Title Team Traveling: From Final Four Celebration to Out-the-Door Destination
April 11th, 2025 - 12:55
Seven of NCAA champion Florida's top 10 scorers - with averages ranging from 2.6 ppg to 10.6 ppg - were potential returnees. But the odds were staggering against roster stability happening in NIL era of excessive transferring as two of the seven (Sam Alexis and Kentucky-bound Denzel Aberdeen) entered transfer portal less than two weeks after putting their fingerprints on national title trophy. In what may be an order as tall as 7-9 walk-on Olivier Rioux, the only question probably is whether the Gators' lineup will be impacted as much as Baylor's squad following the Bears becoming 2021 kingpin.
Guard LJ Cryer, after playing a total of three minutes in two Final Four games with the Bears, transferred to Houston, where he was the leading scorer for the Cougars' NCAA runner-up this year. Baylor teammate Zach Loveday also played a total of three minutes at 2021 F4 before moving on to Samford, where he played only two minutes in 2024 opening-round, four-point loss against Kansas. Three-point marksman Matthew Mayer was in Baylor's regular rotation in 2021 before doing likewise with Illinois' tourney team two seasons later.
The ex-Baylor trio is joined on following alphabetical list of players this century by those who played at Final Four for title team before transferring to another school and participating in NCAA playoffs again:
| Transfer | Pos. | NCAA Title Team | Subsequent Playoff School (Statistics) |
|---|---|---|---|
| LJ Cryer | G | Baylor 21 | Houston 24-25 (15.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg) |
| Larry Drew II | G | North Carolina 09 | UCLA 13 (7.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 7.3 apg, 1.4 spg) |
| Zach Loveday | C-F | Baylor 21 | Samford 24 (2.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 63.6 FG%) |
| Matthew Mayer | G | Baylor 21 | Illinois 23 (12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) |
| Semi Ojeleye | F | Duke 15 | Southern Methodist 17 (19 ppg, 6.9 rpg) |
| Alex Oriakhi | F | Connecticut 11 | Missouri 13 (11.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 63.9 FG%) |
| Kyle Wiltjer | F | Kentucky 12 | Gonzaga 15-16 (18.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 82.8 FT%, 44.9 3FG%) |
NOTE: Guards Marco Anthony (Virginia 19/Utah State 21), Bobby Pettiford (Kansas 22/High Point 25) and Kevin Ware (Louisville 13/Georgia State 15) did not play at Final Four for NCAA champions before subsequently becoming key contributors with mid-major teams earning NCAA playoff berths. Ware couldn't play for the Cardinals after incurring compound fracture of his right leg in regional final against Duke.