Jaylen Brantley to leave Maryland basketball as a grad transfer

Guard Jaylen Brantley will graduate from Maryland basketball and transfer to another program for his senior season, the program announced Monday. He will be eligible to play elsewhere immediately.

Jeff Ermann of InsideMDSports.com was first to report the news, and the school confirmed it in a release.

Brantley came to Maryland prior to the 2015-16 season after playing a season at Odessa College, a junior college in Texas. He redshirted at Marshall the season before, and will now reportedly now look to join his fourth team in five seasons. He’s looking to spend his final year at a program where he can get more playing time than he did at Maryland.

“I want to thank my coaches, teammates and fans for an incredible two years at the University of Maryland,” Brantley said in the release. “After speaking with my family, I feel it is in my best interest to explore opportunities at another school where I can have a bigger role athletically and also work towards a master’s degree in sports management.”

Brantley looked more comfortable in his second season in coach Mark Turgeon’s offense, averaging 4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and one assist in just under 17 minutes per game. However, Anthony Cowan proved himself to be Maryland’s point guard of the future and incoming recruit Darryl Morsell looks ready to contribute as well, so it makes sense that Brantley would seek a larger role.

This leaves Maryland with three open scholarships, as the Terps are also losing Melo Trimble to the NBA Draft and Micah Thomas to transfer.