For the first time since the 2021 offseason, New Mexico has a new head coach.
Out is Richard Pitino, who has left Albuquerque for Cincinnati, Ohio, to coach the Xavier Musketeers. Former UC San Diego coach Eric Olen is the new coach in charge of the Lobos. Olen just led the Tritons to their best season in their short Division I history with a 30-5 record and a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As of writing on this post, New Mexico has zero players on the roster for next season. A lot of work still needs to be done in the portal and to fill out Olen’s staff for the 2025-26 season.
The New Mexico Tritons
Olen will almost certainly bring a few players over from his days in the Big West. The only question is, who?
One name that has been floated is Nordin Kapic, who recently entered his name into the transfer portal. In his junior year, the Austrian averaged 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Another player to watch is incoming freshman Uriah Tenette. Tenette never suited up for UCSD, having recently re-opened his recruitment after Olen went east. The 5-foot-10 point guard could be a candidate to follow Olen to New Mexico.
Tru to Home?
On a team that was loaded with talent last year, there was one player who went under the radar: Tru Washington.
A guard, Washington was the third option for the Lobos behind Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph. Averaging 11.1 points per game, he was a reliable scoring option in Albuquerque.
However, Washington has entered the transfer portal. He could be following Pitino to Xavier, but a return to New Mexico isn’t completely out of the question. His return could be a foundational building block for Olen next season, if he can figure out a way to retain him.
Eric Olen… and who else?
Before the Lobos can really add through the portal, Olen needs to figure out who’s going to be on his staff first, and quickly.
A lot of transfer adds are done through the connections of assistant coaches. If Olen can’t figure out who he wants to bring with him to Albuquerque, then the nonexistent roster will have to wait to be filled.
