Published: 3/17/2021 2:15:45 PM
UMass captain Carl Pierre will spend one more season playing college basketball. He just won’t be wearing maroon for it.
The senior from Boston announced Wednesday that he’s entering the transfer portal.
“After speaking with my family I have concluded that I will take advantage of my extra year of eligibility. Unfortunately, it will not be at UMass as I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal,” he tweeted. “Thank you for taking a chance on a local kid UMass nation.”
Pierre is the second UMass basketball player to enter the portal after sophomore center Tre Mitchell announced his intentions Monday. UMass declined to comment on the transfers Wednesday.
Though he was a senior, all players were granted another year of eligibility through a COVID exception.
Pierre was the only senior at UMass that played all four years at the program. He stuck with UMass coach Matt McCall while 25 players transferred over the same period.
“His next step is he’s going to be successful because of who he is as a person,” McCall said after the Minutemen’s season-ending loss to Saint Louis. “Whatever’s best for Carl and his family, that’s what’s next. He’s put his heart and soul into this program for four years. If what’s best for him and his family is to move on with his life then we support him 1,000 percent.”
Pierre will leave UMass with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He’s second all-time in 3-pointers made at UMass with 286 and a top-20 scorer in program history.
He led the Minutemen playing 506 minutes this season, averaging 33.7 per game. Pierre was second on the team scoring 12.7 points per contest.
That leaves nine players from this year’s rotation still on the roster. Mark Gasperini, the team’s other senior, hasn’t declared his intention to stay, continue playing elsewhere or pursue other opportunities. Six of those nine played at Woodstock Academy in Connecticut.