There are many words that could be used to describe year 1 of the Pitino era. One could say underwhelming or expected. However I would use the word hopeful. There were so many positive and promising moments, I can’t even begin to list them all. While there were some negative ones too, I see a bright future for the Xavier Musketeers.
Richard Pitino had a late start in the portal, only one returning player, and a limited NIL budget. The Muskies also lost one of their best players before the season even started, in Gabe Pozzato. Expectations were super low, and X still competed the whole year. Let’s start by running through all the highs and lows of the season.
Notable Moments
Opening Night | Xavier vs Marist | November 3rd, 2025
The first game of the Pitino era was a bit unsettling for a program so used to huge success in games like these. Marist hung tough with the Muskies the entire game and took a lead with under 2 to go. A Jovan Milicevic three to take back the lead brought Xavier to a 1-0 start.
2nd Week of Regular Season | Xavier vs Santa Clara/Iowa | November 10-14, 2025
This was a catastrophic week for the Muskies. On a late Monday night game, Santa Clara comes in and dominates Xavier. They would have won by 30 if not for Roddie Anderson’s late game performance. Later that week, the Muskies headed to Iowa for their first real road test. This ended poorly with a 19 point loss. This was arguable the lowest point of X’s entire season.
Charleston Classic | Xavier vs Georgia/West Virginia | November 21-23, 2025
The Muskies showed some major signs of life at this tournament. They played the Georgia Bulldogs, a known tournament team, and lost on a bad call by 1 point. Two days later, they played West Virginia and proceeded to put on a three point shooting clinic. Xavier was showing some talent and ability to play with good teams.
Crosstown Shootout | Xavier vs Cincinnati | December 5th, 2025
This has to be the highlight of the year for the Muskies. Tre Carroll was absolutely dominant for the Musketeers, dropping 30. The crowd in Cintas was on another level and it allowed Xavier to extend their dominance of UC as of recent.
The Blowout | Xavier vs Creighton | December 17th, 2025
Creighton beat Xavier by 41 on their home court, that’s all I have to say.
After around a month of relatively quiet conference play, one of the best moments of the year played out.
The Game Winner | Xavier vs DePaul | January 31st, 2026
DePaul had taken a 16 point lead with around ten minutes to go in the second half. The Xavier Musketeers were being booed. However, Pitino proceeded to coach Xavier all the way back into the game. It was 66-66 with one last possession for X. Filip Borovicanin had the ball and proceeded to knock down a mid range buzzer beater to send Cintas into a frenzy.
OT Choke | Xavier vs Villanova | February 17th, 2026
Xavier had Villanova on the roped and had forced OT at Cintas. However, the Muskies made some bad plays down the stretch and Tre Carroll had a chance to tie the game right in front of him, but he turned it over and Xavier lost. This was one of the most demoralizing, yet encouraging results of the season.
Big East Tournament | Xavier vs Marquette | March 12th, 2026
This game is fresh in all of our minds, as it was an absolute thriller. Xavier pulled it out and Richard Pitino picked up a BET win in his first year as a head coach at X.
Grades
I will be grading each player’s season, Pitino’s coaching, and the overall result of the season for X.
Tre Carroll (A+): Tre was the guy for the Muskies all year, he won them the Shootout, and was the 5th Xavier player to ever make the Big East 1st Team. Tre also missed the Big East scoring crown by .1 points, due to injury. He will be greatly missed at Xavier.
Jovan Milicevic (A): Jovan was great for the Muskies all year, and he was only a sophomore. I expect Pitino to be heavily pursuing him, as he can be a key piece once again next year
Filip Borovicanin (A): Filip was a swiss army knife for Xavier. He averaged 10.8 PPG, and led the team in rebounds and assists. Filip is fighting for another year of eligibility, and if he can get one, expect him to return to Xavier.
Malik Messina-Moore (A-): Malik was very good for X this year, he was an all-around guy and was extremely shifty. X could use him late in the game, as he is one of the guys who can nail a clutch three.
Roddie Anderson (B): Roddie was the one returning player for Xavier this season. He redshirted last year and announced he was coming back on X/Twitter in a hilarious way. Roddie was a hustle guy, he always went for every ball and played hard no matter how bad the deficit. I would expect one of Roddie/All Wright to return next year.
All Wright (B-): All was a starter for the Musketeers and showed some real flashes of potential, Being a sophomore, he has time to develop into a dangerous, shifty guard who can knock it down from 3. As stated above, expect All or Roddie to return.
Isaiah Walker (B-): Zay is the definition of scrappy and tough. He is only 6’5″ and he would be down in the post mixing it up with guys like Tarris Reed Jr. Isaiah could also shoot the 3 ball extremely well.
Pape N’Diaye (D): Pape showed some flashes of what he could be. A 7’0″ shotblocker scaring people out of the paint, who can also knock down 3s. He didn’t play much this year and is only a Sophomore. I would expect one of Pape/Anthony Robinson to return.
Anthony Robinson (D): Anthony Robinson had a very similar season to Pape N’Diaye, little to no minutes. However, he showed real flashes of pure athleticism, making him dangerous in years to come, as he is also only a Sophomore. As said above, either ARob or Pape will return.
Coach Pitino (A-): Richard had so many obstacles this year, he joined the team when most of the portal’s top talent was gone. The NIL was lacking, he had zero returning minutes, and a huge injury before the season started. Despite all that, the Muskies won the Crosstown Shootout, competed with the best in the Big East, won 15 games, and won a Big East Tournament game. Pitino can coach and I think Xavier has found their guy for years to come.
Overall Season (C): For a program so used to success, this season was still a letdown. It’s hard to watch the team you cheer for lose all these games. Even if it was expected. However, there were many positive flashes and this team was a ton of fun to watch. I would watch out for the Xavier Musketeers next year, as I think they will be a tournament team.
On that note, lets move on to next year’s roster outlook and the transfer portal. Passing it over to @nkybracketology to discuss.
Roster Outlook/Transfer Portal
Xavier’s facing yet another almost total rebuild heading into this offseason. The good news? Xavier’s financial backing has significantly improved, and while this year they had a reported 6 million dollars for NIL spending, that number is being reported at 10 million at this time. My initial thought is that we will see the most expensive player(s) who have ever appeared in a Musketeer uniform next season. Everything that I have been able to gather this year indicates that Jovan Milicivic will be the key guy the staff look to return. Sources have indicated that Jovan is likely to return at this point. However, does a school come in and offer him 2.5+ million dollars to move to a blue blood? It’s possible, so this storyline will have to be monitored until Jovan tells the team he’s returning.
Gabriel Pozzato is the second most likely player to return at this time, however, he is an extreme unknown. He was expected to be one of, if not the top player on the team this year before tearing his meniscus and taking a redshirt instead of burning eligibility after the way Xavier’s season played out.
Filip Borovicanin brings about potentially the most intriguing case this year. The coaching staff has indicated that they will pursue a path to get an additional year of eligibility. I’m not sure exactly the premise of his waiver request, but nonetheless, they’re going to try. I’ve talked to some people around the program and there isn’t necessarily a sense on if he will get an additional year, so expect the staff to recruit as-if he is not returning. If he were to return, I’d expect to see him as more of a bench piece/role player to help continue building the culture.
I do expect both Pape and Anthony Robinson to move on to other opportunities this year, however, there is the possibility one of the two return after taking a pay/role cut. Robinson has a Big East caliber body, and if he’s willing to take a bench role and what I would assume would be a pay-cut, he could find his way back.
Xavier’s point guards (All Wright and Roddie Anderson) were both unknowns and while both had solid years, neither proved themselves as a starting caliber Big East point guard. With that, expect one, or both of them to move to other places; If one does return, it would be in a role player role.
Kason Westphal and Mier Panoam will likely move on.
Assessing X’s Needs:
After the above, I’m counting on the following as the roster for Xavier right now:
- Jovan Milicivic
- Gabriel Pozzato
- Kalek House – Freshman guard, staff really likes him. He is expected to contribute next year; 4*, 99th overall per 247 sports
- Asher Elson – Freshman big, 6’10”, 3, 178th overall per 247 sports.
- Gedeon Basoon – Freshman guard, not ranked per 247 sports. I do not expect him to contribute
While I mention that both All and Roddie could move on, it’s also extremely possible one could return, so I just wanted to reiterate that here.
Starting point guard, starting shooting guard, starting center are immediately the first needs. Without having specific numbers here, this is going to be a significant chunk of the Musketeers portal focus and likely a good portion of their budget overall. Neither of Jovan or Gabriel Pozzato should be the highest paid players on next year’s roster, and if they are, Xavier will likely have significant questions heading into the year.
Point Guard – Xavier needs someone who can be more dynamic on the ball and be able to create their own shot at times.
Shooting Guard – This needs to be a shooter. Malik Messina-Moore was a bit inconsistent during the year, and while Xavier shot 37% from deep, they are losing a lot of that shooting between Tre, Malik, and others.
Center – Xavier has to go and get someone who can give them an interior presence. They were 11th in the Big East on the defensive side of the ball. Robinson and Pape were hoped to provide a staunch interior defensive presence with physicality (Robinson) and rim protection (Pape). Neither were able to achieve any resemblance of that this year and Xavier struggled mightily because of it. Expect to see 2 transfer bigs heading to Victory Parkway this year.
Bench – The Muskies will look to bring in a plus defender (i.e someone similar to Walker), who can also step out and shoot at times to come off the bench. If both Roddie and All leave, there is a decent chance that X brings in a second point guard to help fill the gap as relying on a freshman is high risk high reward. Xavier will also have to get an athletic wing who is comfortably backing up Pozzato.
My initial guess at a rotation:
Transfer PG
Transfer SG
Pozzato
Jovan
Transfer C
6th man: Filip (if he gets a year), if not – athletic wing
7: Transfer Big
8: Transfer Guard/House
9: House/Transfer Big
Continue checking our site all off-season for Xavier portal updates!
Cover picture: credit to Xavier Athletics
