GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
It was not a mass exodus, but it is still early.
On the first day of the spring window of the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday, the LSU men’s basketball team saw had three players put their name into the hat – junior guard Tyrell Ward, sophomore guard Mike Williams III and redshirt freshman forward Corey Chest.
They can all either go to a new school that wants them, or exit the portal and return to LSU, if there is still room on the Tigers’ roster if and when they make that decision.
Only Chest leaving would hit LSU coach Matt McMahon in the heart. A very athletic power forward at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Chest showed flashes of domination last season as he averaged 6.1 points and 6.6 rebounds amid various injuries through 26 games and 19 starts with 32 blocks for second on the team. He had nine double-figure rebound games last season, including two in the Southeastern Conference, and scored in double figures five times with two in the SEC.
McMahon, meanwhile, will be shopping heavily during this portal period that ends on April 22. LSU’s NIL supporters and newfound strategies have pledged approximately $8 million toward the current roster and new players, as opposed to a $2 million budget last year that was near the bottom in the SEC. Not coincidentally LSU finished second-to-last in the SEC last season at 14-18 and 3-15.
Chest put on a show in an 80-73 loss at then-No. 4 Alabama on Jan. 25. He grabbed 18 rebounds with 12 points and three blocked shots against the eventual No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament that is now 27-8 and in the Sweet 16.
He was the No. 20 power forward in the nation and No. 97 overall recruit in McMahon’s recruiting class of 2023 out of Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.
Williams, the No. 20 shooting guard from Bishop Walsh High in Cumberland, Maryland, in LSU’s class of 2023, averaged only 11.2 minutes a game last season for fifth from the bottom on the Tigers’ roster. In 24 games and no starts, he averaged 4.0 points and 1.4 rebounds. He played more late in the season and did score in double figures twice with 13 in the win over SEC last place South Carolina on Feb. 18 and 10 in the loss to Florida on Feb. 22.
Ward played well in the 2023-24 season for LSU, averaging 9.1 points in 21.7 minutes in 31 games and 10 starts. He scored double figures in seven of LSU’s last nine games in McMahon’s only winning season at LSU that year as the Tigers finished 17-16 and 9-9 in the SEC and reached the NIT. Ward led LSU in 3-point shooting percentage in 2023-24 among players with seven or more attempts at .413 and tied for the lead in most made threes with 52.
His tip-in at the buzzer gave the Tigers a 75-74 upset of No. 17 Kentucky on Feb. 21, 2024, in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Then LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese jumped on Ward as LSU fans stormed the court.
With an influx of several transfer portal guards last season, though, Ward apparently got caught up in a numbers game and took the 2024-25 season off after not playing in an exhibition game. It has been long expected that Ward would enter the portal after the 2024-25 season.
“Tyrell and I have decided that he will be stepping away from the program to focus on his mental health,” McMahon said last November shortly before the regular season opened. “I do not anticipate him returning to competition this season. We are very appreciative of his contributions to our program, and will be supporting him every step of the way moving forward.”
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