In the span of two weeks, Chris Holtmann has done something no DePaul men's basketball coach has managed in a generation: made the program impossible to ignore.
Holtmann has secured five transfer commitments — Noah Meeusen (Arizona State), Wilson Jacques (Fresno State), Kahmare Holmes (Wofford), Magoon Gwath (San Diego State), and Ade Popoola (Tulsa) — that collectively represent the most ambitious single-cycle roster construction in the program's modern era according to the AIR-A Portal Player Rankings. Holmes turned down offers from Ohio State, Baylor, and Memphis to come to Lincoln Park. Gwath bypassed a scheduled visit to Kentucky. Popoola led the American Conference in three-point percentage. Each addition, on its own, would constitute a meaningful offseason win. Together, they constitute a statement.
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View Portal RankingsThese moves arrive at a pivotal moment in what has quietly become one of college basketball's more compelling rebuilding arcs. After going 3-29 in 2023-24 with zero conference wins before Holtmann's arrival, DePaul finished the 2025-26 season 16-16 overall with an 8-12 record in Big East play — its second-most conference wins in program history. Holtmann was awarded the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award this spring, presented annually to a Division I coach who "wins with integrity on and off the court." The foundation has been poured. Now, the Blue Demons are building the walls at a pace nobody anticipated.
Noah Meeusen, No. 89 AIR-A
Meeusen is DePaul's first player from Belgium and one of the more complete international prospects to enter the Big East in recent years.
Before arriving at Arizona State, he was ranked by DraftExpress as the No. 15 2005-born international prospect. He played professionally for Filou Oostende in the BNXT League — named Rising Star of the League in 2024 — and represented Belgium at the FIBA U20 European Championship, averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 assists per game.
At Arizona State, he appeared in 30 games, averaging 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals. He posted a career-high 16 points with five assists against No. 1 Arizona, shooting 4-of-7 from three. He arrives with two years of eligibility and the defensive versatility to guard multiple positions in the Big East.
Ranked No. 89 in the national AIR-A Portal Player Rankings, Meeusen arrives with two years of eligibility remaining and a profile that fits precisely what Holtmann has been building: a switchable, multi-positional guard who can push pace in transition and guard multiple positions on the other end.
Kahmare Holmes, No. 190 AIR-A
Holmes is the most immediately impactful addition in the class.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound sophomore shooting guard out of Wofford was not a rumor or a projection this past season — he was a revelation. Holmes started all 26 games for the Terriers, averaged 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, and was named All-Southern Conference First Team. He scored 20 or more points in 15 games — the most by a Wofford player since Fletcher Magee in 2018-19 — and dropped a career-high 36 against Samford in January. He also led the team in steals with 53 on the season, a figure that underscores how complete a player he already is.
Before committing to DePaul, Holmes drew offers from Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Georgia, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, NC State, Ole Miss, Baylor, Maryland, and Memphis. That Holtmann won that recruitment is, by itself, a program-defining moment.
Ranked No. 190 in the AIR-A Portal Player Rankings, Holmes is a self-creating scorer who defends at an elite level and has already demonstrated the ability to carry a team. The question is not whether he can handle the Big East. It is whether the Big East is prepared for him.
Ade Popoola, No. 234 AIR-A
Popoola completes the class by addressing its one remaining gap: floor spacing.
The 6-foot-5 junior started all 38 games for a 30-8 Tulsa team, averaged 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds, and led the American Conference in three-point percentage at 40.9 percent on 99 attempts — the second-most made threes in program history.
A St. Louis native, Popoola came through Moberly Area Community College — ranked the No. 7 JUCO transfer by Rivals — before earning a starting role at Tulsa. His shooting is not situational: he connected on eight three-pointers in a single game against South Florida and posted a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double against UTSA. He is a legitimate perimeter threat at 6-foot-5 with the size to defend Big East wings.
Ranked No. 234 in the AIR-A index, Popoola gives DePaul the perimeter weapon that makes the rest of the roster more dangerous.
Wilson Jacques, No. 423 AIR-A
Jacques addresses the most urgent structural need on the roster: interior size.
Jacques, a 7-footer from France, arrives after a freshman season at Fresno State that was, by any measure, remarkable. He started all 32 games for the Bulldogs, averaging 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game on 48.4 percent shooting from the field. His rebound average bested the Fresno State freshman record by more than two per game and ranked fifth among all freshmen nationally. He tallied nine double-doubles, including a 16-point, 19-rebound performance against San Jose State in the regular season finale — the kind of line that makes NBA scouts write names on notepads.
Before college, he was named MVP of France's Espoirs Elite U21 league, averaging 14.9 points and 10 rebounds per game en route to a national title.
At No. 423 in the AIR-A index, Jacques is a developmental piece. But at 7 feet and 264 pounds, he joins a frontcourt that also includes 7-foot-2 center Fabián Flores — a pairing that will test every opposing center in the Big East.
"We are excited to add Wilson to our frontcourt. He had a very productive season and we look forward to his continued growth in the Big East."
— Chris Holtmann, DePaul Head CoachMagoon Gwath, No. 314 AIR-A
And then there is Magoon Gwath — and his commitment to DePaul may be the most stunning development of the entire spring portal cycle.
The 7-foot sophomore was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, setting SDSU's freshman record with 68 blocked shots. This past season he averaged 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 43.5 percent from three — a combination of rim protection and perimeter range that is genuinely rare at any level.
He started 42 of 51 games over two seasons at SDSU and had a Kentucky visit scheduled before choosing DePaul instead. Ranked No. 314 in the AIR-A Portal Player Rankings, his path has included a hip flexor injury that cost him six starts and a disappointing team season that ended without an NCAA Tournament bid. But the talent is undeniable, and the fit at DePaul — where he will be featured rather than managed — is compelling.
The Blue Demon Way
What DePaul has assembled is not a collection of reclamation projects. It is a constructed roster — built with positional logic, stylistic coherence, and a clear understanding of what the Big East demands.
Gwath and Jacques anchor a frontcourt that will challenge every opposing center in the conference. Holmes provides the kind of self-created offense DePaul has not had in years. Popoola spaces the floor and punishes collapsing defenses. Meeusen connects it all — switchable, relentless, and capable of guarding the opponent's best perimeter player. On paper, this is the most complete DePaul roster in two decades.
DePaul has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2004. The 2025-26 season — 16-16, eight Big East wins, the program's highest conference tournament seed ever — suggested the gap was finally closing. This portal class suggests the gap may be closed. AIR-A's 2026 portal team rankings, updated as of today, place DePaul 12th nationally — ahead of programs with deeper pockets, longer recent résumés, and far less ground to make up.
Holtmann is no longer rebuilding. He is upgrading.
In a conference that includes UConn, Marquette, Creighton, and St. John's, DePaul is still climbing. But for the first time in a long time, they are climbing with the right pieces — and a coach with seven NCAA Tournament appearances who has made clear he intends to add an eighth in Chicago.
Somewhere in Lexington, a coaching staff is staring at a commitment list and wondering how they lost Magoon Gwath to DePaul.
Chris Holtmann knows the answer.
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