Ole Miss is heading to Puerto Rico this weekend with a roster that’s still in motion.
That’s not a problem. That’s the plan.
Chris Beard said Monday the Rebels currently have 12 players on campus, and he expects that number to grow before the team boards its Saturday flight to San Juan.
“Maximum, it’ll be 13 on the team trip,” Beard said. “We’re hoping to get the roster to 14, maybe even 15 by the time school starts.”
That’s the headline. Ole Miss is taking a nearly full group to Puerto Rico, but Beard is openly leaving space — and flexibility — for more additions before fall.
Henshall is expected to arrive soon
One of those additions is close. Beard said he expects Ben Henshall to arrive before the team departs. If that happens, Ole Miss will take 13 players on its six‑day foreign tour from August 2‑7.
The trip includes two exhibition games and a week of practices, meetings and team-building. Under new NCAA rules, schools can take foreign tours annually instead of once every four years, and Ole Miss planned this trip months ago regardless of roster size.
Henshall’s arrival gives the Rebels another experienced guard and another piece of the backcourt rotation they’re trying to shape. But he might not be the last newcomer.
Question still hangs over the roster
The other potential addition is Mojave King, whose situation Beard described as a “coin flip.”
King is 24, a 6-foot-5 New Zealand-American guard with a long professional résumé. He played last season for Mykonos in Greece, averaging 10.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.4 minutes per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 52 percent from three. Before that, he spent time in Australia’s NBL and with the NBA G League Ignite.
He was selected No. 47 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA Draft, and his rights now belong to the Indiana Pacers.
Ole Miss wants him. Beard has made that clear. But the NCAA still has to make a ruling, and until that happens, King’s status remains in limbo.
Roster still being shaped
That’s the bigger picture. Beard isn’t treating the Puerto Rico trip as the finish line. He’s treating it as a checkpoint — a chance to evaluate the group he has, integrate Henshall, and keep the door open for one or two more additions if the right pieces fall into place.
The Rebels will take 13 players to Puerto Rico. They might have 14 or 15 by the time school starts. And Beard isn’t shy about saying that’s exactly how he wants it.
In a sport where rosters change monthly, Ole Miss is embracing flexibility. The trip will help Beard see what he has. The next few weeks will help him decide what he still needs.
And if the right player becomes available, or the NCAA finally rules on King, the roster might look different by the time the Rebels return from San Juan.
