The Idaho Vandals men’s basketball program has been hit hard by the transfer portal.
The Vandals have lost seven players from this season’s roster as they look to defend their Big Sky championship.
Three of the Vandals’ five starters from this past season, freshman forward Jackson Rasmussen, senior guard Isaiah Brickner and redshirt sophomore Kolton Mitchell, have all entered the transfer portal. Joining them are redshirt junior guards Jack Payne, Trevon Blassingame and Titus Yearout, as well as sophomore forward Ewan Steele.
Coming off a magical 2025-2026 season in which they finished with a 21-14 record, a Big Sky Tournament championship, and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990, the Vandals looked to be building toward the future. However, that future now seems to be heading elsewhere.
Mitchell headlines the departures. The Coeur d’Alene native came to the Vandals before the 2024-25 season after spending his freshman year in Pocatello at Idaho State. From the moment he stepped on campus, Mitchell became the heart and soul of the program.
He averaged 13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game and was a key to the Vandals’ success this season, helping guide them to their first 20-win season of the Alex Pribble era and a Big Sky championship. Mitchell leaves Moscow and will surely attract significant interest in the portal.
Rasmussen, a Meridian native, came to Idaho and made an immediate impact, appearing in 35 games and scoring 477 points, the most by a freshman in a single season in program history. He averaged 13.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while serving as a backbone of the Vandals on both ends of the floor.
Rasmussen will take his talents to Corvallis, Oregon, where he will play for the Oregon State Beavers.
Brickner came to Idaho from Marist College before the 2024-25 season. He played limited minutes early on, but an injury to junior guard Kristian Gonzalez thrust him into a larger role, and he became one of the team’s key contributors. Brickner averaged 11.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, including a 23-point explosion in the Big Sky Tournament championship win over Montana.
One of the Vandals’ strengths down the stretch was experience and bench depth, areas where Payne and Blassingame made their mark both on the court and in the locker room.
Payne, a Boise native, came to the Vandals after two seasons at Colorado State and quickly proved his worth in an Idaho uniform. He appeared in 33 games and averaged 10.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during the 2025-2026 season, serving as a spark alongside Mitchell.
He scored 20 points against Portland State and 18 in the loss the following night to Montana in the Vandals’ two Big Sky Tournament games.
Like Payne, Blassingame made an immediate impact on the defensive end. The Auburn, Washington, native arrived at Idaho in the 2023-2024 season after spending his freshman year at Fairleigh Dickinson. A defensive nightmare for opponents, he was instrumental in building the foundation for the Vandals’ championship run. In 2023-24, he appeared in 31 games and averaged 4.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game before being sidelined for the entire 2024-25 season with an injury.
He came back this season ready to contribute, appearing in all 35 games and averaging 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds. His impact wasn’t always reflected on the stat sheet, but it was felt throughout the season. Blassingame will play his final season of college basketball at William & Mary.
Yearout came to Idaho in 2022 and struggled to find his footing, playing sparingly before redshirting last season. The Lapwai native will look to earn more playing time and showcase his abilities at his next school.
Steele had a similar experience. The Ontario, Canada, native joined the Vandals last season but saw limited playing time given the depth of the roster. He will look for a bigger role at Stonehill College.
With these departures, plenty of questions now surround this Vandal team as they look to reload and build another championship roster in Moscow.