Matt Bradley, Cal's Best Player, Enters Transfer Portal

Losing Bears leading scorer the past two years would be a significant blow

Matt Bradley, Cal's leading scorer the past two seasons, has entered the transfer portal, according to Jeff Goodman and several other reports.

Cal junior guard Matt Bradley is portaling, the portal told me.

Bradley averaged 18 points this past season.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 2, 2021

There is no indication yet what schools Bradley is considering transferring to.

A large number of college basketball players transfer every year, but losing Bradley would be a major blow to Mark Fox's Cal program.

Bradley was a second-team all-Pac-12 selection this year, when he averaged 18.0 points per game, which ranked third in the conference and was nearly eight points per game more than anyone else on the team.   Nonetheless Cal still finished 9-20 overall and 3-17 in the Pac-12. He missed seven games because of ankle injuries.

He was also a second-team all-conference selection in 2019-20, when he averaged 17.5 points for a Cal team that went 14-18 overall and 7-11 in the conference.

Bradley was a junior this season, but because the 2020-21 season did not count against a player's eligibility, he has two years of college eligibility remaining. The NCAA is expected to pass a rule soon that will allow all players who transfer to play immediately for the team to which they transfer.

That is prompting even more players to transfer than usual.

Players who enter the transfer portal are not obligated to transfer, but it is rare that a player stays at his original school after entering the portal.

Bradley became the 48th Cal player to reach 1,000 career points this season and currently sits at No. 21 with 1,289 points. He scored double digits in 21 of 22 games he played this season, including 11 games of at least 20 points.

He missed seven games due to a pair of separate ankle injuries. Curiously, the Bears went 4-3 without him, although no one would suggest they were better with him on the sideline.

Cal averaged better than 78 points in the four wins (Northridge, Seattle, Washington, Utah) without Bradley but just 59 points in the three defeats (Washington State, Colorado, UCLA). 

Grant Anticevich and Makale Foreman have already stated that they plan to return to Cal next year to take advantage of their extra year of eligibility. Grad transfer Ryan Betley has not yet let his intentions be known publicly.

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Cover photo of Matt Bradley by D. Ross Cameron, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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