Cayden Boozer will return to Duke basketball this fall for his sophomore season, the school announced Thursday via social media.
In his first year with the Blue Devils, the guard played in 38 games (11 starts) and averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 22.9 minutes per game.
He and his twin brother, Cameron Boozer, decided to attend Duke together, but Cameron is expected to be a top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Cayden spent much of the season overshadowed by his brother but was key for Duke once Caleb Foster went down with a broken foot in the final game of the regular season against North Carolina. Boozer started three games in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and four in the NCAA Tournament and averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in that span.
Throughout the tournaments, he looked comfortable running the offense — until the final play of the season, when in the Elite Eight against UConn he turned the ball over under intense pressure with seconds remaining. That allowed fellow freshman Braylon Mullins to make a long 3-pointer that sent the Huskies to a 73-72 win and the Final Four.
There had been chatter this offseason that Boozer could transfer from the school where his father, Carlos Boozer, won a national title in 2001. Miami was viewed as a potential landing spot, but the commitment of guard Acaden Lewis, a transfer from Villanova, likely ended that possibility.
Coming out of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Cayden Boozer was rated as a four-star player, the No. 4 point guard and the No. 23 overall player in the nation by 247Sports.
Cameron, a five-star prospect, was ranked as the No. 1 power forward and No. 3 overall player. Ahead of him were Darryn Petersen (Kansas) and A.J. Dybantsa (BYU), with all three in contention to be the top pick in the draft.
Cameron averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds on the season.
