The deluge of bad news for the Pittsburgh Panthers has continued, as the program on Thursday announced that Au’Diese Toney, the No. 2 scorer in the program, will leave the team and enter the transfer portal based on a “mutual” decision.
Toney, who missed Saturday’s 79-72 loss to Florida State due to injury, is averaging 14.4 points this season as the Panthers have lost seven of their last eight games to fall to 9-9 overall and 5-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“We have come to the mutual agreement that Au’Diese will be leaving the Pitt Men’s Basketball program effective immediately,” coach Jeff Capel said in a statement. “We appreciate his efforts the past three seasons in our program and wish him well as he looks to continue to grow on and off the court.”
The announcement came just 24 hours after Xavier Johnson, the team’s No. 3 scorer at 14.2 points per game, had immediately left the program with plans to enter the transfer portal.
In all, the departures of Johnson and Toney make up 40% of the scoring production for coach Jeff Capel’s team this season. The two players had both made more than 50% of their shots inside the 3-point line this season.
The moves place an even greater burden on Justin Champagnie, who is averaging 18.8 points and 11.4 rebounds, as Pitt prepares for its final three games of the regular season before entering the ACC tournament.