The UMass women’s basketball team lost a pair of junior guards within the last week as Bre Hampton-Bey and Paige McCormick both announced their intention to transfer.
On Tuesday, Hampton-Bey retweeted a post by Kechan Johnson, an AAU coach for the Toledo Thunder program. It read: “Former C2K Thunder player @BrelynnBey is available an in the portal, contract me if you have interest.”
Hampton-Bey appeared in 30 games for the Minutewomen this season, starting half. She averaged 6.8 points and 3.9 rebounds.
McCormick posted a message on Twitter on April 4: “Thank you to my amazing teammates as well as the coaching staff at UMass for giving me a home for the past 3 years. With that being said, I have decided to do what is best for me & enter the transfer portal in search of a new home to finish out my collegiate career. Thank you to everyone who has supported me & helped me along thus far. I am very excited for this new journey”.
McCormick started 20 of the 30 games she appeared in. She averaged 5.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Four of the seven players who averaged at least 23 minutes for the Minutewomen (20-11) last season will not return. In addition to Hampton-Bey and McCormick, both Hailey Leidel and Vashnie Perry graduated.
UMass added two players during the early signing period in November: 5-6 guard Ber’Nyah Mayo from Delaware and 6-2 forward Makennah White from Pennsylvania.
Siena transfer Maddie Sims, a 6-2 forward, will have one year of eligibility left after sitting out this past season.
UMass could add more players starting next week. The first day players can sign National Letters of Intent is Wednesday. The signing period typically runs through May 20, but the NCAA extended the time to Aug. 1.
NEXT STOP — Former UMass men’s basketball player Samba Diallo announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he will play at Manhattan College: “Today, I am about to discover a new challenge. I’ve received many offers and I took the time to chat with all of the coaches that reached out to me during this difficult time we’re all going through. I would like to thank them all for their time but also for offering me a scholarship. For this new challenge I decided to commit to Manhattan college. I’m excited to start this new chapter. I thank my family and everyone around me for their support throughout this journey. Go Jaspers!!!!!”
The 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Senegal will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out next season for the Jaspers (13-18, 8-12 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Prior to UMass, Diallo played two years at Pope John XXIII High School in northern New Jersey. The two years were his first in the United States.
Last week, freshman Sean East II announced on Twitter that he will attend Bradley.
The 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Louisville will have three of eligibility left for the Braves (23-11, 11-7 Missouri Valley Conference).