One day after officially losing forward Nikolas Khamenia to UConn via the transfer portal, Duke basketball has a replacement. Drew Scharnowski, a 6-9 forward who played the past two seasons at Belmont, announced on his Instagram account Sunday he’ll join the Blue Devils for the 2026-27 season.
Scharnowski averaged 10.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game last season for the Bruins as a redshirt sophomore and was named first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference. A strong paint defender, the 6-9, 225-pounder averaged 1.3 blocks a game and was selected to the MVC’s all-defensive team for 2025-26.
Scharnowski, from Burlington, Illinois, was rated a four-star portal recruit. His brother, Max, played at Alabama.
The Blue Devils, coming off a 35-3 season, had Khamenia and guard Darren Harris enter the transfer portal. Khamenia announced Saturday he was going to Connecticut, and Harris has committed to play at Indiana. Guard Cayden Boozer said this week he will return for a sophomore season at Duke, while his twin brother, Cameron, appears a lock to enter the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Blue Devils’ Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba and Dame Sarr each has a decision to make: come back for another college season at Duke or consider turning pro. Another decision must be made about guard Caleb Foster.
With forward Maliq Brown using up his eligibility, Scharnowski could give the Devils some of the defensive intensity and game-swinging defensive plays that Brown — a former transfer from Syracuse — provided the last two seasons.
