By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU freshman point guard Jalen Reece and sophomore forward Robert Miller III had not entered the NCAA Transfer Portal as of Tuesday afternoon – the first day of the transfer window that runs through April 21.
The recruiting Bayou Bash is no longer, but LSU does have the Boot Up Will Wade Transfer Portal Party that starts now.https://t.co/K5jSIQZOYj
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 7, 2026
LSU players could have entered the portal before Tuesday because of the program’s coaching change on March 26 as Will Wade was hired from North Carolina State after one season and LSU coach Matt McMahon was fired after four seasons.
Reece (6-foot-0, 185) was the No. 11 point guard in the country last year by 247sports.com out of Oak Ridge High in Orlando, Florida. He averaged 5.8 points, 3.6 assists and 23.8 minutes last season for the Tigers. He played in 32 games and started 10 – most of those after starting point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. injured his foot before Southeastern Conference play began and ended up having surgery.
Miller (6-10, 230) developed well last season as he averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 19.3 minutes a game and led the team in blocked shots with 44. He played in 31 games with two starts. Miller was a four-star prospect before the 2024-25 season out of Pasadena Memorial High in Pasadena, Texas. He was the No. 81 prospect in the nation, No. 13 power forward and No. 2 player in Texas.
Reece and Miller are the last remaining McMahon players on the LSU roster with eligibility remaining who have not entered the portal.
And Wade said last week that he did talk to five or six of LSU’s players about their future at LSU or elsewhere.
“We want anybody at LSU who wants to be at LSU,” Wade said. “If you want to be here, we want you here.”
Wade did keep freshman guard Skylar Mays from previous coach Johnny Jones’ roster when Wade became LSU’s coach the first time before the 2017-18 season. And Mays became one of Wade’s top players. Jones, meanwhile, is expected to join Wade’s coaching staff at LSU.
Will Wade is getting a pair of former SEC head coaches to ride again.https://t.co/p54J4CrOB7
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 7, 2026
LSU starting center Mike Nwoko entered the portal on Tuesday. Nwoko (6-foot-10, 261 pounds) averaged 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Tigers last season in 21.8 minutes per game as he was often in foul trouble or fouled out. He scored 20 or more points five times and shot 76.1 percent from the free throw line.
A transfer from Mississippi State last season who played at Miami in the 2023-24 season, Nwoko is the seventh player from fired coach Matt McMahon’s team to enter the portal as news broke that Wade was leaving North Carolina State after one season to become LSU’s new coach for a second time.
The previous six Tigers to enter the portal included star junior point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., and starting junior forward Jalen Reed. Thomas missed most of the Southeastern Conference season with a foot injury, while Reed missed most of the overall season with an Achilles injury.
The other four who have entered the portal are reserve guards Mazi Mosley and Ron Zipper along with freshman center Matt Gilhool and freshman forward Marcus Vaughns. Gilhool and Vaughns were on the 2025-26 roster, but did not play last season.
Players who enter the portal can still exit out of it and return to their previous team. Vaughns, though, has said he does not plan on returning to LSU.
Meanwhile, McMahon’s two signees for the 2026-27 class have each gotten out of their scholarships amid the coaching change and have reopened their recruitment. Those are No. 32-ranked small forward Kevin Thomas from Sagemont Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and No. 37 small forward Herly Brutus of The Villages Charter near Orlando, Florida.
McMahon had six seniors on his last LSU team – all signed via the portal last year.
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