Bears Look to Rebuild Through the Portal

As the list of players in the NCAA transfer portal grows, the Bears look to add talent and experience to rebuild their roster after the graduation or transfer of a big chunk of their 2023-24 roster following the season.

The Bears have only one commit so far - 2024 The Skill Factory point guard Jeremiah Wilkinson‍ -  who had a stellar senior season in 2023-24, averaging an impressive 33.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in helping lead his TSF squad to a 27-4 record while shooting a solid 48% from the field, 41% from 3 and 82% from the line his senior season. 

That leaves at least eight slots to fill for the 2024-25 roster to get to the full complement of 13 scholarship players and the portal will likely be the primary source of many of the upcoming additions.

With that in mind, here are some portal transfer players who have shown some level of mutual interest in Cal.

• Jordan Sears, 5-11, PG, Jr., UT Martin - Sears lit up the scoreboard for 21.6 ppg this season along with 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, earning 1^st team all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons.
• Noah Reynolds, 6-3, G, Jr., Green Bay - The talented junior averaged 20.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his all-conference season.
•  Jevon Porter, 6-11, PF, Soph., Pepperdine - The 4/5 Porter averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds, earning honorable mention all-conference this season
• Tyrin Lawrence, 6-4, SG, Sr., Vanderbilt - The senior shooting guard averaged 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 50.2% from the floor and 36% from 3 for the Commodores this season. Lawrence visited the Bears back in 2020 as a prep player.
• B.J. Omot, 6-8, SF, Soph., North Dakota - The 1^st team all-conference small forward averaged 16.7 points this season.
• Amari Williams, 6-10, PF, Sr., Drexel - The type of rim defender the Bears would love to have, Williams garnered CAA Defensive Player of the Year and 1^st team honors, averaging 12.2 points, 7.8 boards and 1.8 blocks for the Dragons this season.

• Clark Slajchert, Penn, Sr, Los Angeles, 6' 1", 170 lbs PTS 18.0 REB 3.0 AST 2.9 FG% 48.7
• Nana Owusu-Anane, Brown, Jr, 6' 8", 220 lbs, Burlington, ON PTS 14.7 REB 8.8 AST 2.1 FG% 46.8
• Jacob Meyer 6-2/195 soph Coastal Carolina - As a frosh, Meyer averaged 15.7 points,  5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists, shooting 44.9% from the field.
• Bryce Pope 6-3/185 Sr UC San Diego SG - The senior averaged 18.3 points, 3.9, rebounds, 1.9 assists, shooting 41.8 from the field for the Tritons, earning 1^st team all-conference honors.
• Frankie Collins 6-1/185 Sr ASU - After starting out at Michigan and transferring to ASU, Collins averaged 13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season, also earning 1^st team All-Defense this season.
• Justice Ajogbor  6-10/255 senior Harvard PF/C - The senior averaged 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds this season for the Crimson

• Lee Dort 610/245 soph PF Vanderbilt - The former Top 100 prep didn’t put up any stats of note in limited play as a frosh but could be a nice depth piece as an athletic rim protector.
• Jeff Nwankwo 6’6 junior Cowley College SF - The conference Player of the Year for his JC conference averaged 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game, shooting 50.2% from the field and 38.7% from 3.

• Andrej Stojakovic 6-7/190 Stanford SO SG - The son of former NBA star Peja Sojakovic was a top recruit as a prep but started his collegiate career a bit slow, averaging 7.8 points, 3.4 assists rebounds, 9 assists and 40.9% from the field as a frosh with the Cardinal.
• Amari Williams 6-10/265 Drexel Sr center - The senior big man averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 51% from the field. The senior center would give the Bears the type of defender and rim protector they’re looking for in 2024-25.

A couple more to possibly keep an eye on:

• Ante Brzovic 6-10/245 senior College of Charleston
• Connor Essegian 6-5/195 Jr Wisconsin

Stay tuned for more potential names and updates as available.