Duke basketball gets answers on next season from Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster
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- Caleb Foster announced he will return to Duke for his senior season.
- Duke added guard John Blackwell and forward Drew Scharnowski via the transfer portal.
- Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr are considering a move to pro basketball.
Duke’s basketball roster for the 2026-27 season is coming into sharper focus.
On the day forward Isaiah Evans announced he was declaring for the NBA Draft, the Blue Devils said Wednesday that guard Caleb Foster would return for his senior season.
Evans confirmed his decision about the NBA on his Instagram page with a post that had his photo and “league next” above “Duke forever.”
Duke had a post that showed Foster letting out a celebratory scream and said “back,” with a short video that included Foster saying, “I know there’s no better place to keep working, to keep growing and keep pursuing my dreams than right here at Duke. Let’s make it legendary.”
In the past week, the Blue Davis have had guard Cayden Boozer and center Pat Ngongba announce they would return to Duke for another season. The program has added guard John Blackwell from Wisconsin and forward Drew Scharnowski from Belmont in the NCAA transfer portal.
The Blue Devils have yet to announce the intention of forward Dame Sarr, who like Evans has been considering a move to pro basketball — the deadline for entering the NBA draft is Friday.
Evans averaged 15 points a game as a sophomore for the Blue Devils this season, was their second-leading scorer behind Cameron Boozer and was a 3-point threat that opposing teams feared and tried to neutralize defensively.
Evans had 25 points in Duke’s NCAA Tournament win over St. John’s, but was limited to seven points when the Blue Devils lost to Connecticut in the NCAA East Region final.
Evans, a Fayetteville native, has been projected as a lower first-round pick in some NBA mock drafts., noting he has developed a more well-rounded offensive game with the willingness to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket, not just rely on the 3.
Foster brought experience and toughness to the Duke lineup this past season as the Blue Devils went 35-3 and were the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He suffered a fracture in his right foot in the final regular-season game, against North Carolina, had surgery and returned during the NCAAs to play against St. John’s and Connecticut.
“There’s no analytics., no stats that can measure how big this dude’s heart is,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after Foster played 19 minutes in the St. John’s game and scored 11 points.
Foster averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game, scoring a season-high 20 points in Duke’s road win at Louisville in early January -- Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey called the 6-5 guard a “game-changer.”
Foster’s return will make for interesting competition in the backcourt. Boozer played well as a freshman with Foster sidelined, and incoming freshman Deron Rippey Jr. is rated as the nation’s top prep point guard.
Blackwell, one of the portal’s top-rated players, committed to Duke after a visit this week and should help replace the scoring lost with Evans’ departure. Blackwell was a 19-point scorer for the Badgers last season.
The Blue Devils have had two players — forward Nikolas Khamenia (UConn) and guard Darren Harris (Indiana) — transfer from the program since the season ended with an NCAA loss to the Huskies.
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Duke basketball gets answers on next season from Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster."
