UAB Blazers: From One Returning Player to American Contender
Complete breakdown of UAB's massive roster turnover featuring JUCO stars and transfer portal additions. Can Andy Kennedy work his magic again?
The UAB Blazers have been on a roll under head coach Andy Kennedy. Kennedy took over in the 2020-2021 season, and he’s yet to finish with less than 22 wins while reaching the NCAA Tournament twice. Last season was no different as they finished 24-13 on the season and 13-5 in the AAC (now The American). Heading into last year, UAB was picked to win the AAC in the preseason poll, but they scuffled a bit in the non-conference by losing to Vermont, Longwood, and others. The Blazers still finished third in conference, but following the end of the season Kennedy was left to rebuild his roster.
Just one player is returning from last season’s roster, so Kennedy has had to dip into all ranks of college basketball. Their roster is intriguing which includes a JUCO All-American, multiple other JUCO players, some players from the power ranks looking for their big break, and proven talent at the lower levels of division one. On paper, UAB should be able to perceiver even in the wake of losing star player Yaxel Lendeborg and others.
Let’s dive into their roster for the 2025-2026 season.
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Roster Turnover
The UAB Blazers have lost the following players:
Alejandro Vasquez (Ineligible)
11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Tony Toney (Ineligible)
7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Ryan Donohoo (Ineligible)
0.6 points (5 games/1.4 minutes)
Yaxel Lendeborg (Senior) - Michigan
17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.8 blocks
Christian Coleman (Senior) - Oklahoma State
11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Ja’Borri McGhee (Senior) - Mississippi State
11.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals
Butta Johnson (Senior) - Clemson
8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists
Bradley Ezewiro (Senior) - San Diego
7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds
Tyren Moore (Senior) - Georgia Southern
6.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Greg Gordon (Senior) - Long Island
3.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Marquis Hargrove (Senior) - Georgia Southwestern
1 points (9 games/2.7 minutes)
Makhi Myles (Sophomore) - SE Louisiana
0.2 points, 0.8 rebounds (11 games/2.9 minutes)
Reginald Kennedy Jr (Sophomore) - New Hampshire
DNP
Will Shaver (Junior)
0.2 points, 0.8 rebounds (9 games/4.4 minutes)
The transfer portal was not kind to UAB this offseason. They already lost both Alejandro Vasquez and Tony Toney due to ineligibility, but then the tremendous lost of Yaxel Lendeborg rubbed salt in the wound. Lendeborg initially entered the NBA Draft, but withdrew and secured a huge NIL deal to attend Michigan. In fact, UAB lost four players to the power ranks, which represents the talent that this team had last season.
Returning Players
Joey Kahn
(2 games/1 minute)
Only one player is returning to the Blazers this season in Joey Kahn. Kahn is a 6’4 walk-on guard, so you should expect to see him have a similar level of production this coming season.
Roster Additions
The Blazers have added the following players to their roster:
Ahmad Robinson (Senior) - Mercer
16.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.9 steals
Daniel Rivera (Senior) - UMass
11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.2 steals
Quaran McPherson (Senior) - Northern Illinois
12.1 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
KyeRon Lindsay (Senior) - Murray State
6.6 points, 4.3 rebounds
Jacob Meyer (Junior) - DePaul
8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds
Chance Westry (Junior) - Syracuse
3 games / 3.7 minutes
Evan Chatman (Sophomore) - McLennan (JUCO)
15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks
Joao Das Chagas (Sophomore) - Indian Hills CC
DNP
DayJuan Anderson (Sophomore) - Triton College (JUCO)
17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals
Ari Gouch (Sophomore) - McLennan (JUCO)
14.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals
Salim London (Freshman)
Lance Carr (Freshman)
Guards
Ahmad Robinson (5’10)
After spending a couple of seasons in the JUCO ranks between Raritan Valley & Western Texas College, Robinson landed at New Hampshire before transferring to Mercer last season. Robinson shot 41.7% overall and 31.3% from beyond the arc on 4.8 attempts per game. His most notable stat across the board was his five assists per game. He finished the season with a ridiculous 31.8% assist rate, which was 46th in the country. However, while he is a facilitator on offense, he also averaged four turnovers per game. He’s a spark plug and sometimes that can come at the cost of losing control, however, if he reigns that in a bit and bring it down to more of a 2:1 ratio and he’ll be sitting pretty well.
Robinson also gets to the line an insane amount as he draws 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes, while shooting 73.3% from the line. He’s lightning quick, and for 5’10 he can absolutely throw down some dunks. He’s a lock for the starting line up and he’ll be a fan favorite among Blazers fans this season.
Quaran McPherson (6’4)
This is technically year four for McPherson after spending two seasons at Nebraska where he redshirt and missed an entire season due to injuries. The former 3-star recruit and 229th ranked player transferred into Northern Illinois where he transformed into a strong player across 23 games last season. He shot 45.5% overall and 39% from beyond the arc. He’s a physical player that can do a bit of it all throughout the floor. While Northern Illinois had plenty of struggles, he’s metrics increased throughout conference play. He shot 51.8% from inside the arc and 35.2% from three-point. While he’s strong on offense, he also finished with a 18.2% defensive rebounding percentage. Health is a bit of a question mark as he didn’t appear in a game at Nebraska, then just 13 games in his first season at NIU and 23 games last season.
Jacob Meyer (6’2)
After a stellar freshman season at Coastal Carolina, Meyer hit the portal and headed to a DePaul team that’s bringing themselves back into relevancy. As a freshman, he finished averaging 15.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and one steal a game while shooting 44.9% overall and 40.2% from beyond the arc. At DePaul last season, he moved into a hybrid role where he appeared in 33 games, starting 16 and averaged 19.3 minutes per game. He’s shooting metrics dropped a bit down to 38.4% overall and 33.3% from three-point. In terms of averages, if you add the extra 15 minutes a game we was seeing at Coastal Carolina, he would’ve ended up with similar metrics in the Big East.
At 6’2, he’s not a true point guard that’s going to run your entire offense. However, at Coastal Carolina he was able to serve as a combo guard option, and I believe that he’ll see a similar role at UAB. He has remarkable ball control as he finished the season with a microscopic 8.1% turnover rate which was 47th in the country. Meyer will be a key piece to the Blazers’ rotation this season.
DayJaun Anderson (6’2)
Anderson is one of three players coming to UAB out of the JUCO ranks. He was lights out last season as he shot 42.4% overall and 37.3% from beyond the arc on 303 attempts throughout the season. However, he’s not just strong offensively, but at 6’2 he’s also a strong rebounder and menace with his on-ball defense. It’s worth keeping in mind that Triton College is one of the top JUCO programs in the country. They finished as the 2024 National Runner-ups, and last season he finished 29-6 and made it to the Sweet 16. Other players on the team are headed to Arizona State, Milwaukee, McNeese, and more. Anderson was a standout player on a talented JUCO team, and I believe his talents will translate to UAB quickly.
Ari Gooch (6’1)
After a dominating freshman season at McLennan where he averaged 14.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, Ari Gooch landed at UAB. He shot 51.4% overall from the floor and 36.3% from beyond the arc. He’s lightning quick on the floor and I love his jumper. He can stop on a dime to take a mid-range shot or dish it off to an open teammate. Plus, he features some strong verticality, allowing him to take advantage in the paint. The Blazers have a lot of guards, but we should be seeing him quite a bit in the rotation in his sophomore season.
Chance Westry (6’6)
Westry started his college basketball career back in the 2022-2023 season for Auburn where he appeared in 11 games and averaged 2.5 points, 0.7 rebounds, and on assist. He then battled injuries, which led him to getting back on the court last season with Syracuse for three games. Coming out of high school, he was a four-star recruit and ranked in the top 50 of his class. He has a nice jumper, he’s quick on his feet, and in what little we’ve seen so far he seems to be a solid defender.
One thing that I’ll be looking forward to seeing here for Westry is, he’ll be hungry. He hasn’t had a chance to live up to his full potential yet, and now at UAB he’ll have a chance to earn a solid spot in the rotation and show people what he can do at full health.
Salim London (6’4)
Coming out of Hoover, Alabama, London was listed as a 3-star and top 300 recruit according to 247 Sports. At 6’4, he primarily played as a point guard for his team while leading them to two state championships in a row. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.9 steals in his senior season. I’m attaching some footage from his time in the AAU ranks last year. What stands out to me is his quickness and awareness on the court. He has a knack to get crafty when driving to the paint and he can use his physique to give him an advantage. The Blazers are a bit loaded with guards, but I’d be surprised if he don’t see London earn some minutes as a freshman.
London had offers from Kennesaw State, James Madison, and UAB.
Forwards
KyeRon Lindsay (6’8)
A former top recruit, Lindsay has bounced around between Georgia, Texas Tech, and Murray State over the last three seasons. As a freshman at Georgia, he averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds across ten games. His playing time diminished at Texas Tech, but it rebounded at Murray State where he appeared in 32 games and averaged 15.2 minutes. He finished the season with some strong metrics across the board including a 105 offensive rating, 23.4% defensive rebounding percentage, 10.8% offensive rebounding percentage, and a 5.8% blocking percentage. He’s not a three point threat, however, at 6’8 he can fill in that four position where the Blazers don’t have a ton of height depth.
Evan Chatman (6’7)
Chatman is joining his fellow McLennan teammate Ari Gooch with UAB this season. At McLennan last season, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 45.1% overall and 34.1% from three-point. He had some monster games, including a 30 point performance against Grayson College. Chatman even earned the honor of being named a JUCO All-American following his strong performances. The Blazers don’t have a ton of division one experience with height on the roster, so you can imagine that Chatman should slot into the rotation immediately and provide an impact role on day one.
Lance Carr (6’7)
Carr was listed as a three-star recruit and top 400 prospect per 247 Sports. For his size, he’s extremely nimble on the floor. He has strong verticality, allowing him to flush home dunks and post some crazy blocks. During his junior year of high school, he finished averaging a remarkable three blocks per game. I think he’s highly underrated and he could easily earn some minutes coming off the bench in his first season of college basketball.
Carr had offers from Louisiana Tech, Troy, San Jose State, and more.
Centers
Joao Das Chagas (6’10)
Joao Das Chagas didn’t appear in a game his freshman season at Utah Valley, however, he had plenty of experience playing for the NBA Academy coming out of Brazil. After Utah Valley, he spent a season at Arizona Western College then Indiana Hills Community College in the JUCO ranks. At Indian Hills last season, he appeared in 26 games and averaged 6.1 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 54.4% from the floor. He’s still a bit of a raw talent in my opinion, however, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to show the Blazers what he is capable of this season. He’s highly athletic and a proven prolific rebounder. While he won’t post Yaxel numbers, he’ll certainly help will the void with his defensive and rebounding presence.
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Expectations
There’s a lot to like about this roster. Kennedy didn’t shell out hundreds of thousands in NIL money for transfers, but he got creative and I think it’s a recipe that could work out well for the Blazers this season. Let’s look at a potential starting lineup:
Ahmad Robinson
Quaran McPherson/Jacob Meyer
Daniel Rivera
KyeRon Lindsay/Evan Chatman
Joao Das Chagas
Coming off the bench first would be Ari Gooch, Jacob Meyer/McPherson, and DayJaun Anderson to provide guard depth. Chance Westry should have a reasonable chance to slot into one of those spots as well depending on how well he’s stepping back into an expanded roll in the preseason. Then in the backcourt, you’d want either Lindsay or Chatman along with Lance Carr to provide some assistance on locking down the paint.
In the secondary guard spot, Kennedy couldn’t go wrong with either McPherson or Meyer. Meyer was dominate at Coastal Carolina and he has experience in the Big East in a rotation spot for DePaul. McPherson also has a proven track record in division one. I’d lean slightly towards Meyer in that starting spot. Gooch, he should have an opportunity to run the court in the secondary unit and then either Meyer or McPherson can be the secondary guard with his additional experience as well. You should see DayJaun Anderson getting some minutes as well.
In the backcourt, you have to start Joao Das Chagas at center. Then you can start either Lindsay or Chatman in the traditional power forward spot. I’d lean towards Lindsay, again because I lean more towards proven track record at this level. However, Chatman was JUCO All-American, so depending on how everything is going in the preseason, we could easily see him in that starting lineup as well. Off the bench, I don’t see how we don’t see some Lance Carr minutes. With the lack of depth, he should have an opportunity to make an impact in his first season of division one basketball.
My main concern with the roster is the lack of height. The American is a gauntlet of teams that have above average talent and with Joao Das Chagas being the only true center of the team, the Blazers could get exposed in the paint. However, it’s worth noting that players like Evan Chatman and KyeRon Lindsay can certainly help close this gap by just playing a bit shorter. Over the last two seasons, defense hasn’t been a concern for Kennedy as the Blazers finished 231st in adjusted defensive efficiency last season and 198th the year prior.
Overall, I like the makeup of this team. It’s an entirely brand new roster in which only two of the players have played together previously in Ari Gooch and Evan Chatman coming in from McLennan. With an entire new roster, there will be some growing pains as they learn to play together and Kennedy has numerous amounts of combinations that he can try in the lineups. However, we should be looking at Kennedy’s sixth 20+ win season in a row.