The college basketball transfer portal has slowed, with most major programs finalizing their roster as summer practices begin.
However, there are still quality players looking for a new home this offseason, including a recent return to the portal in veteran guard Tyler Cochran.
Cochran came to the portal after spending the last two seasons at Toledo, and initially committed to join Wayne Tinkle and Oregon State, giving the Beavers much-needed experience after losing Jordan Pope to Texas.
However, Cochran recently decommitted from Oregon State and is once again on the open market, seeking his fourth school after spending two years at Northern Illinois, one year at Ball State and the last two at Toledo, all in the MAC.
The 6’2 Illinois native averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game last season for the Rockets, shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc.
Cochran is a big, steal-rich guard and a respectable outside shooter, and he’s already drawing the attention of eight different programs, including Ohio State, where coach Jake Diebler hopes to add more depth ahead of his first full season as coach of the Buckeyes. .
Below are the eight programs coming to Cochran, starting with the Big Ten team in Columbus:
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Ohio State already added a quality starting point guard this offseason in South Carolina’s Meechie Johnson, but they could use more guard depth after losing Roddy Gayle (Michigan) Scotty Middleton (Seton Hall) and Bowen Hardman (Akron) in the transfer portal.
Cochran would give the Buckeyes a veteran point guard who can shoot from beyond the arc and plays good defense, and his experience would provide insurance in case incoming rookie John Mobley isn’t ready for a big role right away.
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It’s not uncommon for guys to decide to return home, and Toledo is one of the programs that contacted Cochran when he was released from the Beavers, so the interest seems to be there.
Toledo also lost Dante Maddox (Xavier) and Ra’Heim Moss (Oregon) in the portal, and Cochran’s familiarity with the system (and five years of experience in the MAC) would certainly be welcome for the Rockets.
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San Diego State is a defense-focused team, and after losing Lamont Butler to Kentucky in the transfer portal, it makes sense that a player like Cochran, last year’s MAC Defensive Player of the Year, would have averaged over 1 .5 steals per game in each of the last four seasons – would fit Brian Dutcher’s system.
However, the Aztecs already added a trio of smaller guards through the portal: Nicholas Boyd (Florida Atlantic), Wayne McKinney (San Diego) and Kimo Ferrari (Brown), along with incoming freshman Taj Degourville, for so playing time could be hard to come by. Come get Cochran.
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Sycamores coach Josh Schertz headed to the A-10 to take over at Saint Louis, and his departure sparked a mass exodus of talent to an Indiana State program that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament last season .
The Sycamores lost seven guards in the portal, including Ryan Conwell (Xavier) and Jayson Kent and Julian Larry, who went to Texas. While they have a few transfers as replacements, there is room for more and a physical, defense-focused, veteran guard like Cochran would thrive in the Missouri Valley.
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Speaking of coaching changes in the Missouri Valley Conference, Darian DeVries left Drake to take over at West Virginia, taking his son and leading scorer, guard Tucker DeVries, with him.
Conor Enright (DePaul) and Kevin Overton (Texas Tech) are also out, and while the new staff brought in some new guards, including Wyoming’s Kael Combs, they could use more reinforcements. Cochran would compete for minutes right away on a team that went to the big dance last year, and in his final year of eligibility he could do much worse.
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SDSU isn’t the only Mountain West team interested in Cochran, as Fresno State looks to add the veteran guard to the mix.
The Bulldogs saw a pair of guards head to other Mountain West schools in Xavier DuSell (Nevada) and Donovan Yap (San Jose State), and with only one guard coming in (Green Bay transfer David Douglas), this is an easy choice for Cochran if he wants to stay out west.
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Hawaii has one transfer guard, Marcus Greene from Houston Christian, and two freshmen joining the program next season, but Cochrane would provide some additional experience to the Rainbow Warriors as they look to compete in the Big West next season.
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Marshall signed Florida A&M guard Jalen Speer through the portal, and Georgia three-star guard Will Moore joins as a freshman, but losing Jacob Conner and Cameron Crawford hurts this program quite a bit, and Cochrane would help ease that pain while providing the sixth. senior year the opportunity to play big minutes right away.
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