In the world of college basketball, arguably the biggest story of the past month — eclipsing even Baylor ending Gonzaga’s perfect season and winning its first national title — has been the flood of players entering the transfer portal. Transfer numbers have been on the rise for years, but due to the NCAA granting all players an extra season of eligibility and passing a one-time transfer waiver that will allow players to change schools without sitting out a season, the number of players looking for a new team is at an all-time high. According to VerbalCommits.com, nearly 1,500 players had entered the transfer portal as of Wednesday afternoon.
Liberty has not necessarily been immune from the roster tumult. The Flames have seen two scholarship players from last year’s roster enter the transfer portal in Marten Maide and Josh Price. Unlike most schools around the country, the Flames have not gone to the portal to replace those players lost and have instead opted to bring in high school recruits in DJ Moore and Bryson Spell. With those additions, Liberty has currently filled all of its 13 allotted scholarships for next season.
There’s still hundreds of uncommitted players in the portal, and most teams have room remaining to add to their rosters. But in order to begin to project how the league standings might shake out next year, we’re taking a look at how each team in the ASUN has fared in the transfer market so far this offseason.
Bellarmine
Record: 14-8 (10-3)
Transferring Out: None
Transferring In: None
Perhaps more surprising than Bellarmine’s 2nd place finish in their first season in the ASUN, the Knights have not been affected by the transfer portal either direction. The Knights will have most every player back on the roster with one exception as Pedro Bradshaw will graduate this summer and has declared for the NBA Draft. Bellarmine’s leading scorer at 16 points per game and a first-team all-ASUN selection, Bradshaw could still elect to return next season.
Central Arkansas
Record: 5-19 (4-12 in Southland)
Transferring Out: Khaleem Bennett, Rylan Bergersen, DeAndre Jones
Transferring In: None
The Bears will be a new addition to the ASUN this coming season, and they will have to do so without leading scorer Rylan Bergersen who has elected to transfer after averaging 16.9 points per game this past season. Khaleem Bennett and DeAndre Jones combined to score 26 games and have also elected to leave the program. Jones averaged 10.5 points per game in his 10 contests while Bennett averaged 8.7 points per game.
Eastern Kentucky
Record: 22-7 (15-5 in OVC)
Transferring Out: Peyton Broughton, Cameron Carmical, Cheikh Faye, Wendell Green, Jr. (Auburn), JacQuess Hobbs, Tre King (Georgetown), Brandon Knapper
Transferring In: Iran Bennett (Marshall), Jannson Williams (Marshall), Braxton Beverly (NC State)
Coming off a very successful season in the OVC, Eastern Kentucky will make the transition to the ASUN this coming season. The Colonels have been bitten hard by the transfer portal and must replace several key pieces. Wendell Green, Jr. led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game this past season to go along with 5 assists each contest as he will now play in the SEC at Auburn. Tre King was the second leading scorer on the team with 14.8 points per game and led the team with 5.7 rebounds per game as he will now head to Georgetown. Brandon Knapper scored 27 points in the two games he played. To help offset some of those losses, EKU has picked up three transfers who look to make an immediate impact. Braxton Beverly comes from NC State where he averaged 7 points per game this past season while making 40% of his three point attempts. The combo from Marshall will also come in looking to make an early contribution. Jannson Williams averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds this past season while Iran Bennett only played in 9 minutes, but in 2019-20 he averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds while starting 30 games.
FGCU
Record: 10-8 (4-5)
Transferring Out: Sam Gagliardi, Dom London, Justus Rainwater (Northern Arizona), Qwanzi Samuels, Jalen Warren
Transferring In: Carlos Rosario (McNeese State), Andrew Weir (Richmond), Matt Halvorsen (Western Carolina)
Jalen Warren is the biggest lost for FGCU as the guard averaged 12.3 points per game in 17 games played this past season while Justus Rainwater also made a solid contribution in his two years in the program. Carlos Rosario will join the program after averaging 12 points per game at McNeese State this past season. Matt Holversen averaged 12.1 points per game while making 39% of his three point field goal attempts. 6’10” freshman forward Andre Weird did not play this past season for Richmond and is originally from Hollywood, Florida.
Jacksonville
Record: 11-13 (5-9)
Transferring Out: Mo Arnold, Nick Erickson, Derrick Flowers, Dontarius James, Losini Kamara, Corey Romich, Trey Sides, Connor Thompson (Young Harris), Diante Wood (Tennessee Tech)
Transferring In: Jordan Davis (MTSU), Tommy Bruner (USC Upstate)
New head coach Jordan Mincy had to virtually rebuild his roster from scratch after taking over the program this spring. After losing several key pieces, he has brought in a couple of transfers to help lay a foundation at JU. 6’3″ guard Jordan Davis comes from MTSU where he averaged 11 points per game. Tommy Bruner will come over from South Carolina Upstate after averaging 13.6 points for the Spartans this past season.
Jacksonville State
Record: 18-9 (13-6 in OVC)
Transferring Out: Marvin Hughes, Khalil Johnson
Transferring In: Jalen Gibbs (Mount Saint Mary’s), Caleb Byrd (Charlotte)
The Gamecocks will look to come into the ASUN and continue to compete at the top of the conference. They have gone relatively unscathed in the transfer portal this season as Marvin Hughes and Khalil Johnson were not a part of their regular rotation this past season. Jalen Gibbs will join the team after scoring 16.5 points per game this past season for Mount St. Mary’s. Caleb Byrd played sparingly in his freshman season at Charlotte before transferring to JSU.
Kennesaw State
Record: 5-19 (2-13)
Transferring Out: Jamie Lewis, Glenn Robinson II, Antonio Spencer
Transferring In: Demond Robinson (Murray State), Isaiah Reddish (Barton)
Jamie Lewis played 13.5 minutes per game in his 20 appearances this season for Kennesaw State, averaging 3.1 points per game. Lewis, along with Glenn Robinson II and Antonio Spencer have elected to transfer from the Owls. Robinson and Spencer played sparingly this past season. 6’8″ forward Demond Robinson will join Kennesaw after averaging 6.9 points and 4.6 rebounds this past season in 23 games played for Murray State. Reddish led Division II Barton College at 23.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this past season.
Liberty
Record: 23-6 (11-2)
Transferring Out: Marten Maide (Fresno Pacific), Josh Price
Transferring In: None
As mentioned previously, Liberty has not been grossly impacted by the transfer portal. The Flames lose Marten Maide and Josh Price, as well as walk-on Tytist Dean, and have replaced those two scholarship players with DJ Moore and Bryson Spell as Coach McKay and the Flames look for a fourth straight ASUN championship.
Lipscomb
Record: 15-12 (9-6)
Transferring Out: Jacob Hobbs (Tusculum), Luke Howard, Alex Jones, Jake Wolfe
Transferring In: Jason Montgomery (Drury)
Jake Wolfe is the only contributor the Bisons that has elected to transfer. The 6’5″ Wolfe averaged 6.7 points per game while playing 25.3 minutes each contest this past season. 6’4″ wing Jason Montgomery will join the team after averaging 17.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this past season for Division II Drury.
North Alabama
Record: 13-11 (7-8)
Transferring Out: Abdul Ahmad, James Anderson II, Jonathan Breeland, Jr., Mervin James, Emanuel Littles
Transferring In: None
The Lions have been ravaged by the transfer portal, losing two of their top players in forwards Mervin James and Emanuel Littles. James led the team with 14 points to go along with 7.2 rebounds per game this past season while Littles averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest. James Anderson II and Jonathan Breeland, Jr. were both contributors for the Lions who advanced to the ASUN conference championship game.
North Florida
Record: 8-15 (6-6)
Transferring Out: Ryan Burkhardt, Josh Endicott, Alonde LeGrand, Christian Schach (Young Harris)
Transferring In: None
Josh Endicott and Ryan Burkhardt were each big contributors for the Ospreys this past season. Endicott started 16 games and averaged 8.7 points per game while Burkhardt started 4 games and averaged 23.2 minutes per contest as he scored 5.7 points each night.
Stetson
Record: 12-15 (7-9)
Transferring Out: Terry Ivery, Joel Kabimba, Gabriel Wuor
Transferring In: None
Joel Kabimba and Gabriel Wuor were impact players for the Hatters this past season. Kabimba started 7 of the 11 games he played in while averaging 15.9 minutes, 5.2 points, and 3 rebounds per game. Wuor played in 13 games where he averaged 10 minutes per game and scored 2.1 points and grabbed 1.5 rebounds per game.
