Likely due to a coaching change and a lackluster season, several of the Hampton Pirates' top players have entered the transfer portal. Reports over the past few days have identified Kyrese Mullen, Jerry Deng, Tre Thomas, and Jordan Nesbitt as candidates for other teams to acquire through the portal.

Mullen, Deng, Thomas, and Nesbitt represent four of the Pirates top six scorers. Mullen led the team in rebounds, and Nesbitt led in assists. Though Thomas dealt with injury and only played 16 games, Deng played in all 33 of Hampton's contests.

Mullen was the team's best player, averaging 14.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. The 6'7″ sophomore led the Pirates in scoring average, using his frame to get easy buckets around the rim. He also led them in rebounds. Mullen broke the 30-point threshold once this season in a 107-86 loss to Charleston. During that game, he put up 32 points and 14 rebounds. Mullen was a double-double machine, recording 10 of them this season. He's reportedly a popular candidate amongst teams in the portal, having heard from schools like Arkansas, Vermont, Kent State, Louisiana Tech, and Ja Morant's former school, Murray State.

Jerry Deng is the other highly sought-after player in the portal. As a true freshman, Deng has three more years of eligibility left. He averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and shot 39.1% from long distance this season. He was one of Hampton's few bright spots this season, working his way from the bench to the starting lineup. The 6'9″ forward has tons of potential, and it's obvious why so many teams are interested. Those teams include Florida State, Florida Atlantic, Temple, Boston College, Auburn, LSU, Georgetown, Florida, Georgia Tech, Providence, and more.

Article Continues Below
More HBCU News
Olandria Carthen, an HBCU alumna from Tuskegee University, has joined the cast of Peacock's 'Love Island' Season 7.
‘Love Island’ Recap: Why my HBCU sister Olandria has me confusedRandall Barnes ·
NBA commissioner is Adam Silver presents Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (not pictured) with the Michael Jordan Trophy for winning the most valuable player award for the 2024-25 season before game two of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
HBCU basketball pioneers honored during 2025 NBA DraftRandall Barnes ·
image thumbnail
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Thomas Sorber has HBCU tiesRandall Barnes ·
North Carolina A&T makes a historic coaching hire, bringing on Mesha Levister as the men's and women's golf teams.
North Carolina A&T makes historic coaching hireRandall Barnes ·
Six HBCUs, including Delaware State, Alabama State, and Southern University, partner to create a virtual university called eHBCU.
Six HBCUs partner to create first virtual universityRandall Barnes ·
David Banner, Randy Jackson, and Van Lathan are all notable alumni of Southern University and A&M College.
David Banner and other notable alumni of Southern UniversityKiya Wimbush-Robinson ·

Jordan Nesbitt had a somewhat disappointing season after leading the Pirates in scoring last year. After dealing with ineligibility concerns at the start of the year, Nesbitt averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and led the Pirates with 4.3 assists in his 25 games. If he completes another transfer, Nesbitt will have played for four teams throughout his collegiate career: Memphis, St. Louis, and Hampton are already on his resume. Despite having a down year and only one remaining season of eligibility, Nesbitt touts a career 1,024 points in 85 games of play. If he can score consistently like he did last year, Nesbitt can certainly be a key contributor any program in the country.

Of the four Hampton players in the portal, Tre Thomas is probably the least likely to receive an offer from another major program. The true sophomore averaged 6.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists off the bench this season. The 6'2″ guard from Washington, D.C. still has some time to develop, however, which will help in his recruiting process.