Penny Hardaway was busy working the NCAA transfer portal Tuesday afternoon.

Penny Hardaway has landed his first official commitment of the transfer portal season: Washington State sharpshooter Rihards Vavers.

But it’s been a week since the NCAA transfer portal opened, and the Tigers, who are remaking their roster, have not yet landed anyone. But there have been some interesting developments.

The four-star prospect committed to Penny Hardaway and the Tigers, giving the Memphis basketball program some much-needed momentum after the worst on-court season since the 1970s.

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Among nearly 2,000 players who have entered the transfer portal, Penny Hardaway will likely need to find 11 to assemble his make-or-break team. So who might they be? 

New Tigers women’s coach Hana Haden has a shorter contract than her predecessor and will make slightly less money in supplemental pay.

To keep track of which players stay and go — and which from the portal wind up at Memphis — here’s a breakdown of the Tigers’ latest roster rebuild.

After Memphis’ dismal 2025-26 season, Simon Majok planned to return to the Tigers with the hope of making next season different. “Unfortunately,” he’ll now search for a new team.

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Davis — a first-team All-American Conference selection in his lone season at Memphis in 2022-23 — finished with 35 points and 14 assists in the title-clinching game en route to being named NBL26 Championship Series MVP.

Hana Haden is bringing her staff of Georgia Southern assistant coaches to Memphis.

The Memphis Tigers basketball program has its first GM, whose duties will include roster management, recruiting, revenue-share strategies and player evaluation.

Berry joins Memphis native Curtis Givens III and Ashton Hardaway, the son of coach Penny Hardaway, with reported plans to enter the portal.

“Women’s basketball is booming. Except in Memphis, where it’s been a drag. Hana Haden — the new coach of the Tigers — is going to change that.”

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The new head coach for the Tigers women’s basketball team looks to accomplish at Memphis what she has done everywhere else — win. 

Givens is a native Memphian who averaged 9.4 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game for the Tigers in 2025-26.

Joshua Townsend is the fifth staff member to be let go by head coach Penny Hardaway.

As we near the truly busy season, i.e., the transfer portal window opening, here are just a few things I’m hearing at the local and national level in college basketball.

Penny Hardaway announced that he has added Tony Madlock as associate head coach and Sean Mock and Trevor DeLoach as assistant coaches for the 2026-27 season, according to a news release Monday.

Madlock was previously an assistant coach on Hardaway’s staff with the Tigers from 2018-21.

The son of coach Penny Hardaway becomes the first member of the 2025-26 team with eligibility remaining to announce his intention to depart the program.

The Memphis Tigers have three future men’s basketball games scheduled against Virginia Commonwealth, according to a report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Hana Haden was named the 2026 Sun Belt Coach of the Year. 

Now that the decision has been made to bring Penny Hardaway back, everyone in Memphis hopes he’ll be successful — and that his ninth year will be the charm. The task before him is immense.

Julius Thedford, who averaged 8.4 points and a team-high five rebounds in 2025-26, is staying with Memphis. But the Tigers have more work to do.