Ball State Center Payton Sparks Enters Transfer Portal, Visits Indiana

6-foot-9 center Payton Sparks averaged 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds for Ball State, but he entered the transfer portal after his sophomore season.

Jordan Kartholl / The Star Press / USA TODAY NETWORK

Indiana is hosting an unofficial visit for Ball State center Payton Sparks on Monday.

During his sophomore season, Sparks, a 6-foot-9 center, averaged 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.9 blocks per game. He posted 10 double-doubles this year, earning second-team All-MAC honors. Sparks has two years of remaining eligibility. 

Under first-year head coach Mike Lewis, who played for Bob Knight at Indiana from 1996-2000, Sparks was third on the team in scoring and first in rebounding. He shot 59.4 percent overall and made 2-of-5 3-point attempts. 

Sparks was named MAC Freshman of the year in 2021-22 when he scored 13.5 points per game with 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.5 blocks. He also earned a spot on the 2022 Kyle Macy Freshmen All-America Team. Sparks shot 70.3 percent at the free throw line as a freshman, but that number dropped to 52.5 percent as a sophomore. 

Sparks, a Winchester, Ind. native, drew interest from Indiana when he entered the transfer portal after his freshman season, too, but he decided to return to Ball State for his sophomore year. Indiana has a large void to fill with the departure of veteran forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson.

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