Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

After not competing in 2024, Boeheim’s Army is back for the 2025 rendition of The Basketball Tournament.

The tournament bracket was released on June 23, unveiling BA’s path toward its first TBT title since 2021. Boeheim’s Army holds the No. 1 seed in the Syracuse regional, where it’ll face No. 8 seed Herkimer Originals in the Round of 64 on July 19 at 6 p.m.

The Syracuse regional also includes Stars of Storrs, Green Mountain Men, We Are D3, Layne’s Hope, Rise and Grind and Brown Ballers. Should Boeheim’s Army defeat Herkimer Originals, it’ll have to beat two of said teams to win the region. It’d then face the winner of the Indianapolis regional to reach the Final Four.

Boeheim’s Army returns just three players from its 2023 squad but has replenished its lineup with Syracuse University alumni and several recent March Madness standouts. Here’s a look at Boeheim’s Army’s 2025 roster:

Buddy Boeheim (Played at SU from 2018-2022)

Syracuse’s darling from the early 2020s makes his long-awaited TBT debut in 2025. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard helped the No. 11 seed Orange to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021, pouring in 55 points and 13 3-pointers across his first two March Madness games.

Boeheim averaged 19.2 points as a senior at SU to earn All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team honors before he went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. He’s since played in the NBA G League with the Detroit Pistons and, most recently, the 2025 NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Rakeem Christmas (2011-2015)

The 6-foot-9 Christmas makes his third consecutive appearance for Boeheim’s Army. He started for four years at Syracuse, including a stellar senior season, in which he averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds a game.

Christmas won the conference’s Most Improved Player and Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 before declaring for the NBA Draft, where he was selected 36th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He played two years with the Indiana Pacers before moving overseas, where he’s appeared for 17 teams in eight years. Christmas most recently settled with Hangtuah Jakarta of the Indonesian Basketball League.

Malachi Richardson (2015-2016)

Richardson was one of Syracuse’s more notable one-and-done stars of the 2010s. A former McDonald’s All-American and four-star recruit, he averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Orange, earning him All-ACC Freshman Team honors.

Richardson declared for the 2016 NBA Draft, where he was chosen 22nd overall in the first round by the Charlotte Hornets. He floated between the NBA and NBA G League while a member of the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.

Since, Richardson has bounced around nine squads in six years, both internationally and in the G League, most recently playing for Astros de Jalisco in the National Professional Basketball League in Mexico.

Chris McCullough (2014-2015)

McCullough makes his fourth appearance for Boeheim’s Army this summer. He played just 16 games for Syracuse as a freshman before tearing his ACL.

Chris McCullough looks for a teammate to pass to in Boeheim’s Army’s 2023 TBT run. McCullough played just one shortened season with the Orange from 2014-15. Courtesy of Ben Solomon

Nonetheless, McCullough was selected 29th overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2015 NBA Draft. He appeared for the Nets and Washington Wizards, plus five G League squads, before heading overseas in 2019. Most recently, he signed with Pelita Jaya in Indonesia.

Elijah Hughes (2018-2020)

Hughes spent his junior and senior seasons at Syracuse after transferring from East Carolina. He broke out as a senior, averaging 19 points and 4.9 rebounds to earn a First Team All-ACC selection.

Hughes was drafted 39th overall in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. He spent time with the NBA’s Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, then played for the Milwaukee Bucks’ and Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League affiliates. Hughes made the move overseas in 2025, where he’s now playing for Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.

Jimmy Boeheim (2021-2022)

Jimmy Boeheim makes his third appearance with Boeheim’s Army this summer, reuniting with his brother, Buddy. He played three seasons at Cornell before transferring to Syracuse for his final year of eligibility in 2021. Boeheim lived up to the hype, averaging 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

He spent time with the Detroit Pistons before playing for AS Karditsas in Greece and Nymburk in Czechia. Boeheim has since played in Germany for Tigers Tübingen and now BG Göttingen.

Frank Mason III

Mason, a former National Player of the Year and consensus All-American at Kansas, enters his first summer with Boeheim’s Army as one of the most decorated players on the squad. He averaged 20.9 points per game while shooting 47% from 3 as a senior at Kansas before going to the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Mason spent time with four NBA franchises and captured G League MVP honors in 2020. In 2023, he headed overseas, where he most recently featured for Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico. While Kansas has a TBT alumni squad of its own, JHX Hoops, Mason flipped to Boeheim’s Army on June 25.

Jacob Gilyard

Gilyard, the NCAA’s all-time leader in career steals, will also play his first TBT with Boeheim’s Army. He played at the University of Richmond for five seasons, notably helping the Spiders pull off a March Madness upset over No. 5 seed Iowa in 2022.

Gilyard went undrafted but signed with the Memphis Grizzlies’ G League affiliate for the 2022-23 season, where he led the league in assists. He appeared with the Brooklyn Nets’ and Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League teams before signing with his current squad, Niners Chemnitz, in Germany.

Nick Perkins

Perkins makes his Boeheim’s Army debut this summer after previously playing for TBT rival Blue Collar U, a Buffalo alumni squad. He won the 2022 TBT championship with Blue Collar U and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Perkins played four seasons at Buffalo, where he was a First-Team All-Mid-American Conference selection twice and a three-time MAC Sixth Man of the Year. His professional career began in Japan and has spanned five teams in four countries. Perkins currently plays for TSG Ghosthawks in Taiwan.

Noah Starkey

The 7-foot Starkey spent his collegiate career at Southern Nazarene, averaging 10.9 points and being named the Great American Conference Defender of the Year twice.
He began his professional career in Portugal before ending up in the NBA G League. Starkey played for the Indiana Pacers’ affiliate before becoming a G League Champion with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization in 2024.

Charles Pride

Pride, a Syracuse native, was a standout for Liverpool High School before inking his college commitment to Bryant. Pride averaged 13.6 points per game with the Bulldogs before transferring to St. Bonaventure for his graduate season, where he scored 10.9 points on 40% shooting from 3.

Pride appeared in the NBA Summer League for the Charlotte Hornets after going undrafted in 2024. He’s since suited up for the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate and most recently Auckland Tuatara in New Zealand.

Jamil Wilson

The 6-foot-7 wing enters his first summer with Boeheim’s Army. Wilson played college basketball at Oregon for a year before transferring to Marquette, where he played three seasons.

Wilson went undrafted in 2014 but signed with the Detroit Pistons’ organization. Wilson has since produced a journeyman professional career, playing for 23 different squads across the world in 11 years. He most recently appeared for Club Atlético Aguada in Uruguay.

Published on July 15, 2025 at 11:48 am
harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6