect in his class at the time of his LSU signing, according to 247 Sports.

Outgoing transfers

F Andrija Grbovic — The 6-foot-11 Montenegrin started 27 of 33 games played in his first season of college basketball, making 35% of his 3.7 3-point attempts per game.

F Jovan Icitovic — A 6-foot-9 Serbian, he redshirted to adapt to the American game and did not see the floor in 2025-26.

C Dame Salane — The 7-foot-1 Senegalese center played professionally in Italy and stateside for prestigious prep program Oak Hill Academy, but he redshirted in his first season of college basketball.

G Pig Johnson — The Sun Devils’ sixth man who was third on the team with 13.2 points per game, Johnson will seek legal counsel to help him through a waiver process, according to Jeff Goodman. He played three seasons at the NAIA level before getting to ASU.

G Trevor Best — Best appeared in 29 games over the past season and a half after joining ASU between semesters in 2024-25 when he was reuniting with high school teammate Jayden Quaintance. He stuck around with head coach Bobby Hurley after Quaintance transferred to Kentucky but played just 5.8 minutes per game as a sophomore.

F Santiago Trouet — The 6-foot-10 Argentinian was key to ASU finishing its season with six wins in its last 11 games after it was 2-9 in the previous 11. His 6.1 rebounds per game led the team.

C Massamba Diop to Gonzaga — The 7-foot-1 center blocked 69 shots across 33 games (all starts) to set a new program record for blocks by a freshman in a single season, ranking sixth by any Sun Devil in program history. His 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game were both second on the team, behind point guard Moe Odum and Trouet, respectively. Diop committed to Gonzaga.

G Noah Meeusen to DePaul — The combo guard was one of the team’s more important contributors after settling in from a preseason ankle injury. He averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per game over 30 contests with eight straight starts to end the season.

F Kash Polk to Jacksonville State — The only freshman out of an American high school on Hurley’s final squad, Polk provided extra defensive length at 6-foot-10 in spot moments to the tune of six games with three total minutes before medically redshirting. He was the No. 304 player in 2025, according to 247 Sports’ composite ranking.

G Adante’ Holiman — A preseason elbow injury forced the 6-foot Holiman to medically redshirt without any minutes played. He was expected to have a role on the offense after he was the Sun Belt’s leading scorer in 2024-25 (16.9 points per game with 38.9% 3-point shooting).

F Marcus Adams Jr. to Hawaii — Adams played in 14 games off the bench before a back injury took the rest of his season away. He was emerging as a bench contributor with an 11-point performance that included three 3-point makes in a 16-point win over Oklahoma in the first of what would be a season-high six straight games with double-digit minutes.

Related

Randy Bennett: Landing ASU job 'has been the dream'Randy Bennett's ASU contract includes details on private jet use, staff salary, buyoutsASU head coach Randy Bennett 'working through' health situationChase Bennett, Tautvilas Tubelis headline new ASU men’s basketball coaching hiresCourt rulings grant NCAA athletes from high school class of 2022 another year of eligibilityASU basketball to open Acrisure Series against LSU during Thanksgiving week