Maryland Basketball: Serrel Smith Jr. continues transfer exodus for Terrapins

Tuesday morning, rising junior Serrel Smith Jr. announced his intentions to transfer from Maryland Basketball. He will be the fifth player to transfer from the Terrapins in the last year.

Yet another Maryland player has decided to leave the program. Rising junior guard Serrel Smith Jr. will join the likes of Makhi Mitchell, Makhel Mitchell, Ricky Lindo Jr., and Joshua Tomaic as the list of Maryland transfer departures grows larger.

Smith averaged 2.6 points per game in his two seasons in College Park, receiving 10.0 minutes per game. He originally committed to the Terps as a three-star high-school recruit out of Florida. Smith usually came off the bench as a depth piece while backing up Anthony Cowan Jr. at point guard, but he saw a decrease in minutes between his freshman and sophomore seasons.

In the University of Maryland statement released on Tuesday, Smith said, “I want to thank Maryland and Coach Turgeon for these past two years – they have been nothing but amazing. My time at Maryland was filled with memories and relationships that I will always cherish! After careful consideration, I have decided to enter my name in the NCAA transfer portal and explore my options.”

Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon said of Smith, “Serrel did everything we asked of him the last two years and we are appreciative of his contributions to the program. He was a great person to coach and a great teammate who helped lead us to a Big Ten Championship. We wish him nothing but the best.” Barring an NCAA waiver, Smith will be a sit-out transfer at whatever school he chooses to attend.

Serrel Smith’s departure exacerbates the already-concerning depth issues the Terrapins will face entering next season. With forward Jairus Hamilton most likely sitting out next season, they currently have just nine eligible players on their roster, six of whom are returners from 2019-2020.