David Jablonski: Dayton basketball: Breaking down the 2026-27 Flyers roster

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The sixth transfer in six days to commit to the Dayton Flyers played his best basketball at the end of his freshman season at Marshall University.

Landen Joseph, a 6-foot-2 guard nicknamed “Dunk,” replaced junior guard Caleb Hollenbeck in the starting lineup on Feb. 16.

“We made the lineup change because we wanted our best on-ball defender on their best player,” Marshall coach Cornelius Jackson said after that game.

Joseph played a season-high 37 minutes in an 84-80 victory against South Alabama, though South Alabama’s best player, Chase Harris, scored 28 points.

“The kid scored,” Jackson said, “but Landen was there, which was good. He’s a good player.”

One game earlier, Joseph topped 30 minutes for the first time in a 101-87 loss at Georgia Southern.

In the last seven games, six of which he started, Joseph averaged 14 points. He averaged 6.2 in the first 21 games.

Joseph’s play at the end of the season must have caught the attention of Dayton coaches, who added a player who can affect the game at both ends.

“He's quick,” Jackson said in another postgame press conference late in the season. “He has a good feel for the game. He has good anticipation skills.”

The addition of Joseph gives Dayton 14 scholarship players on the 2026-27 roster. That’s the largest group in school history. There was a 13-player limit, not including walk-ons, until the 2025-26 season.

The limit is now 15. Dayton could still add one more player.

The uncertainty surrounding the possibility of the NCAA granting five years of eligibility to everyone, potentially even to players who thought they had exhausted their eligibility this season, raises more questions about roster construction.

According to a report on Friday, April 24, by Jon Rothstein, of CBS Sports, “The (Division I) Board of Directors will meet Monday (and) receive a report from the (D-I) Cabinet on the age-based eligibility proposal (5 in 5). Multiple options are being reviewed regarding parameters for this potential rule (and) when it will be implemented if passed by a future vote.”

Many 2026 seniors, including Dayton guard Javon Bennett, entered their names in the transfer portal in case they are granted a fifth year of eligibility.

Even if Dayton doesn’t add another player, it has a deep bench with plenty of experience and also five players who have never appeared in a college basketball game. The flurry of roster moves earlier this month transformed the roster.

Here’s a by-the-numbers breakdown of what coach Anthony Grant’s 10th team looks like seven months before the season opener. The classes listed are what they’ll be next season.

6: New transfers

This is the second straight season Dayton has added six transfers. The new list includes Joseph and five others who are listed here in the order they committed to Dayton between April 16 and April 21.