Welcome to Wyoming Hoops: Jace Beidleman

LARAMIE -- "We recruit winners."

Sundance Wicks said that, referring to landing high school standouts Madden Smiley and Chris Pohl in the offseason. The latter could soon be a menace in the paint for the Wyoming basketball program. The other, leading the charge and manning the point.

Get our free mobile app

This third-year bench boss wasn't just talking about success at the prep level, though, when he made that statement. Can't forget the NCAA Transfer Portal, which has been more of a foe to this university than a friend in years past.

Did Wicks flip the script in 2026-27?

It appears so.

The Cowboys return 50% of their offensive production from an 18-win squad that punched its ticket to the postseason for the first time since March of 2022. Promising freshmen Naz Meyer (12.9 ppg) and Gavin Gores (7.3) bought into the mission. So did transfer guards Uriyah Rojas (6.2) and Khaden Bennett (10.2). Those four, along with redshirt rookie Neil Summers, are all back in the mix this fall.

That group also accounted for 15.1 of the team's 35.5 boards per game. Meyer and Bennett each averaged nearly five a night.

Damarion Dennis and his 11.2 points an outing are gone. He's now at Texas Tech, lacing them up for former UW head coach Jeff Linder. Forwards Simm-Marten Saadi (Central Arkansas) and Abou Magassa (UNC Asheville) changed addresses, too. Adam Harakow (Western Michigan) and Jared Harris (Prairie View A&M) also entered free agency.

Outside of Dennis' production, the other four combined to net just 16.4 points per contest.

Wyoming lost its leading scorer, Leland Walker (13.5 ppg), along with Kiani Saxon and Matija Belic to graduation. That trio averaged 21 a game.

Let's meet the 10 new faces on this roster:

NAME | Jace Beidleman

YEAR | Junior

HT/WT | 6' 10", 190

HOMETOWN | Ripon, Calif.

POSITION | Forward

JERSEY NUMBER | 30

PREVIOUS SCHOOL | Laramie County Community College

YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY | Two

NOTABLE | Jace Beidleman is headed over the hill after appearing in 53 games over two season at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. The California product sank 50% (35-of-70) of his shots from the field and just 27.3 (3-of-11) from beyond the arc, while averaging 1.5 points per outing. He finished with 82 total points during his stint at LCCC. Beidleman, along with Kansas 5A Player of the Year Kelan Gruver, will walk-on to the Cowboy program, replacing Talon Taylor and Garret Spielman.

QUOTABLE | "I think there's a lot of guys out there that want to test their mettle at this level, want to be a part of it. They want to see what they're capable of," -- Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks, speaking about walk-on's Jace Beidleman and Kelan Gruver.

WELCOME TO UW BASKETBALL SERIES:

* Mike Mora

* Madden Smiley

* Kelan Gruver

* Chris Pohl

* Renars Sondors

* Micah Curtis

* Mattia De Martin

* Linus Ruf

* Parker Gerrits

MORE UW HOOPS NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* 'Extremely Underrated': Wyoming's Basketball Staff Remains Intact