Nate Hise (Iowa State) and Bowen Vaughn (uncommitted) lead the departures. D-II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year Max Weisbrod joins new commitment.
CEDAR FALLS — The transfer portal and the player movement phenomenon it created finally made its presence felt in the UNI men's basketball program this spring.
Seemingly immune to the deluge of transfer programs faced across the country over the past five years, coach Ben Jacobson's side have entered the portal with an unprecedented seven players since the end of the 2023-24 season. I welcomed you.
Nate Heise and Bowen Bourne headlined UNI's seven-man transfer group.
Hise, a 2023-24 All-Missouri Valley Conference third-team honoree and UNI's leading scorer last season, committed to Iowa State in early April, but sources recently confirmed that he has committed to Colorado. Despite acknowledging his visit to the state, Born remains non-committal.
Michael Duax, Landon Wolf, and Ege Peksari are also members of the Panthers' backcourt and have entered the portal.
Since then, Mr. Duax and Mr. Wolf have announced commitments to Florida Gulf Coast and Illinois State, respectively, but Mr. Pexari remains uncommitted.
Forwards Cole Henry and Drew Daniel complete the seven-man departure, with Henry going to Green Bay and Daniel going to Division II Minnesota State-Mankato.
The official statement regarding Heise and Born's entry into the transfer portal was similar to the five other Panther players who entered, praising their experience at UNI.
This accolade may have helped Jacobson and his staff avoid any questions that the departure of seven players was the result of some kind of internal conflict within the program. Rather, it is simply the result of a number of players using their freedom and ability to move in a given offseason to generate name, image, and likeness income.
With two freshmen in Will Hornseth and Redek Vaughn, Jacobson and his staff suddenly have at least four roster spots to fill and have received three commitments thus far.
Max Weisbrod, a 6-foot-4 guard from Division II Northern Michigan, committed the crime in late March. Weisbrod, a native of DeForest, Wis., averaged 17.2 points per game last season and was named the Wildcats' Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
In addition to his scoring ability, Weisbrod played mostly point guard at Northern Michigan University, where he was second in the GLIAC in assists. He arrives at Cedar Falls with his two years of eligibility remaining.
Three weeks later, Ben Schwieger, who transferred from Loyola to Chicago, announced his commitment to UNI.
Schwieger, a 6-7 guard from Aurora, Illinois, felt his role with the Ramblers diminished significantly last season after earning Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie Team honors in 2022-23. .
Schwieger averaged 9.2 points per game as a redshirt freshman, appearing in 30 of 31 games and starting the final 26 games. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Another roster spot was recently filled by Cedar Falls local product Cade Coolba, who accepted an offer as a preferred walk-on.
Courba is a 6-8 small forward who averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds, providing balance to the Tigers' offensive depth.
These three acquisitions leave one or two scholarships open, as LeDek Vaughn was originally scheduled to redshirt this season as a bye before receiving a scholarship for the 2025-26 season. It turns out.
Officials confirmed to the Gazette that Virginia transfer Leon Bond III recently visited UNI's campus. Bonds is a 6-5 small forward from Milwaukee with three years of eligibility remaining. He appeared in 24 of the Cavaliers' 34 games last season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds.
If Bonds commits, Jacobson and his staff could decide to put Vaughn on scholarship immediately or continue with the original 4-5 plan and pursue a point guard with the remaining available scholarship money. be.