Justin Neely, one of the top rebounders in NCAA Division I last season, will join the Colorado men’s basketball team for the 2026-27 campaign, head coach Tad Boyle announced on May 7.
Neely, a 6-foot-6 forward weighing 220 pounds, comes to Colorado after a standout graduate year at UNC Greensboro. He averaged a double-double and earned All-Southern Conference First Team honors. His average of 11.5 rebounds per game was second nationally behind Washington’s Hannes Steinbach. He also led his team and ranked fourth in the Southern Conference with an average of 17.9 points per game.
“One of our biggest needs coming into this year is to become a better rebounding team, and this kid fits the bill,” Boyle said. “He can get balls in his area, and out of his area, offensive rebound and defensive rebound. Rebounding is one thing that translates from level to level,” Boyle said. “It translates from high school to college, from college to the professional ranks. If you can rebound, you can rebound.”
A native of Miami Beach, Florida, Neely led the nation in defensive rebounds per game (9.1) and was second in total rebounds (391). He recorded twenty double-doubles during the season—fourth most nationally—and scored at least ten points in thirty out of thirty-four games played.
Neely shot over fifty-four percent from the field and seventy-eight percent from the free throw line during his final collegiate season at UNCG. Prior to joining UNCG, he spent four years at UAlbany where he was named America East Rookie of the Year in 2021-22.
Boyle described what makes Neely stand out: “The thing that stands out about Justin, we always ask kids… ‘what are you looking for?’ Justin’s answer was ‘I want to go somewhere where we can win.’ And that’s a very unique answer… when you talk about an ‘it’ factor… that’s exactly what we’re looking for as well.”
