Pitt sophomore guard Trey McGowens has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, Pittsburgh Sports Now has confirmed. The news was first reported by VerbalCommits.com.
A 6-foot-4 guard, McGowens started 64 of 66 games for the Panthers over the last two seasons as the team’s starting shooting guard.
In his Pitt career, McGowens averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
A four-star prospect, McGowens was the headliner of Pitt’s 2018 recruiting class and immediately made an impact, winning ACC freshman of the week twice in his first season while finishing third on the team in scoring and third in 3-point shooting percentage (32.7%).
Combined with point guard Xavier Johnson and wing Au’Diese Toney, McGowens and the 2018 recruiting class seemed poised to be a big part of the future for the Panthers, but the growth that many hoped for, including head coach Jeff Capel, from year one to year two did not occur.
As a sophomore, McGowens played more minutes, but his scoring average fell from 11.6 points per game to 11.5, and his shooting percentage plummeted for 41.7% to 36.7%. From beyond the arc, he dropped to 31.1% shooting as a sophomore as Pitt’s offense cratered in the second half of the season.
He’ll leave Pitt with two seasons of eligibility and will have to sit out the 2020-21 season, unless he able to secure an NCAA waiver or the sport’s governing body passes a proposed measure to allow one free transfer per player.
McGowens is the second Pitt player to enter the transfer portal this offseason and is the fourth expected early departure from the Panthers since the end of the 2019-20 season, joining guard Ryan Murphy and forwards Kene Chukwuka and Samson George.
I hate to see Trey go.