Top 5 basketball players returning to Marquette for 2024-25 season ft. Kam Jones

Head coach Shaka Smart has led the Marquette Golden Eagles to three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament in his first three years at the helm. Last season was the best in terms of NCAA success with the team making its first Sweet Sixteen appearance in over a decade. The team finished with a record of 27-10, good for a third-place finish in the Big East Men's standings.

Led by Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek, who averaged 17.2 points and 15.3 points respectively, the team had a strong base to work off. Kolek also led the nation with 7.9 assists, earning his second All-American in the process.

With Tyler declaring for the 2024 NBA draft, the team is going to have a different outlook with a big scoring chunk missing. Similarly, senior Oso Ighodaro has also decided to take his talents to the professional level. However, the rest of the 2023 squad appears to be unscathed with a few recruits joining the ranks in 2024.

Top 5 basketball players returning to Marquette

#5, Chase Ross

The Golden Eagles will be expecting big things from junior guard Chase Ross. At 6-foot-5, Ross possesses the physical tools to be a matchup nightmare. With sweet efficiency at 42.5% from the field and 36.2% from downtown, Ross has shown flashes of his potential, with his 1.3 steals a night last season highlighting the role he could play defensively.

At 6.1 ppg in his sophomore season, Ross was a minor contributor in a little under 22 minutes a night. With the guard rotation opening up in Kolek's absence, it could be a chance for the Dallas native to make his mark.

#4, Stevie Mitchell

Steadily seeing an increase in his role, Stevie Mitchell will have big shoes to fill as he takes over the guard role from Tyler Kolek. After a season averaging just 8.8 points and under an assist per night, Mitchell figures to be a bigger part of the offense as he enters his senior campaign.

His shooting remains suspect, especially for the lead guard role at, 26.5% in 2023-24, steadily dropping from the 35% he showcased his freshman year. Mitchell also provides a defensive punch.

At 6-foot-3, he can handle most PG assignments, with a perchance for knocking balls loose as his last two seasons averaging 1.7 and 1.9 steals respectively indicate.

#3, Ben Gold

Entering his junior season, Marquette will be expecting 6-foot-11 forward Ben Gold to take another step forward like he did from his 1st to 2nd year, nearly doubling his scoring, going from 2.7 points a night to averaging 5 ppg.

His efficiency also saw a dramatic increase, especially from long range, as he went from a 30% shooter his freshman year, all the way to nearly 36% last season. An increase in playing time also coincided with rebounds increasing from 1 a game to 3.

#2, David Joplin

Another senior making their way back to the Golden Eagles is 6-foot-6 forward David Joplin. After barely featuring in his freshman season, Joplin's minutes and production took a big step up in Year 2, a trend that continued into his junior year.

Improving as a scorer, he became a double-digit contributor, averaging 10.8 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. His 3-point splits took a bump as he regressed from a near 40% shooter in his sophomore season to 35.5% last year.

#1, Kam Jones

Kameron Jones announced via a post on Instagram that he was returning to Marquette for his senior year, after leading the team with 17.2 ppg last season en route to a second seed in the NCAA Tournament.

With the departure of Kolek, a bigger responsibility will fall on the 6-foot-6 guard as an initiator of the offense, not just for himself, but for the team as a whole. His season was a major improvement over the 2022-23 season, where he earned second-team All-Big East honors.

The biggest jump came from a shooting standpoint where Kam finished as a 40.6% marksman from long range.

Who do you think will serve as the biggest X-factor for Marquette next season? Let us know in the comments below.