Trey Townsend to enter transfer portal, but gives Oakland fans sliver of hope

Oakland star forward Trey Townsend, coming off a huge performance in the NCAA Tournament, is ready to consider his options — and he's got a lot of them.

Townsend on Wednesday posted to social media what he had previously told The Detroit News, that he will officially declare for the NBA Draft, while keeping open the option to play a fifth season of college basketball. He also posted on Wednesday that he will enter the transfer portal.

At the end of his post, Townsend also gave Oakland fans a glimmer of hope, saying one of his three options is to return for a fifth season with the Golden Grizzlies.

"Where do I even begin. The past four seasons here at Oakland have been nothing short of a dream come true for me," Townsend wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "I've had teammates become some of my closest friends for life and have made memories I will cherish forever. So much has happened over my time here and whether those things were good or bad, I wouldn't change the way they played out."

Townsend, the Oxford native, went on to thank Oakland fans, his teammates, coaches and staff members, saying, "Thank you for shaping me into the person I am today."

He saved his last thank you for head coach Greg Kampe, "the true 'Mr. Oakland.'"

"There isn't enough room on any platform to explain how much you have meant to my story," Townsend wrote in his five-paragraph post. "Thank you for letting that skinny kid from Oxford be a part of the program he so badly wanted to join. Thank you for always believing him and helping him get where he is now in his career. You truly changed his life with that one opportunity."

Townsend, 21, was the Horizon League player of the year and Horizon League tournament MVP this season, scoring 48 in the tournament championship game against Milwaukee to get Oakland into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. In the NCAA Tournament, Townsend, a 6-foot-6 post playing against bigger and beefier bodies of Kentucky and N.C. State, posted a pair of double-doubles, as Oakland made the Round of 64 for the first time. Townsend scored 30 in the overtime loss to N.C. State, which has since made the Final Four.

Townsend told The News last week that he was going to get an NBA Draft evaluation and that he was going to hire an agent, but that the fifth year of college was definitely on the table. If Townsend decides to transfer from Oakland, he will have a list of suitors a mile long, including likely from Michigan State and Michigan, with the opportunity to earn six-figure paydays because of NIL. He could make more than Kampe next year; Kampe makes about $400,000.

If he returns to Oakland, Townsend would likely get NIL money in the five-figure range, but it's not off the table.

"I will be declaring for the NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility," Townsend wrote. "Along with that, I will be entering my name in the transfer portal to explore every option there is for me, including returning to OU."

Townsend, who averaged 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds this season, will have until late May to withdraw his name for the NBA Draft, which is June 26-27.

Other Oakland players to enter the transfer portal: guards Osei Price, Tone Hunter, Michael Rogers and Evan Solomon, and forward Aundre Polk.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984