A Grip on Sports: The transfer portal can be a highway to riches or, in some cases, a dead end in the middle of nowhere

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s transfer portal season, as anyone with access to ESPN knows. And that means everyone who read this column. But what you may not know, what with the overwhelming noise from the gnashing of teeth the past couple days, is the transfer portal is a two-way street. For the schools. For the entrants? Sometimes it leads to nowhere. Or Storrs, Connecticut.

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• Lose a linebacker? Find one in the portal. Lose a quarterback? Ah, you get the picture. With the number of players already cresting a thousand – including, according to the aforementioned ESPN, 220 wide receivers – the place is packed. And will get more so.

After all, almost 2,700 players put their names in last year. Not all of them found homes. At least not at the same level they were before. Which is just fine in one regard. For the portal to have any redeeming value to the athletes. It has to help match most players with places they can play.

For every Cam Ward, who steps in to earn big bucks, there are four or five players acknowledging they made the wrong choice out of high school. Half of them are looking to move up, finding the right fit for their talent level. The other half? It’s simple. They’ve found the game too fast or too crowded at their current home. A move is the best way, maybe even the only way, to not just practice but also play.

There is a small chance it is a siren call, sure, but there is also a better one the right match awaits. Betting on yourself is hard, especially when it means pulling uproots, saying goodbyes and starting anew in a strange place. That’s why most of the colleges in this area try their darndest to show open arms, not just to those leaving – hey, about 2% change their mind – but to those out their looking for new homes.

The hardest part of this pre-Christmas rush? All of these decisions, for players and programs, come in the midst of a season with a game or games left. At least for some like Washington State (bowl) or Idaho (FCS playoffs). Taxing doesn’t begin to describe it, especially for schools that can’t afford staffers devoted to nothing but roster building.

• There are cautionary tales out there, right?

Take former Washington offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett. Recruited when Chris Peterson was the Huskies’ head coach, Hatchett played through the Jimmy Lake and Kalen DeBoer eras. But the Jedd Fisch one was a bridge too far. Hatchett, who wasn’t a regular starter, left for Oklahoma. Was injured. Didn’t play at all. Kept his year of eligibility. And decided to rejoin his brother, Landen, a UW starter, next season. He was able to go home again.

• Though football’s portal is the one in the news, other sports have them too. The biggest one off the gridiron? Men’s basketball. It seemed every school had at least three players zoom out. And at least that many sign in.

One of them is familiar to Zag fans. Aiden Mahaney. The junior guard had one of those backstories that stuck in the memory banks like gum on a Nike LeBron 22. Grew up playing travel ball with Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett’s son Cade. Spent lots of time at the Bennett home. Signed with the Gaels and starred right away. Two years of West Coast Conference battles with Gonzaga. A sharp-shooter who dominated the WCC’s lesser lights and, last season at least, found the basket against the Bulldogs, scoring 43 points in two SMC wins.

But even familial ties weren’t enough for Bennett to keep Mahaney in Moraga. He made a late leap into the portal. Picked two-time champion UConn. And …?

No fairy tale ending here. Not yet anyway. Mahaney started the Huskies’ first five games. Was overpowered. Looked out of place. A step slow, a few pounds too light. Could it be Bennett’s system had covered up his deficiencies?

Sure seems like it. And it seems as if Danny Hurley has decided that’s the case. The two-time All-WCC first-team performer is not performing much for the Huskies these days.  

A week ago, Mahaney was lauded by Hurley after his three 3-point shots gave UConn a shot in the arm in a 76-72 win over Baylor. Seemed to have found something, playing 18 minutes – his most since he lost his starting spot in late November – and scoring nine points.

Four nights later, against Texas, Mahaney was back on the bench. For all but 6 minutes. He was scoreless. Didn’t take a shot as UConn won on the road.

Mahaney’s transfer road? Unless something changes, it’s been a dead end.

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WSU: We start with hoops, as Greg Woods took a dive into the Cougars’ success since wing Cedric Coward went down with a shoulder injury. The offense is still thriving, mainly because LeJuan Watts has stepped up. … The slimmed down Pac-12 decided not to put together an all-conference team, considering it would have been picked from just two rosters. There were awards announced Tuesday, though. And the Cougs took home five of six – though one, freshman performer of the year Wayshawn Parker, is headed to the transfer portal. … Speaking of the portal, Greg has his tracker up and running. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his thoughts on how to improve the CFP selection process. … And the Heisman Trophy presentation in the new world. … Washington will face Louisville in the Sun Bowl as the year ends. … Top-seed Oregon has a bunch of time off before it starts its CFP run. The Ducks can get healthy and continue to develop. … There has been one other Colorado Heisman winner. … A Utah defensive back is in the portal thanks to huge pre-portal offers. That’s supposed to be against the rules. … UCLA’s athletic director was just given a raise. … USC is going to be doing a lot of shopping in the portal. … California did hire Bryan Harsin to be its offensive coordinator. … Coaches earn a salary. And bonuses. The latter has been a big deal this season for Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham. … The Arizona roster makeover continues. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, the conference released the 2025 schedule, which includes a Thursday opener for San Diego State. … Colorado State is bringing in a general manager and waving goodbye to its offensive coordinator. … In basketball news, we can share Jeff Metcalfe’s Mercury News Best of the West women’s basketball rankings for the week.

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson has a Mahaney story on the S-R website today. The Zags will be in New York on Saturday night to face Connecticut and the struggling Saint Mary’s transfer. … You know who else is struggling? The GU and Eastern Washington women’s programs. They meet Saturday as well, though at Gonzaga. Greg Lee uses their matchup as a perfect segue into a discussion on their tough starts. It’s part of his weekly notebook.

EWU: The Eagle men traveled across the state yesterday to play UW at Alaska Airlines Arena. Or Hec Ed, as we like to still call it. Whatever the name, the Huskies shot the lights out against Eastern, winning 87-69. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Northern Colorado had a freshman honored nationally. … Montana had plenty of potential but fell short of expectations. … Fifth-seeded UC Davis is headed to No. 4-seed South Dakota in the FCS playoffs this week. The Aggies are leaving the Big West and headed to the Mountain West. The football program will stay in the Big Sky, though. … In basketball news, not only has the record rebounded for the Idaho State men, so has their rebounding. … Montana handled Montana Tech to close out nonconference play.

Preps: Dave Nichols was out at Gonzaga Prep last night and covered the doubleheader, split between the Pups and University. … Dave also put together two roundups, one on the GSL action and another from around the area.

Seahawks: Where does Mike Macdonald rank among first-year coaches?

Mariners: Before we get to the M’s, we have sad news to pass along. North Central High graduate Ryne Sandberg announced Tuesday his prostate cancer has returned and has spread to other parts of his body. … Christmas came about two weeks early for the M’s, as, despite having the lowest odds for teams involved in MLB’s draft lottery, Seattle won the third pick. … Bad news though. Dan Wilson decided to tell all of us the roster, as it is now, is good enough to win a World Series. In Williamsport, maybe. In reality? Nope. Unless he is the greatest manager of all time. … Even Jerry Dipoto is not buying that, though he doesn’t seem to be trying really hard to buy better players. Though Ichiro is trying to help.

Kraken: Despite some new jewelry, Seattle fell to the Panthers in a shootout.

Sounders: This offseason may be more important for Seattle than last offseason. And any offseason in a while. There is a lot to figure out before a crowded season begins.

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• The sun came out Tuesday afternoon. Maybe it will again today. Wouldn’t that be nice? By the way, our first version of this column did not have links to Big Sky stories. The reason? I just forgot to add them. Doh. Until later …