Oakland transfer Trey Townsend, the Horizon League Player of the Year, has committed to Arizona, he told ESPN.
“Arizona checked all the boxes I was looking for during this process,” Townsend told ESPN. “I look forward to getting to Tucson and playing for coach Tommy Lloyd, who has a proven track record of producing NBA players similar to me.”
Townsend, who is from Oxford, Michigan, outside of Detroit, said he picked Arizona after visiting Ohio State and Michigan, while also considering Michigan State.
Townsend was one of the breakout stars of the NCAA tournament, helping No. 14 seed Oakland upset No. 3 seed Kentucky, posting 17 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, including some crucial late plays.
Two days later, in the round of 32, he scored 30 points with 13 rebounds in an overtime loss to NC State, who went on to make the Final Four.
Townsend was considered one of the best power forwards in the transfer portal after a decorated four-year career at Oakland, averaging 17.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season.
Arizona secures an important replacement at power forward for Keshad Johnson, a projected second-round pick in June’s NBA draft, who has exhausted his college eligibility.
The Wildcats have lost five players to the NCAA transfer portal, including starters Kylan Boswell and Oumar Ballo, but bring in a strong recruiting class headlined by top-25 prospects Carter Bryant and Joson Sanon.
They are also expected to return the likes of Jaden Bradley, Motiejus Krivas and KJ Lewis, who will play significant roles next season, and may retain Pac-12 player of the year Caleb Love depending on how his NBA draft process plays out in May. Townsend is also currently exploring the NBA draft as well.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.