NCAA Basketball: Top mid-major players in 2022 offseason transfer portal
By Shea Irish
Mark Sears – Ohio
6’1″ Sophomore Guard
2021-22 Season: 19.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 60 3-PT(40.8%), 88.4 FT%
Career Accolades: 2022 1st Team All-MAC, 2022 Lou Henson Mid-Major POY Finalist
If you didn’t get the opportunity to see Mark Sears play this past season, just picture watching a replica of former Villanova and current Detroit Pistons guard Jalen Brunson. Like Brunson, Sears is a crafty lefty that seems to always be under control, with a consistent capability to get in the lane and contort his body in different angles to finish at the rim.
As if it’s not enough that Sears can drive by you and get to the rim with ease, he was able to knock down the 3-ball at a clip of over 40%. Good luck trying to stop both aspects of his game, and then add in the natural ability for him to get to the line (over 200 FTs attempted on the year) and he becomes an absolute nightmare to guard. You can see why the Bobcats’ leading scorer nearly put up 20 PPG in the very underrated MAC.
At just 6’1″, Sears is an exceptional rebounder for his size, pulling down 6.0 RPG this past season. He had three double-digit rebounding nights, including a career-high 13 against Bowling Green. As you can tell by his numbers listed above, he was a stat sheet stuffer in the 2021-22 campaign.
Mark Sears former AAU coach has reported that he is gaining interest from top schools such as Florida, Creighton, Auburn, Texas, Alabama, and West Virginia among others. With Sears being a native of Muscle Shoals, AL; don’t be surprised to see him come back home and wear a Crimson Tide uniform next season or transfer to the other SEC school from his home state (Auburn).