By Miles Hayford | 3/28/25 4:04pm
Top row left to right: Sophomore Nick Dorn, graduate student Matthew Van Komen, redshirt sophomore Andrew King, sophomore Kendall Campbell and junior Jameel Rideout.
Bottom row left to right: Junior TK Simpkins, sophomore TJ Simpkins, redshirt freshman Brayden Crump and junior Deandre Smart.
CORRECTION: The original version of this article had the incorrect name of an Elon player. Elon News Network regrets this error.
Despite coming off one of their best seasons in years, Elon’s men’s basketball team has seen a flurry of activity in the transfer portal with nine players entering the portal since it opened March 24, leaving only two scholarship players on the roster.
Junior TK Simpkins, sophomore TJ Simpkins, graduate student Matthew Van Komen and sophomore Nick Dorn have officially entered the transfer portal. Redshirt sophomore Andrew King, junior Jameel Rideout, redshirt freshman Brayden Crump, junior Deandre Smart and sophomore Kendall Campbell announced on social media that they have all also entered the transfer portal.
I want to thank my coaches, teammates, and the fans at Elon University. I have grown and enjoyed my experience here, but it is time for me to move on. I have entered my name in the transfer portal and am represented by @WEAVE pic.twitter.com/86cyVjujL7
Deandre Smart 6’7 225 RS- Sophomore
Elon (D1) Transfer
2 years of Eligibility
Stats: 40 Games Played
9MPG, 3.4 ppg, 2.4rpg, 64%FG
Film ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gRkBtePNnX
Entering the portal does not necessarily guarantee that the players will leave Elon, but it grants a release so that other schools are allowed to contact them about playing for other teams next season.
Activity in the transfer portal in its first two days of opening has exploded as more than 1,000 players have entered the portal. The transfer portal closes on April 22.
Elon professor of sport management Shaina Dabbs believes the increased activity this year is a result of the freedom student-athletes now have as a result of name, image and likeness deals.
“I think now more than ever before, athletes have a stronger voice and stronger autonomy in their pursuit of various goals, whether that’s athletic goals for championships or educational goals,” Dabbs said. “The transfer portal is something that is a free-for-all right, there’s not really any restrictions around going into the portal. I think athletes are taking advantage of that opportunity that the NCAA has provided.”
Dabbs said the lack of restrictions right now has made the transfer portal and NIL chaotic and challenging to navigate and believes there needs to be some consideration about regulations.
“I think that there needs to be conversations about a standardized process around transferring,” Dabbs said. “The NCAA really hasn’t regulated it on a national level, so without that, you will see there’s going to be a challenge for true competitive balance across institutions … Elon’s educational focus may make it challenging for us to accept certain transfer students, whereas other institutions, even within our own conference, may not have those same type of regulations.”
Along with four walk-ons on the team, sophomore Isacc Harrell and freshman Trey O’Neil are the only remaining scholarship players on the roster, according to the recruiting database Verbal Commits. Additionally, with senior Sam Sherry graduating, all five starters from last year are not on the roster anymore. Harrell is the only player left on the team who spent any time in the starting lineup last season, leaving Elon with a lack of experience.
Head coach Billy Taylor, who brought in four transfers last offseason, will have to respond with either retention of some of these players or by bringing in transfers of his own. All four transfers that Taylor brought in last year — Van Komen, TJ Simpkins, Rideout and King — are now in the portal.
Dabbs, a former DI student-athlete and coach, said Elon and any team that wants to compete at a high level in collegiate athletics needs to be aware of the portal and actively looking for players because schools are now guaranteed to lose players every year. Dabbs believes Elon still has the resources to provide some NIL opportunities to their athletes but said Elon will need to adapt to this new era of college athletics by focusing on creating a culture that promotes loyalty.
“When you’re constantly losing people as a part of that group, it does change the dynamic of the teams,” Dabbs said. “It puts more pressure on the coaching staff to create a space that can thrive and survive when you lose people to the portal. But I think that also requires the coaches to accept what’s happening right on college athletics, buy into what’s happening in college athletics, and then use resources available to continue to create a culture that is focused on positive reinforcement, that’s focused on loyalty, that’s focused on goals, and about winning.”
Elon Athletics did not respond to Elon News Network’s request for comment.
With runners at first and second and one out in the bottom of the fifth, senior shortstop Mark King delivered a win for the Southern Alamance High School baseball team in royal fashion. The Patriots entered the inning with an 8-0 lead over Chatham Central. Down 0-2 in the count, King smashed a double into left field, scoring both runners and securing the walk-off 10-0 run-rule win. Southern Alamance improved to a 10-2 record and will look to build upon the non-conference victory before its next conference match at home against Person High School at 7 p.m April 1.
Despite coming off one of their best seasons in years, Elon’s men’s basketball team has seen a flurry of activity in the transfer portal with nine players entering the portal since it opened March 24, leaving only two scholarship players on the roster. Junior TK Simpkins, sophomore TJ Simpkins, graduate student Matthew Van Komen and sophomore Nick Dorn have officially entered the transfer portal. Redshirt sophomore Andrew King, junior Jameel Rideout, redshirt freshman Brayden Crump, junior Deandre Smart and sophomore Kendall Campbell announced on social media that they have all also entered the transfer portal.
