Two more players on Northern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball roster have entered their name to the transfer portal.
Junior guard Jake Evans and sophomore guard Hubertas Pivorius entered their names on Thursday, just a couple days after Isaiah Mason and A’lahn Sumler did so on Monday.
It will create quite the turnover on the roster with Trevon Faulkner, Chris Brandon and Xavier Rhodes out of eligibility, but such is life in the new college basketball landscape as over 800 Division I men’s basketball players have entered the transfer portal since it opened up last week.
Evans has played three seasons in Highland Heights, appearing in 62 games. He saw double-digit minutes in four games this past season and logged one start against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 27. He logged just 58 minutes the rest of the year though. Evans played his high school basketball at Male in Louisville.
Pivorius was one of the main reserves off the Norse bench this past season, providing spacing as he knocked down 60 three-pointers in his two seasons in Highland Heights. Originally from Lithuania, Pivorius played high school basketball in Miami, Florida at Christopher Columbus. He was also a member of the Lithuanian National Team that competed at the 2018 U16 European Championships and in international competition as a member of the Lithuanian U19 National Team at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Championships.
With the departures of Faulkner, Brandon and Rhodes and with the four that have entered the portal (Evans, Pivorius, Mason and Sumler), would potentially create seven roster spots. The Norse’s 2023 recruiting class currently has two confirmed or signed: Lloyd Memorial’s Jeremiah Israel and Bessemer City’s (NC) Randal Pettus II.
In NCAA Division I basketball, coaches can offer a maximum of 13 scholarships per team. The average Division I roster has 16 student-athletes with up to three players on the team who are walk-ons and don’t qualify for athletic aid.
As of Wednesday afternoon, over 800 Division I men’s basketball players have entered the transfer portal.
As it currently stands, NKU will bring back: Trey Robinson, Sam Vinson, Marques Warrick, LJ Wells, Imanuel Zorgvol, Mitchel Minor, Cole Sherman, Cesar Tchilombo and Noah Hupmann. Minor, Sherman and Hupmann are walk-ons.
The Norse won their fourth Horizon League conference tournament title this season since 2017 and made their third NCAA tournament appearance, losing to Houston, 63-52 in the first round.
