Players waiting on roster decisions for next year

MBB: New Head Coach Ryan Miller says those decisions will happen soon

Alden Applewhite is hoping to return to Murray State for his senior season. (Photo: David Eaton/Murray State Athletics)

One of the first things new Murray State Head Coach Ryan Miller will need to figure out as he puts together his first roster for next season is which players from last year will return.

The simple answer to that question: It’s still too early to tell.

“We had a Zoom meeting with the whole staff and with all the players while I was in Louisville playing in the NCAA Tournament (with Creighton),” Miller said. “My biggest thing to them was, ‘Let me get boots on the ground. Let's set up some personal meetings. You get to know me, I get to know you, and we figure out what makes sense for both of us.’”

Here are the players that could potentially return next season:

• Senior forward Alden Applewhite

• Junior guard Patrick Chew

• Senior forward Nick Ellington (who gains an extra year of eligibility due to his playing two seasons of junior college)

• Sophomore forward Jordan McCullum

• Senior guard Justin Morgan

• Incoming freshman guard Tristian Ford

• Incoming freshman guard Kaden Rickard

Applewhite, Chew, Ellington, McCullum and Morgan were all in attendance Thursday afternoon for Miller’s introductory news conference at the CFSB Center. After the Zoom last week, Applewhite, who shot 38.0% from three and averaged 5.8 points per game this last past season, is hopeful he has a future in Murray.

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“I am hoping to be back,” the rising senior said. “I mean, I love it here. That's my plans, but we'll see what the future holds.”

Morgan says he’s hoping to get his one-on-one meeting with Miller in the next day or two. There’s no wavering for Morgan on whether he wants to finish his career at Murray State.

“Absolutely,” Morgan said. “I'm a Racer. That's what I always want to be, and that’s the goal.”

Miller said earlier this week he expects there to be “three or four” holdovers from last year’s roster. He said today we won’t have to wait long to know who will be back.

“It's happening soon,” Miller said when asked about the timeline of those roster decisions. “We're on it already. In the next couple of days, things are going to happen.”