Here’s every grad transfer Maryland basketball could target in 2018

This story was initially published on March 22. We’re updating it as the grad transfer cycle rolls on.

With 2017-18 NCAA season a wrap, the offseason is in full bloom for Division I basketball, including Maryland.

Players who are graduating in May with eligibility remaining can transfer schools and play immediately. Maryland has taken advantage of the graduate transfer market in each of the past four seasons, using its acquisitions to fill various roles on the team over the years.

For example, Rasheed Sulaimon and Sean Obi were both grad transfers from Duke, but played vastly different roles: Sulaimon was an everyday starter, while Obi was a practice body that provided toughness behind the scenes. Teams exploring the grad market are more likely to get an Obi (role player, practice body) than a Sulaimon (game-changer), but the market is filled with both, as well as every archetype in between.

Here are all the players currently available to transfer and contribute immediately.

(Note: this list does not include the 15 grad transfers that are currently signed.)

Some names that make sense

Tariq Owens, St. John’s. At the start of the cycle, Owens was the most likely grad transfer to land in College Park. He’s an Odenton, Maryland, native and former three-star prospect recruited out of St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel. He was used sparingly at Tennessee before transferring to St. John’s and becoming the Big East’s top shot-blocker. He had the Terps on his short list, but would sign with Texas Tech.

Trey Porter, Old Dominion. With Owens heading to Texas Tech, Porter becomes the priority on the grad market. The 6’11 forward has been on campus recently, and has ties to the area—his mom currently lives in Annapolis. He transferred after his freshman season at George Mason, sat then nearly doubled his scoring average. His stock after he doubled his scoring average last season, up to 13.2 points a game to go with 6.2 boards and 1.3 blocks a night on 58.5 percent shooting. He also hit his lone three-point attempt last season and told The Baltimore Sun that his decision would be unaffected by Bruno Fernando’s.

DeSean Murray, Auburn. The 6’5 forward has been linked to the Terps recently as well. After averaging 18.4 points, 7.7 boards and 1.8 steals per game in two seasons at Presbyterian, Murray transferred to Auburn and saw his production dip, but his deep-ball get more efficient. He averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 boards last season, while improving his three-point efficiency to 32.1 percent.

Bonus: Sit-1 prospects. While Mark Turgeon seems hard pressed to get another grad transfer big on campus, it appears that after the latest signing he’d be willing to fill the final roster slot with a transfer that would have to sit a year before joining the team.

Turgeon has two currently in his sights, both wings: Pittsburgh’s Parker Stewart and Wyoming’s Anthony Mack. Stewart would have three years of eligibility, after sitting, and is coming off a season where he averaged 9.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 38.6 percent beyond the arc for former-coach Kevin Stallings. Mack redshirted at Wyoming after battling concussion issues into January, after being a three-star prospect out of high school. Update: Mack committed to Miami on Saturday.

So what?

(updated: 4/13/18)

With Justin Jackson and Dion Wiley departed and Serrel Smith now on board, the Terps have two scholarships officially available (for now). Smith provides some reinforcements for the backcourt. Jackson’s departure and Bruno Fernando deciding to test the draft mean Maryland could use a lot of help in the frontcourt, and regardless, the Terps saw this season the problems caused by a lack of depth.

Expect at least one grad transfer big to relocate to College Park this spring. With Owens headed to Texas Tech, Mark Turgeon moves on to other options for the frontcourt. Porter’s been on campus, and the Terps have recently been linked to Murray, making them the program’s priorities. Turgeon would also do well to grab another wing, though, he can afford to get one that will sit a year with Darryl Morsell and a trio of guards signed for 2018.

The market keeps growing, so now it's just a matter of the recruiting pitch and the fit.