The Miami roster rebuild began on Saturday with Joe Tipton of On3 reporting freshman guard Austin Swartz will enter the transfer portal. Swartz is the first Miami player to enter the transfer portal since the season ended on March 8. The transfer portal officially opens on March 24.
Miami lost freshman forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, who entered the transfer portal in January after head coach Jim Larranaga retired. He eventually transferred to Iowa. On Friday, Iowa fired head coach Fran McCaffrey following the Hawkeyes' loss in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
Swartz averaged 5.9 points per game, 0.9 assists and 1.0 rebound while shooting 37.7 percent from the field 30.4 on three-point attempts and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. Jalil Bethea, Paul Djobet, A.J. Staton-McCray, and Divine Ugochukwu have eligibility remaining beyond the 2024-25 season and are still on the Miami roster.
Staton-McCray participated in Miami Senior Day but has one season of eligibility remaining. Bethea, Djobet, Staton-McCray, and Ugochukwu could provide new Miami head coach Jai Lucas with a foundation to build the 2025-26 Miami roster. Lucas has stated he expects Miami could need to add 13 new players.
NEWS: Miami guard Austin Swartz is entering the transfer portal, his agency @lamfsports tells @On3sports.⁰⁰The 6-4 freshman is a former top-60 recruit and will keep the option of returning to Miami open. https://t.co/lfgcdvKPj6 pic.twitter.com/Czvp1hI9KN
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 15, 2025
Bethea, Johnson-Arigu, Swartz and Ugochukwu formed the seventh-best 2024 class in the 247Sports composite rankings. Swartz was the 50th-ranked prospect, eighth-shooting guard and fifth player in North Carolina out of the Cannon School in Concord.
Miami has zero commits in the 2025 class after losing center 6'9, 300-pound center Ben Ahmed and shooting guard Matthew Able de-committed following Larranaga's retirement in December. Able said he is still considering Miami. Expect Lucas to be far more active in adding transfers than incoming freshmen.
Travis Branham of 247Sports reported Swartz is open to returning to Miami. Lucas stated in his introductory press conference on Monday he met with the current Miami players and they would discuss what works best for everyone going forward.