Ole Miss Basketball Loses Multiple Key Components to Roster Amid Portal Opening

Originally posted on Ole Miss Rebels on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Apr 7, 2026 1:47 PM ET

Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels have seen multiple members of the 2025-26 roster reveal intentions of entering the NCAA Transfer Portal this week as roster reconstruction begins in Oxford.

Once the Transfer Portal window opened on Tuesday, Beard and Co. saw a myriad of key components of last year's roster hit the free agent market with more on the way.

"Each player on our team will have that decision. It will be their decision. It will be a conversation to make sure that both sides align," Beard said at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

“Our relationship with these players is just getting started, whether we coach them next year or not. That’s one thing you can get in our program: we’re going to have your back for the rest of our lives. These guys, hopefully, every single one of them will outlive me by a million years. Till the day I’m not here anymore, we’ll have their backs.”

Ole Miss has seen the likes of forward Corey Chest, guard Eduardo Klafke, Tylis Jordan, and Hobert Grayson IV reveal intentions of departing the program.

NEW: Ole Miss forward Augusto Cassia has entered the NCAA transfer portal, @PeteNakos reports. https://t.co/MorD1lSVIl pic.twitter.com/ncU6MWiivV
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) April 7, 2026

Now, add a fifth departure to the list: Augusto Cassia.

Across two seasons with the Ole Miss program, Cassiá averaged 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 31 games (five starts).

The foreign bucket-getter career began his career at Butler where he posted averages of 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 25 games.

Cassiá’s best game with the Ole Miss program came in an 85-65 win over Western Michigan last season, in which he scored a career-high 16 points with four rebounds.

Now, the talented prospect will search for his third school after stints with Ole Miss and Butler amid a critical offseason in hopes of finding a new home.

“That’s a good question. Probably not in the mental space to answer that fully now,” Beard said. “Obviously, in college basketball, guys choose to go elsewhere; they choose to come back. Each player on our team will have that decision. It will be their decision. It will be a conversation to make sure that both sides align.

This article first appeared on Ole Miss Rebels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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