The 2026 NCAA transfer portal opened for basketball on Monday, April 5. As of Wednesday, there are already hundreds of players who are looking to take their talents elsewhere.
The South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team has also dealt with several big-name departures. In head coach LaMont Paris’ fourth season as head coach, South Carolina finished 13-19 on the season, winning just four games in SEC play.
As expected, there have been a number of departures. Let's track the latest transfer portal imports and exports in Columbia so far.
Outgoing transfers
Cam Scott, G
Shooting guard Cam Scott entered the transfer portal on Wednesday. He took a redshirt for the 2025-26 season, but played in 26 games as a true freshman in 2024-25.
He averages 2.5 points with 1.3 boards a game. The redshirt junior was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school in Lexington, S.C. Per the 247Sports Composite, he was the No. 6 overall shooting guard for the class of 2024, and top-ranked prospect out of South Carolina.
Christ Essandoko, F
Christ Essandoko is a redshirt junior who played in 21 games for the Gamecocks last season, making four stars. He averaged two points per game with another 1.6 rebounds per contest.
Essandoko will be looking to find a spot on the fourth roster of his career, starting his career at Saint Joe's from 2023-24 and transferring to Providence for the 2024-25 season. He was a former three-star recruit coming out of Winston-Salem Prep.
EJ Walker, PF
Power forward EJ Walker is entering the portal after his true freshman season in Columbia. He played in 22 games this past season for the Gamecocks, averaging 2.9 points a game with 2.7 assists per game. Like his teammate Cam Scott, Walker also took a redshirt this past season. Coming out of high school, Walker was a three-star recruit out of Lexington, Kentucky, ranking No. 1 overall in the state.
Elijah Strong, PF
Elijah Strong was one of the first few players to enter the transfer portal. The junior was a key contributor on offense for the Gamecocks. He averaged 10 points per game with another 2.3 rebounds, averaging 17 minutes per contest.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Strong transferred to South Carolina after two seasons at Boston College. He arrived in Columbia as a three-star transfer prospect. Coming out of high school, Strong was the No. 8 overall player from North Carolina.
Eli Ellis, PG
Like Walker, Eli Ellis is transferring after just one season in Columbia. As a true freshman, Ellis saw plenty of playing time, averaging 28.6 minutes per game. He was a main contributor offensively as well, averaging 8.6 points per game with 2.3 rebounds and two assists. He shot 38.6 percent from the floor.
Ellis should have plenty of suitors when he officially enters the portal later next month. Per the 247Sports Composite, he was the No. 5 overall prospect out of his home state of North Carolina, and the No. 15 overall rated point guard from the class of 2025. Hailing from Hickory, N.C., Ellis played high school basketball at Moravian Prep in North Carolina.
Jordan Butler, C
Center Jordan Butler started his career at Missouri, where he made 13 starts as a true freshman in 2023-24. At South Carolina, Butler was more of a bench contributor, making just four starts over two seasons. He averaged just over eight minutes per game with 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds this past season. Coming out of high school in South Carolina, he was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 2 overall from his home state.
Abu Yarmah, SF
Abu Yarmah entered the transfer portal following just his true freshman season in Columbia. He did not see any playing time, but came to South Carolina as a three-star recruiting prospect and a top-20 player out of his home state of Virginia.
Incoming transfers
Kory Mincy, G
On Friday April 10, Paris landed his first transfer-portal commit in George Mason guard Kory Mincy. This past season for the Patriots, he started in 32 games, averaging 14.3 points per game. He spent the first two seasons of his career at Presbyterian, averaging 15 points per game as a sophomore. 247Sports lists Mincy as the No. 16 ranked overall point guard in this year's transfer portal class.
Camden Heide, F
On the evening of Wednesday April 15, South Carolina landed former Texas forward Camden Heide. For the Longhorns this past season, he averaged 5.9 points per game with 2.7 rebounds per game. Prior to arriving at Texas, he started his career at Purdue, where he averaged eight points per game over two seasons with the Boilermakers.
Aleksas Bieliauskas, F
Over the weekend, Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks landed Wisconsin transfer Aleksas Bieliauskas. The native of Lithuania spent the freshman season of his collegiate career with the Badgers, averaging 4.9 points with 4.4 rebounds this past season in Madison. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Shane Blakeney, G
One of South Carolina's biggest additions in the portal comes in the form of Drexel guard Shane Blakeney. The rising senior spent the first three seasons of his career for Dragons, becoming a consistent starter this past season. During the 2025-26 season for Drexel, he averaged14.2 points per gamewith another 5.1 rebounds.
Jakub Necas, PF
Jakub Necas committed to South Carolina via the transfer portal on Monday, April 27. Last season for Duquesne, he averaged 6.9 points per game with another 5.1 boards, and he averaged 50% shooting on the year. He is originally from Blansko, Czech Republic.
The portal is open until April 20, but players are free to make commitments after this date
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