Over the past two days, Colorado State men’s basketball and new head coach Ali Farokhmanesh have added another former four-star recruit and a top-75 ranked transfer while also announcing that six players from the 2024-25 team will return next season.
On Friday, CSU got a commitment from Josh Pascarelli, a 6-foot-3 guard from Marist. Pascarelli announced his commitment on X.
This past season at Marist, Pascarelli averaged 15.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He was a first-team all-MAAC and first-team NABC All-District selection. He is a native of Cambria Heights, NY and played at St. Francis Prep.
On Thursday, multiple national outlets including 247Sports and ESPN reported that former Washington guard Jase Butler has committed to CSU.
Butler, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, appeared in 18 games off the bench for Washington in his freshman season. He averaged 1.9 points per game with a season-high of eight in a game against Nevada.
He was a four-star and top-100 ESPN recruit out of The Branson School in San Francisco. He was recruited by the Rams out of high school after being named Bay Area player of the year, but chose Washington.
Also Thursday, six players took to Instagram to announce they were returning to the program for next season. All six announcements featured the words, “I’m back.”
Those players are Rashaan Mbemba, Nikola Djapa, Kyle Jorgensen, Charlie Dortch, Jon Mekonnen and Darnez Slater.
Mbemba, a sophomore forward, played in 32 games for the Rams last season and started 29 of them, averaging seven points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He will be the longest tenured CSU player next year.
Jorgensen, a freshman forward, played in 34 games with four starts last season. He averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds. Djapa, a sophomore center, played in 22 games with one start. He averaged 2.4 points and one rebound per game.
The other three returnees didn’t see any time on the court last season. Slater, a 6-foot-3 guard, will be a redshirt freshman next season. As will Mekonnen, a 6-8 forward. Dortch, a 6-7 forward, will be a redshirt sophomore next season. He is a Fort Collins native who played at Rocky Mountain.