FORT MYERS, Fla. – Summer practice is underway and men's basketball head coach Pat Chambers is attacking the offseason with the same energy that he brings on the Alico Arena floor every winter.

Chambers' squad tied for the fewest departures via the transfer portal in the ASUN while retaining eight players from the 2025-26 squad for the 2026-27 season.

"It's a vicious puzzle, or recipe, or formula I'm trying to put together," Chambers told David Wasson on the Mic Check Sports podcast. "I'm fired up about that. I'm super excited about that. I can't wait. I have fresh eyes, a fresh outlook, fresh excitement, fresh energy to work with a new team."

Darren Williams and George Washington III lead the eight returners, along with BB Washington, Matt McCarthy, Chase Konieczny, Gabe Tanner, Tristen Guillouette and Evan Barlow. Williams shot 35.7% from 3-point range on 140 attempts, along with a perfect 16-for-16 season at the free throw line. Williams is FGCU's leading returner in every stat category aside from offensive rebounds and blocks, both of which belong to Guillouette.

"The guys that we retained are just amazing. Darren Williams, going on his junior year – to keep somebody three years, that's not heard of," Chambers said. "Tristen (Guillouette), keeping him, BB Washington, keeping him, George Washington III, Gabe Tanner, Matt McCarthy, Chase Konieczny, all these guys, Evan Barlow, all coming back. They're the culture carriers. They're the voices right now."

Williams and the returners are joined by eight newcomers – four transfers and four freshmen. Graduate transfers Elijah Brooks and Bryson Lucas, senior Charles (CJ) Outlaw, and sophomore Justin Houser compose the transfer class. Nikolas Sermpezis, Trace Westercamp, Turk Brown III and Kingston Wheatley are Chambers' quartet of freshmen.

"I would say, player development wise, they all chose us because we did some really good things," Chambers said. "Three of our guys went to higher levels and they're doing really well, and a lot of our guys the last couple of years – we got guys in the G League, we got guys overseas that are doing really well. So why wouldn't you come here?"

Brooks enters as a graduate student from Houston Christian, where he averaged 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 30.5 minutes per game prior to a season-ending injury as a senior. As a junior for the Huskies, he shot 47.8% from the field and averaged 9.1 points per game.

Another graduate transfer, Lucas averaged 17.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game during his final year with Cal U (PA). He led the Vulcans to a 23-9 record and PSAC Tournament Championship, besting the eventual Division II national champions, Gannon. The forward scored in double-digits 27 times in 32 games played, including two 30-point games and ten 20-point games. 

The son of former NBA player Bo Outlaw, CJ Outlaw spent the 2025-26 season with UMass after dominating in the paint for NJCAA national champion Trinity Valley Community College in 2024-25. He started 37 games and shot 73% from the field for TVCC.

Houser arrives at FGCU as the first 7-0 tall player in men's basketball program history. The sophomore comes to Fort Myers after spending his freshman season at Penn State. He led the Nittany Lions in blocks as a freshman, and was a three-star recruit and the No. 8 player in Pennsylvania out of high school. He won a 2025 PAISSA State Championship with Phelps School, and totaled 1,156 points, 614 rebounds and 140 blocks throughout his high school career.

Sermpezis brings international experience to The Nest after playing for FC Bayern in Germany. In the 2025-26 NBBL season, he averaged 28.5 points per game on 59.6% shooting from the field and 39.1% shooting from 3-point range in 24.8 minutes per game, leading the NBBL in scoring. His scoring prowess continued after a promotion to the German ProB league, where he averaged 19.2 points per game on 52.6% shooting from the field.

The stateside freshman trio includes Turk Brown III, Kingston Wheatley and Trace Westercamp. Brown III continues the Philadelphia connection on the roster after playing at Paul VI Catholic High School, where he was the starting point guard for head coach Glenn Farello. A 43% 3-point shooter, he helped Paul VI to the No. 10 national ranking in the country at the end of his junior season. Wheatley was named Second Team All-State in Pennsylvania in 2024-25 after averaging 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per game. Westercamp was ranked the No. 2 power forward and No. 31 player in Florida out of high school after playing for The Rock.

Season tickets to watch Coach Chambers, the eight returners and the eight newcomers in action for FGCU men's basketball are on sale now. 

For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.