The Marquette Golden Eagles will have a lot of different things about them for the 2025-2026 season. They will be losing Kam Jones to the NBA and a couple of other key pieces after having a 23-11 record and a 13-7 record in BIG East Conference play during the 2024-2025 college basketball season.
Marquette was the seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament during the 2024-2025 season after being the number two seed in the previous two NCAA Tournaments. They lost to the #10 New Mexico Lobos in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament. There is a chance that the Golden Eagles may have to fight for their NCAA Tournament lives during the 2025-2026 season. There will be a lot of changes to the team under head coach Shaka Smart in 2025-2026. The BIG East Conference will also have very difficult competition as well.
Marquette Golden Eagles Will Be Ranked Outside Of Top 25 Entering 2025-2026 According To One College Basketball Analyst
Jon Rothstein of cbssports listed his Top 45 college basketball teams in the country for now entering the 2025-2026 college basketball season. In the past couple of years, Marquette was ranked in the Top 25 entering the season. There is a chance that they will be outside of the Top 25 to begin the 2025-2026 college basketball season.
Rothstein has Marquette ranked number 35 in his Top 45 entering the season. Rothstein said about the Golden Eagles potential lineup for next season,
“Projected Starting 5:
G Sean Jones
G Zaide Lowery
G Chase Ross
F Royce Parham
C Ben Gold
Projected Bench: Caedin Hamilton, Darmarius Owens, Tre Norman, Joshua Clark, Adrien Stevens, Nigel James, Ian Miletic, Michael Phillips
Key Newcomers: Adrien Stevens, Nigel James, Ian Miletic, Michael Phillips
Key Losses: Kam Jones, David Joplin, Stevie Mitchell”
There will be three new starters inserted to the starting lineup for Marquette with the departures of Jones, Joplin, and Mitchell. Ross is going to have to be the best player on the Golden Eagles in 2025-2026. Ross played in 34 games for Marquette during the 2024-2025 season. He averaged 10.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.6 BPG, 1.8 SPG, and also shot 46.6% from the field.
There is no doubt that he will have to play well in order for them to make the NCAA Tournament. Rothstein even said it himself:
Marquette’s Chase Ross in games last season where he logged 30 or more minutes:
12.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.4 SPG.
Has to be one of the Top 10 players in the Big East in 2025-26 if the Golden Eagles are going to play in five NCAA Tournaments in five years under Shaka Smart.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 18, 2025
The new players along with Ross are also going to need to produce in 2025-2026. It would not be a surprise to see Marquette as a bubble team next college basketball season. The Golden Eagles are a team that does not use the transfer portal also and develop talent from within.
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