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USC reportedly loses key guard to transfer portal
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USC freshman guard Wesley Yates is entering the transfer portal.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the 6-foot-4 wing is leaving the Trojans after 1 year with the program. When he officially enters the portal, he’ll have a “do not contact” tag, according to Givony.
In the past, such a tag signaled that a player already had his next team locked in, but that’s not quite the case anymore. Some players use the tag to ensure control over their recruitment and funnel interested teams through their agent.
Yates signed to play for Mike Hopkins at Washington as a 4-star recruit out of the 2023 class. Following Hopkins’ dismissal in 2024, Yates transferred to USC and blossomed.
In 33 appearances last season, Yates started 24 times and averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He shot 47.8% from the field, 43.9% from 3, and 79.8% from the foul line. He came off the bench for his first 9 games, made his first career start on Dec. 7 against Washington in Seattle, scored what was then a career-high 19 points, and never looked back.
As the season wound down, Yates grew stronger. He scored 30 in a game against Purdue on Feb. 7. He had 3 consecutive 20-point outings from Feb. 20-26. He also scored 24 points in a double-overtime win over Rutgers in USC’s first game of the Big Ten Tournament.
Yates becomes the third Trojan to opt for the transfer portal since the season ended, joining guard Isaiah Elohim and wing Kevin Patton Jr.
Patton was also part of coach Eric Musselman’s first transfer class at USC. Elohim was a 4-star guard from the high school ranks.
USC does not yet have a pick-up via the portal.
Musselman replaced Andy Enfield in the offseason and authored a 2-game improvement year-over-year. The Trojans went 17-18 overall and 7-13 in Big Ten play. They missed the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.