Returning stars are the lifeblood of successful teams in college basketball. Yes, incoming transfers and even some freshmen make massive impacts and can lead teams. But the data shows just how important having a returning core of players is for consistent success, and bringing back your best player(s) year over year is something that separates the good from the great.
Today, I’ll rank the top 10 returning players for Pac-12 teams. This list is comprised only of players who are returning to their 2025-26 team for the 2026-27 season. No transfers, even those that are transferring within the conference, will be included. I’ve already put together a top-five list of transfers in another article, which you can read at your leisure.
10. Carey Booth (Colorado State)
6’10” 215 lbs, F, Sr. | 10.7 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 1.0 Blk in 2025-26
Carey Booth is probably my favorite underrated player in the Pac-12. He stood out in terms of impact and growth last season with Colorado State, especially when the Rams were without both Kyle Jorgensen and Rashaan Mbemba. He’s a bit wiry for a center, but he’s athletic, can shoot from the outside (40.7% from three last year), and will have the chance to work on adding bulk to offset that weakness before the start of next season.
9. Davis Fogle (Gonzaga)
6’7″ 200 lbs, F, So. | 8.6 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 1.3 Ast in 2025-26
As a freshman last season, Davis Fogle had one of the best on-court impacts of anyone on the team relative to his role. He started just one game and played only 16.7 minutes in his 30 appearances. But advanced stat metrics like Box Plus/Minus or Bayesian Performance Rating viewed Fogle as one of the top three most impactful players on the team. Those metrics likely exaggerate his impact a bit, but heading into a sophomore season that will likely see a role increase could make him a dark horse for First Team All-Pac-12 by season’s end.
8. Karson Templin (Utah State)
6’8″ 230 lbs, F, Sr. | 8.8 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 0.9 Blk in 2025-26
Karson Templin is a really tricky player to try to rank. He wasn’t a starter last year, and there’s a pretty good chance he won’t be a consistent starter this year. And yet, he’s a very impactful player. His Bayesian Performance Rating would rank him inside the top five of this list. How do you properly rank a guy who is probably only going to play 18-22 minutes per game, but is also really good in those minutes? It’s not easy. Suffice it to say, he ought to be an early favorite for Sixth Man of the Year.
7. Josh Pascarelli (Colorado State)
6’3″ 195 lbs, G, Sr. | 10.2 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 1.4 Ast in 2025-26
On a roster that may be defined more by its frontcourt, Josh Pascarelli will have free rein to be the top dog in the backcourt. Brandon Rechsteiner is off to Kansas State, which will leave a bigger role in the capable hands of Pascarelli, who led the way as arguably the top 3-point shooter on a team stuffed to the gills with great outside shooters. Pascarelli made 41.5% of his triples on 5.4 attempts. The former was first on the team (if you’re excluding Mbemba, who shot 50% on just 10 attempts) and the latter was second.
6. DJ Hall (Texas State)
6’7″ 220 lbs, F, So. | 15.6 Pts, 7.7 Reb, 2.3 Ast in 2025-26
As the reigning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, DJ Hall is entering his Pac-12 debut season with hardware and accomplishments already in hand. Aside from his jump shot, which is still a bit of a work in progress, there’s not much Hall really struggles with. He’s a good scorer, being able to do so in isolation, in the post, as an off-ball cutter, and even a bit in the short mid-range. He also passes well for a forward and rebounds at rates better than some centers in the league. Even if he doesn’t improve this next season as a sophomore, he’ll be among the better athletes in the league.
5. Mario Saint-Supery (Gonzaga)
6’4″ 185 lbs, G, So. | 8.6 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 3.8 Ast in 2025-26
Mario Saint-Supery is one of a couple of sophomores Gonzaga has that played incredibly well in smaller roles as freshmen and are now poised for breakout seasons. Fogle is one of them, which earned him his spot earlier on this list. Saint-Supery is obviously the other. In only 23.1 minutes per game, he led Gonzaga in assists and was also the team’s best 3-point shooter, making 40.3% of his 3.4 attempts per game. With some expected improvements now that he’s no longer a rookie, combined with a larger role in the rotation, being a top ten player in the conference should be well within reach.
4. Josiah Lake (Oregon State)
6’2″ 190 lbs, G, Sr. | 13.1 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 4.2 Ast in 2025-26
Oregon State fans were probably hoping to return more than one player from last season’s team, but if you asked them who the one player they’d keep, Josiah Lake is the name that would fall from every fan’s lips. He’s a great all-around offensive player who can pass, shoot, and score. Plus, he’s a solid defender. There’s already a good deal of buzz building for the Beavers because of their very solid transfer class, but Lake is still likely to be “the guy” on this team.
3. Kyle Jorgensen (Colorado State)
6’9″ 225 lbs, F, Jr. | 11.5 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 2.2 Ast in 2025-26
Were it not for a mid-season injury that derailed a fantastic start to the season, Jorgensen may have contended for Mountain West Player of the Year. He was averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on some stupidly efficient shooting numbers (65/51/85) before a knee injury against Utah State held him out for a month. It also took him another couple of weeks to begin re-establishing the scoring consistency he had in the early season. It’s worth keeping in mind that Jorgensen is just now entering his junior year, so there’s a lot of growth still to be made by Jorgensen, who will also hopefully get a full, healthy season to prove his worth.
2. Mason Falslev (Utah State)
6’3″ 190 lbs, G, Sr. | 16.0 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 3.1 Ast in 2025-26
Many could, and probably will, place Mason Falslev at the top of not only a list of top returners, but also their list of top players in the Pac-12 overall. He’s the reigning Mountain West Player of the Year, also earning All-Defense honors, and it was his two-way impact that really sold his candidacy for POY last year. He’s not really the best in the league in any one thing, but he’s a B+ at worst in everything (usually an A). That, and he’s also just got that dawg in him.
1. Braden Huff (Gonzaga)
6’10” 250 lbs, F, Sr. | 17.8 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 1.5 Ast in 2025-26
Braden Huff was limited to only 18 games last year due to injury, which was good for everyone not affiliated with Gonzaga. Had Huff been able to finish out the year, the Bulldogs would likely have gone further than the second round in the NCAA Tournament. Huff is a prime candidate to be the preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year. He’ll be the best interior scorer in the league, with most teams not really equipped to stop a player with his paint dominance.
