Brennan Rigsby enters the transfer portal, leaving Oregon basketball

Brenna Rigsby is the first Duck to enter the transfer portal this offseason.

Brennan Rigsby, a junior guard for the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team, has entered the transfer portal after two seasons as a Duck. Rigsby previously played a season at North Florida State College, so he has a year of eligibility remaining.

In his two seasons in Eugene, Rigsby played in 57 games, averaging 5.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and an assist per game, while shooting 40.6% from the field. His numbers improved from year one to year two as well, averaging 6.1 points per game in the 2023-24 season.

Where Rigsby struggled was on the defensive end. His defense improved throughout the past season, but he still showed inconsistencies when stopping opposing guards at the point of attack and closing out shooters.

A week and a half ago, after the Ducks’ loss to Creighton in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament, Rigsby spoke to Oregonian reporter James Crepea about his future and said he wanted to stay at Oregon in 2024.

“Oregon is definitely a place I want to be.”

But in the modern landscape of college athletics, players don’t always have full autonomy in the transfer process, and they can sometimes be forced into the portal. It’s unclear whether that happened with Rigsby, but in the context of his comments at the end of the season, it’s a possibility.

Next season, the Ducks’ backcourt will look much different than it did this season, and as it stands, Oregon doesn’t have much guard depth. Jermaine Couisnard is out of eligibility, the Ducks lost incoming 4-star recruit Vyctorius Miller, and now Rigsby is on the way out.

We’ll still Jackson Shelstad will still be bringing the ball up next year, and Keeshawn Barthelemy has announced that he’ll be back in the fall, but other than that, Oregon doesn’t have many options. Dana Altman will surely explore options in the transfer portal, where he can hopefully find suitable replacements.