Cayden Boozer clearly didn't want his final moment in a Duke uniform to be the critical turnover in the Elite Eight against UConn that led to Braylon Mullins' dagger three-pointer to sink the Blue Devils.
Despite rumors of a potential transfer and even some thoughts of him entering the NBA Draft, the former 5-star recruit announced on Thursday that he would be returning to Duke for his sophomore season in a major roster-retention win for Jon Scheyer:
Year 2⃣ loading 👿 pic.twitter.com/kROQucGvEt
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 16, 2026
Cayden Boozer to return to Duke for his sophomore season
While he spent the year in the shadow of his National Player of the Year brother, Cayden Boozer made tangible progress throughout the season and was outstanding down the stretch for Duke in place of an injured Caleb Foster.
While he averaged just 7.7 points per game on the season, Boozer put up 11.5 points and 3.5 assists per game over the final seven games of the season in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.
After a rocky performance in the ACC Tournament opener against Florida State that called into question his ability to fill in for Foster in the starting role, Boozer dropped back-to-back 16-point games against Clemson and Virginia to help Duke capture the ACC Tournament crown.
He came up huge in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, too, to help Duke rally from an 11-point halftime deficit against 16-seeded Siena to avoid a historic upset. Boozer scored 19 points and dished out 5 assists in the win.
And prior to the disastrous turnover against UConn, the freshman guard was having a strong performance in the Elite Eight, putting up 15 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists.
With Boozer's return and the addition of 5-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. in the high school recruiting class, the attention now turns to a decision for junior Caleb Foster. Will he be willing to return to Durham for his final season of eligibility with an uncertain role, particularly as the Blue Devils continue to pursue Wisconsin's John Blackwell in the Transfer Portal?
Regardless of what Foster decides, Duke's backcourt should be in really good shape with Boozer and Rippey Jr. Boozer flashed his immense potential down the stretch of the season and could be one of college basketball's biggest breakout performers as a sophomore.
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