While the commitments continue to roll in with some exciting prospects, today’s portal also featured multiple national leaders opting to return to school and effectively remove themselves from the portal and any transfer speculation. The Portal Report has all the latest news and highlights from Monday’s transfer portal action.
Commitments
Following a season at Wyoming and a second at Texas A&M, 2020-21 Mountain West Conference Rookie of the Year Marcus Williams has announced his commitment to San Francisco. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 11.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 3.8 APG across his freshman and sophomore campaigns and was a starter with both the Cowboys and Aggies.
6-foot-10 forward Tamell Pearson has entered the transfer portal for a second time and with two seasons at both UAB and Western Illinois under his belt, has elected to join Appalachian State using his final year of eligibility. Pearson averaged 10.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG last season for the Leathernecks and was top-20 in both offensive and defensive rebounds within the Summit League.
After a strong first season in Kansas, Qua Grant has declared he will be leaving Wichita State and transferring to Sam Houston State after averaging 4.5 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 28 appearances for the Shockers. The 6-foot-1 guard is originally a two-time Division II All-American from West Texas A&M where he averaged 22.4 PPG and 8 RPG while shooting 52% from the floor as a junior.
California native Mason Forbes has announced he’s transferring back home to join head coach Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s. Forbes spent three seasons in the Ivy League with Harvard averaging 8 PPG and 5.3 RPG as a 6-foot-8 forward and was a big part of the Crimson’s frontcourt trio from a season ago.
2021-22 Second Team All-WAC selection Brandon Betson who averaged 14.2 PPG and 2.9 APG last season will be leaving Chicago State to sign with Tulsa for the 2022-23 season. The junior guard is an electric scorer everywhere he goes including multiple 20+ point performances in just one season with the Cougars and he averaged 15+ points at his first two stops in Daytona State and San Bernardino Valley College.
The Ivy League was hit hard today by the transfer portal as former Dartmouth guard Taurus Samuels announced he would be transferring to Minnesota for his final season of eligibility. While only averaging 9.4 PPG and 1.7 APG for the Big Green last season, Samuels is a very effective scorer who can drop 20 points and put in an excellent defensive shift.
The 2020-21 Pac-12 Most Improved Player in Jaiden Delaire will be leaving Stanford ahead of next season and has announced his commitment to San Diego and head coach Steve Lavin. A 43% shooter from the field, Delaire averaged 10.1 PPG and 4 RPG while starting each of the Cardinal’s matchups from a season ago.
Returnees
After much speculation and links to Missouri, 7-foot-5 junior Jamarion Sharp has declared that he will return to Western Kentucky, with the Hopkinsville, KY native officially removing his name from the transfer portal. The 2021-22 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year led the nation with 4.6 BKPG while managing 8.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG, good for the fifth-most rebounds in the conference.
The nation’s third-best scorer in Antoine Davis has also removed his name from the transfer portal in announcing that he would return to Detriot Mercy for a fifth year where he’s averaged 20+ points across all four of his seasons. Specifically, the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 23.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG on his way to 2021-22 Horizon League Player of the Year honors and was considering Maryland, Kansas State, and Georgetown as potential transfer destinations.
