PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s a familiar phrase used by arena/stadium workers trying to sell programs, ‘you can’t tell the team without a program’. Updated to 2026, you can’t tell this Pitt basketball team without looking at the website.
In an effort to bounce back from a 13-20 season last year, head coach Jeff Capel, with the guidance of general manager Jay Kuntz, added 13 new players for the 2026-27 season.
The only player back from last year is Macari Moore, who averaged 1.4 points per game over 5.9 minutes per game.
“It’s been a really good group of guys to get to know and be around,” Capel said. “I enjoyed and appreciated how they’ve shown up every day with the willingness to listen, to work, to try to get better, to take constructive criticism. And the passion they’ve approached each day trying to learn how to be a winning team, learn how to be a winning player and try to correct some habits each of them needs to change.”
Facts about the new team
- 7 have played previously in Power Five conferences
- 6 have played before in the ACC
- 1 played at West Virginia
- 10 are at least a junior in standing
- There are 2 freshman and they went to the same high school (IMG Academy)
- Besides the United States, 5 other countries are represented-Canada (2), Guinea, Senegal, France, Russia
“It’s been really cool to watch it,” Capel said. “It’s 13 new guys. It’s two freshmen and 11 guys out of the portal. I think it helps that some of them have familiarity with each other. First and foremost, there is a level of respect each of them have for each other and what that respect has done is that it’s allowed them to push each other, to be really honest with each other and be demanding of each other. It’s been cool to watch it all happen from the summer and certainly when we’ve been back in school this fall.”
All of them are getting some type of payment, each with different deals and different levels. To that point, Capel now just treats them all the same and coaches them. He lets them compete and the best players get on the court.
“I’m agenda free, I don’t have an agenda,” Capel said. “They already got paid. They are getting what they are getting, that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is what you do every day. How you show up? That’s going to determine who plays and how much you play.”
Capel believes they have a deeper and more versatile team this year and that should allow guys to empty the tanks for shorter periods of time and create better overall results. Panthers won two of the three scrimmages they played in, the nine-year Pitt head coach believes they’ve improved after each one. He’s used different starting lineups to test combinations and players are learning from what they see on film.
“There is a toughness that we play with, a togetherness, the ball is moving,” Capel said. “There is a level of physicality that we play with, a level of joy that we play with. We are making shots and we are playing for each other.”
It all starts counting on Monday with the regular-season opener hosting Ryder at 7p (6:30p pregame with Bill Hillgrove and Curtis Aiken on 93.7 The Fan). After that Pitt hosts Buffalo on Thursday, November 5, plays Penn State in Philadelphia on Sunday, November 8 and at Butler on Friday the 13th.
“The main thing is we have to play to our strengths,” Capel said. “We have to be who we are every day and show up with a chip on our shoulder and be unbelievably connected and competitive.”
Panthers got a new roster, what will they become?
LISTEN to what Jeff Capel said about his team, season, changes
LISTEN to what Jeff Capel said about his team, season, changes
