LSU's Dedan Thomas Jr. plans to enter the Transfer Portal
LSU guard Dedan Thomas Jr. plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, his father tells On3’s Joe Tipton.
With uncertainty surrounding the future for LSU men’s basketball head coach Matt McMahon, Thomas is the first player to announce his plans to transfer.
The NCAA Transfer Portal window for men’s basketball opens April 7, meaning Thomas will have to wait two weeks to officially process the paperwork and begin visiting other colleges as a transfer prospect.
One year ago, Thomas left UNLV as McMahon’s highest-ranked addition from the NCAA Transfer Portal.
At UNLV, Thomas averaged 13.6 points and 5.2 assists per game, and as one of the top young players in the Mountain West, he was coveted by programs coast-to-coast before signing to play for the Tigers ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Thomas stepped into a starting role at LSU and immediately averaged double-digit points while flashing the same knack for stacking up assists he showed during his time at UNLV.
Thomas played his final game for LSU on January 28, suffering an injury that ultimately cut short his season with the Tigers. He averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists in 15 starts across 16 games played.
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Now, Thomas could be suiting up for his third college team in three years.
There’s also the option for players to withdraw their name from the portal, though the path for a return to LSU is unknown given the uncertainty surrounding McMahon’s future.
McMahon, whose four seasons at LSU have resulted in an overall record of 60-70 and an SEC record of 17-55, has found himself on the hot seat as a group of decision makers behind the scenes push for a change.
If McMahon is not retained for a fifth season, all signs point to NC State head coach Will Wade returning to LSU as the program’s new head coach. Wade served as LSU’s head coach from 2017-22, and he’s led both McNeese and NC State to NCAA Tournament appearances in the past two seasons.
Regardless who is coaching the Tigers next season, the decision by Thomas to head back to the portal is a blow for an LSU program that finished last in the SEC standings after back-to-back seasons with a 3-15 record in conference play.