# BREAKING: Duke Blue Basketball Players Who Won’t Return for 2026-27 Season
## The End of an Era in Durham
As the 2025-26 season winds toward its conclusion, Duke basketball finds itself at a familiar crossroads—celebrating another ACC Player of the Year campaign while bracing for significant roster turnover. Between NBA Draft departures, expiring eligibility, and the natural churn of the transfer portal, several key Blue Devils will not be returning to Durham for the 2026-27 season.
## NBA Draft Bound: The Guaranteed Departures
### Cameron Boozer, Freshman Forward
The most significant departure is all but sealed. Cameron Boozer, the 6-foot-9 freshman phenom and frontrunner for ACC Player of the Year, is widely expected to be a **Top 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft**, with some projections placing him as high as No. 1 overall . The son of former Duke standout Carlos Boozer has been the Blue Devils’ best player this season, showcasing the kind of polished two-way game that NBA scouts covet. His departure was always the expectation—one-and-done was the plan from the moment he stepped foot in Durham .
### Isaiah Evans, Freshman Guard
Joining Boozer in the projected exodus is fellow freshman Isaiah Evans. While Evans hasn’t generated the same lottery buzz as his teammate, analysts believe he will **”test the NBA waters”** alongside Boozer and Patrick Ngongba . The sharpshooting guard came to Duke with significant hype and has shown flashes of the scoring ability that made him a five-star recruit.
### Patrick Ngongba, Freshman Big Man
The 6-foot-11 center from Virginia is also expected to declare for the NBA Draft after his rookie campaign . Ngongba arrived as a highly-touted prospect and has provided valuable minutes in Duke’s frontcourt rotation.
## The Transfer Portal Question Marks
### Darren Harris, Sophomore Guard
Perhaps the most likely transfer departure is Darren Harris. The sophomore guard has seen **”seldom playing time in both of his seasons”** with the Blue Devils, and with another wave of elite talent arriving in the 2026 recruiting class, his path to meaningful minutes appears increasingly narrow . The transfer portal could offer Harris a fresh start and the opportunity to carve out a larger role elsewhere.
### Caleb Foster, Junior Guard
Foster’s situation is more nuanced. The junior guard is not currently projected as a high NBA Draft pick, making his return to Duke a realistic possibility . However, with five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. arriving and Cayden Boozer potentially returning, Foster could face a crowded backcourt. The transfer portal remains an option if he seeks guaranteed starting minutes elsewhere. Duke certainly has the NIL resources to retain him, but the decision may come down to role and opportunity .
## The Veteran Departures
### Maliq Brown, Senior Forward
Brown has served as one of the veteran leaders on this season’s roster, providing toughness and defensive versatility. As a senior, his eligibility will expire at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season . His leadership will leave a void in the locker room.
## The Returners Who Could Stay
While departures dominate headlines, several key players may actually return—creating a fascinating roster dynamic for Jon Scheyer to manage.
### Cayden Boozer, Freshman Guard
This is the most intriguing decision of the offseason. Unlike his twin brother Cameron, Cayden Boozer was not projected as a one-and-done talent. Early in the season, there was speculation that both brothers would head to the NBA together, but **Cayden’s draft stock has not materialized** in the same way . ESPN’s latest big board did not list Boozer among the top 100 prospects .
A return to Duke makes sense for multiple reasons: he could step into a starting backcourt role, continue developing alongside his brother’s former teammates, and potentially raise his draft stock significantly for 2027 .
### Dame Sarr, Freshman Guard
Sarr entered the season with **lottery pick buzz**, having gained professional experience with FC Barcelona before coming to Duke . But his offensive game has struggled to find consistency—he has scored in double figures only three times in 20 games and has taken three or fewer shots in each of Duke’s last three contests .
His draft stock has plummeted accordingly. ESPN’s latest mock draft projects Sarr at **No. 36 overall**, a far cry from the first-round expectations he carried in the preseason . A sophomore season in Durham could allow him to develop his offensive game, become a go-to option, and rebuild his draft standing.
### Nik Khamenia, Freshman Forward
Like his classmates, Khamenia entered the season with first-round aspirations. Those have since cooled. He was not listed in ESPN’s latest top-100 prospect rankings . A return for his sophomore season would give him the opportunity to expand his role and showcase the versatile skills that made him a five-star recruit.
## The Incoming Talent: Who’s Arriving
Even with departures, Duke’s future remains bright. The Blue Devils currently hold the **No. 1 recruiting class in the nation for 2026** . The incoming haul includes:
– **Cameron Williams** (No. 4 overall): A 7-foot power forward with “elite shooting range” and defensive versatility
– **Bryson Howard** (No. 12 overall): A 6-foot-5 sharpshooter who Jon Scheyer calls “one of the premier shooters in the country”
– **Deron Rippey Jr.**: A five-star point guard expected to compete for immediate starting minutes
– **Maxime Meyer**: A four-star center from IMG Academy who provides rim protection
## What This Means for Duke
Jon Scheyer faces the modern challenge of roster construction: balancing one-and-done talent with developmental players who can provide continuity. The potential returns of Cayden Boozer, Dame Sarr, and Nik Khamenia would give Duke an unusual degree of continuity for a program accustomed to annual turnover .
But the departures—particularly Cameron Boozer’s—will leave significant production to replace. Duke’s frontcourt will look dramatically different in 2026-27, and how Scheyer navigates the transfer portal to fill those gaps could determine whether the Blue Devils remain in national championship contention.
The transfer portal officially opens in early April. That’s when the full picture of Duke’s 2026-27 roster will begin to emerge.
