Here’s to Charlie Ward’s first full offseason as Florida A&M head men’s basketball coach.

During the spring and upcoming summer months, Ward will be recruiting his second-year roster for the 2026-2027 season. It will be a tough act to follow after the head coach’s inaugural Rattlers team reached the Southwestern Athletic Conference semifinals, two wins short of appearing in the NCAA Tournament.

The 1993 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and former New York Knicks point guard, now a college basketball coach, is no longer learning on the job. He says he and his staff have a better understanding of what to ask recruits during the vetting process.

That includes considering the student-athletes’ NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores.

“At the end of the day, it’s about getting the right players in here ― mindset-wise, academics,” Ward told the Tallahassee Democrat in a one-on-one interview from his FAMU office.

“And every kid won’t be academically strong. But we want to make sure we’re doing our part in getting good young men willing to put forth the effort in all areas to be successful.”

In the revolving door of college sports rosters, FAMU has seen a handful of NCAA Transfer Portal exits since the season ended in March. Outgoing transfers include shooting guard Anquan Boldin Jr. and stretch four Kaleb Washington.

The portal closed for player entry on April 21.

FAMU looks to replace graduated players and portal exits by landing size and versatile talent who can plug and play anywhere in lineups.

“Having a mixture of players that can play multiple positions, which is something we looked to do this past year. But didn’t realize we didn’t have much size,” Ward broke down his recruiting philosophy. “So we just want to make sure that we have a roster that can compete, not just in the SWAC, but non-conference as well. We want to be able to win some of those games.”

FAMU basketball lands commitments for Charlie Ward's second season

Hillsborough Community College guard Chandler Davis committed to the Rattlers on April 17.

The Tampa native averaged 21.4 points, eight rebounds, and 3.9 assists as a sophomore. It earned the 6-foot-5 bucket getter a spot on the Florida College System Activities Association postseason awards team.

Ward cannot comment on commits until they’re signed.

In contrast, Ward made a splash in high school recruiting with the signing of four-star point guard Jayden ‘JJ’ Joseph last November. He picked FAMU over offers from Florida State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, the University of Central Florida, and more.

“It’s still a great fight because there are so many high school kids out there that are getting left out,” Ward explained. “And you have so many spots on your roster to make it happen because you’re trying to get veteran guys to be able to compete at a higher level.”

Joseph is a Hialeah native, but spent his senior year playing at Gillion Academy in Virginia after spending the first three years at West Oaks Academy. Ward first discovered Joseph when his former Florida High School varsity basketball team faced West Oaks while Joseph was there.

“To have JJ and for him to commit to us early based on relationships was big for us,” Ward said of the 6-foot-2 point guard. “He has a little toughness about him, and he’ll come in and compete for the point guard position. He’ll make mistakes, just like everybody else, but the goal is he’s a guy willing to learn and grow and be able to handle what we would need to be a good piece for us.”

FAMU basketball to retain key players from SWAC Tournament run

Returning to the Rattlers are guard Antonio Baker Jr., and bigmen Tuscan Onuoha and Miles Ndalama. Ndalama’s return is contingent on whether he receives an NCAA waiver to play next season.

“Retention is always important. If you can get people back multiple years, that gives you some stability, consistency,” Ward said. “If you can retain three or four guys from the roster, that’s a win for a program. That’s the culture we want to build. We want to provide a space where they feel comfortable being here.”

Baker, 6-foot-3, averaged 9.9 points last year and put up 13.3 points per game in FAMU’s final eight games.

Onuoha, a forward, and Ndalama, a center, are both 6-foot-11.

“It’s no different this year,” Ward said of his ideal roster makeup. “To be able to have three 6’10”, 6’11” centers that can do some specific things and then have some length from wings, and the guards have a little size.”

Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.

Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU basketball's Charlie Ward wants versatile players in transfer portal