Transfer portal era allows some players to experience March Madness at multiple schools

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Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd’s NCAA Tournament experiences have run the gamut at his previous schools.

Boyd reached the Final Four with Florida Atlantic in 2023, endured an overtime loss in the round of 64 with the Owls a year later and then lost in the First Four with San Diego State last season. Now at his third school, Boyd has a keen understanding of what it takes to thrive this time of year.

“I just think it’s all about the mental aspect for the team, coming in ready to leave it all on the line,” Boyd said. “The last couple of teams I’ve been on, when we lost in the first round, we were kind of overcoming some challenges as a team. Maybe our mental (outlook) wasn’t in the best place in a sense. I feel like with this team right now, we have great momentum.”

In this era of the transfer portal, plenty of players end up appearing in the NCAA Tournament with multiple schools. For instance, the most outstanding player in last year’s Final Four was Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., who previously had participated in the NCAA Tournament with Iona.

Boyd would love to follow a similar path.

Wisconsin (24-10) is seeded fifth in the West Region and will face High Point (30-4) in a first-round game Thursday at Portland, Oregon. The Badgers will attempt to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend for the first time since a Sweet 16 appearance in 2017.

Boyd will need to continue the momentum he established last week by averaging 25 points in three Big Ten Tournament games, including a 38-point performance in a quarterfinal victory over Illinois. The 6-foot-3 guard has averaged 20.6 points and 4.2 assists — both career highs — in his lone season with the Badgers.

Boyd has played seven career NCAA Tournament games, though he didn’t score more than 12 points in any of them. He’s eager to lead Wisconsin on the type of long postseason run he enjoyed with Florida Atlantic three years ago.

“We’re in a good mental space, where we trust each other and believe in what we can do,” Boyd said. “I think that’s the most important thing.”

Here’s a look at some other notable players experiencing March Madness at new schools this year after previously playing multiple NCAA Tournament games for different programs.

Conwell is playing for his fourth school in as many years. The 6-foot-4 guard was at Xavier last season when he scored 11 points in a First Four victory over Texas and had 12 points in a round of 64 loss to Illinois. He also played for South Florida in 2022-23 and Indiana State in 2023-24, though those teams didn’t earn NCAA Tournament bids. He has a career-high 18.7 points per game at Louisville this season while also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Gillespie came to Tennessee after helping Maryland reach the Sweet 16 last year. The 6-1 guard scored 17 points in a regional semifinal loss to Florida and averaged 14.7 points in three NCAA Tournament games with the Terrapins. Gillespie had gone to Maryland after spending two seasons at Belmont, though he didn’t make the NCAA Tournament either of his years with the Bruins. Gillespie has 18 points and 5.5 assists per game this season to set career highs in both categories. He’s The Associated Press Southeastern Conference transfer newcomer of the year.

Grant-Foster played three NCAA Tournament games for Grand Canyon the last two seasons and scored at least 22 points in each of them. He had 22 points in a first-round win over Saint Mary’s and 29 in a second-round loss to Alabama. The 6-7 guard had 23 points in a first-round loss to Maryland last year. Grant-Foster also played a total of 11 minutes in two NCAA Tournament games with Kansas in 2021. Grant-Foster has averaged 11.2 points and 5 rebounds with Gonzaga this season.

Reneau’s last NCAA Tournament appearance came three years ago against Miami. Now he’s finally back in March Madness while playing for the Hurricanes. The former Indiana forward played 12 minutes in a first-round win over Kent State and 10 minutes in a second-round loss to Miami. Reneau remained at Indiana two more seasons but didn’t get back to the NCAA Tournament. He’s averaging 18.8 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Hurricanes as an AP first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

Stirtz reached the NCAA Tournament at the Division II level with Northwest Missouri State in 2023 and 2024. When Drake hired coach Ben McCollum away from Northwest Missouri State, Stirtz made the same move and helped the Bulldogs get to March Madness. Stirtz scored 21 points in each of his two NCAA Tournament games at Drake — a first-round win over Missouri and a second-round loss to Texas Tech. Stirtz is now at Iowa, again playing for McCollum. He has averaged 20 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds.

Veesaar transferred to North Carolina after reaching a regional semifinal with Arizona last season. He averaged 8 points in three NCAA Tournament games last year and had 13 points and six rebounds in a Sweet 16 loss to Duke. Veesaar also played three minutes for Arizona in a first-round loss to Princeton in 2023. The 7-footer is enjoying a breakthrough season at North Carolina by compiling 16.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness