Amid Kevin Willard’s departure, nearly the entire roster entered the transfer portal.
Maryland men’s basketball saw former head coach Kevin Willard depart for Villanova and eight players enter the transfer portal this week.
The school hired former Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams to replace Willard, but is still left with just two players on the current roster: Chance Stephens and Derik Queen, who is expected to enter the 2025 NBA Draft.
Tafara Gapare and Jay Young were the first to enter their names Monday morning, and were quickly followed in by starters Rodney Rice and Ja’Kobi Gillespie — who announced he was transferring to Tennessee Friday.
With Julian Reese, Selton Miguel and Jordan Geronimo set to graduate, Maryland’s roster was already depleted, but then four more Terps entered the portal Monday night and Tuesday.
Sophomore DeShawn Harris-Smith was the most noteworthy name, as Maryland’s most-used bench player with 15.4 minutes per game. Harris-Smith provided ball handling, playmaking and defense off the bench, but never quite found success scoring the ball. He averaged 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and an assist per game, shooting 39.5% from the field and 20% from three.
Harris-Smith was the No. 27-ranked prospect in the country in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports, and came to College Park with lofty expectations. As a freshman, he started in 30 of 33 games and averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game en route to a Big Ten All-Freshman team nod, but failed to significantly improve on a better team as a sophomore.
Many predicted Harris-Smith to transfer prior to Willard’s departure, and he is unlikely to return.
Redshirt freshman Braden Pierce was the first player to enter the portal Tuesday. He was the Terps’ lone 7-footer on the roster, but could not carve out a consistent role for himself before suffering a season-ending eye injury. He appeared in five games and averaged 2.4 points and rebounds per game.
Fifth-year guard Jahari Long followed in suit. He was the second-longest-tenured Terp behind Reese and followed Willard to College Park from Seaton Hall in 2022. Long missed the entire 2024-25 season, but was a consistent contributor in the two years prior. He appeared in 65 games, starting three, and averaged 3.3 points and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 41.2% from the field and 36.8% from three at Maryland.
Freshman Malachi Palmer was the final Terp to throw his name in the portal. A three-star prospect and the top-ranked player in Maryland in the class of 2024, according to 247Sports, Palmer was on the bubble of the Terps’ rotation. He played in 22 games and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.