After the best season in school history, Nebraska men’s basketball enters the offseason with holes to fill.
The one thing that is not changing is the Huskers’ head coach. On March 9, Nebraska announced Fred Hoiberg signed a contract extension through the 2031-32 season.
Friday, Hoiberg was named the AP Coach of the Year after the Huskers finished with a 28-7 record and the program’s first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
The Huskers set season records for wins (28), conference wins (15) and conference road wins (seven) while opening the year by winning their first 20 games as part of a school-record 24-game win streak dating back to last season.
The 77-71 Sweet 16 loss to Iowa after leading for just over 38 minutes is something that could fuel the Huskers for a long time.
“I don’t know if the loss will ever wear off completely,” Hoiberg said. “When you do look back at it, there’s a lot to be proud of.”
Retention
Roster retention was a key to success for the Huskers in 2025-26. Getting the core pieces back for the 2026-27 season will be just as important.
“When you look at our team from last year, a lot of those guys that have played significant roles were guys that were in our program and guys that knew the culture, the standard, and everybody that came in really lived up to that, and a lot of that was because of the returners, and they let them know what was expected,” Hoiberg said. “So very important that we get those guys back and we feel really good that we’re gonna have a good group of core returners that will be back in a Husker uniform next year.”
There has not been an official announcement from any of the eligible returners, but Hoiberg did provide an update on one of the most important pieces, Pryce Sandfort.
Sandfort, a first-team All-Big Ten selection this season, played with a sports hernia the last month of the season. A Monday doctor’s appointment confirmed Sandfort will need surgery to repair the injury.
“As far as an exact timeline, we don’t know exactly what it is until they go in there and see the severity of the hernia,” Hoiberg said. “The good thing is he should be back once we start our summer workouts, when we get rolling again with our guys in June.”
Along with Sandfort, Hoiberg mentioned Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Braden Frager, Connor Essegian (who is working his way back from a season-long foot injury), Cale Jacobsen and Berke Büyüktuncel as core returners.
Building A Roster
The transfer portal opened on Tuesday. Like every college basketball team in the country, Nebraska has already identified players that they want to round out the roster for the 2026-27 season.
Starting Tuesday, teams can have phone calls and virtual meetings with players and agents. On Friday, the visit window opens, meaning players can visit schools, or coaches can do in-person visits with players.
The Huskers’ roster build will be a bit significant. Three starters in Rienk Mast, Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence will be gone. Replacing not just their on-court production but also their veteran leadership will not be easy.
The three-year run of success (2024 NCAA Tournament, 2025 College Basketball Crown championship, 2026 Sweet 16) and one of the best home court environments in the nation is something Nebraska can sell.
Identifying players who fit in with what they’ve built in Lincoln will be a priority for the staff.
“First of all, they have to fit the culture” Hoiberg said. “They have to fit with the group of guys that we’re gonna have coming back. That’s been very important. We’ve had really good players, obviously, but they’ve also been a group of guys that have lived up to the daily standard that we set for our players. So that’s number one. You do a lot of background work to see if they’re the right type of kid to bring in here so we can continue to have a fan base that can be proud of what they’re seeing out there on the floor. And then they have to fit. They have to fit the way that we want to play.”
The important piece for Nebraska is finding players to replace the skill sets of the departing seniors. For example, Rienk Mast filled a key role as a skilled big man who can initiate the offense at the top of the key offensively. However, there isn’t one exact system Nebraska has to run and the huskers don’t have to find an exact replacement for Mast or the others; Hoiberg has done a good job of adjusting to the roster versus trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
“We’ve always tweaked based on the roster,” Hoiberg said. “There’s some that really try to fit them into the exact system, but we’ve always adjusted based on the skill set of our players.”
Finding players that want the best fit for their skill set and the player development Nebraska has displayed will be another point of emphasis for the Huskers as they continue to have portal conversations.
“Maybe they’re looking for the best opportunity and the best fit, and you have those conversations,” Hoiberg said. “We’re not going to be able to compete with a lot of the schools just because we don’t have the resources, but at the same time, if you look at this at a long-term approach, and that’s what we sell, their kid has to be in the right system in order to maximize their long-term potential and maximize their earning potential on top of that.”
Nebraska hasn’t had a traditional point guard every year under Hoiberg. Lawrence and Hoiberg weren’t the true traditional point guards, but they were effective. Skilled wings with more length that can initiate the offense and defend the wing is also an avenue Nebraska could take to replace Lawrence and Hoiberg.
“My biggest priority is to go out and get the most talent if they fit what you’re trying to do, and then you figure it out from there,” Hoiberg said. “So if that’s a big, a skilled big that can initiate the offense, maybe you don’t have to have as much of a pure point. If you don’t have a Rienk or a Derek Walker, a Georges Niang, or Royce White, maybe you have to have more of a pure point guard,” Hoiberg said. “We do need help in that area, there’s no doubt about it. We’re gonna identify those players that we feel fit from that standpoint. But again, if you can get the point forward or the hybrid type big, maybe that pure point isn’t quite as important.”
