Following the end of the 2023-24 season, seven members of the Pepperdine Men’s Basketball team have entered the transfer portal, according to the college sports and recruit website On3.
The players who have entered the portal include: junior guard Houston Mallette, sophomore guard/forward Michael Ajayi, sophomore forward Jevon Porter, sophomore forward Jalen Pitre, sophomore guard Malik Moore, redshirt freshman Cord Stansberry and freshman guard Nils Cooper.
“It was a great three years,” Mallette said. “I appreciate everybody, from faculty to our coaches to student life on campus. And, to my teammates, I appreciate it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Of the seven who have entered the portal, four players have committed to their next school. Mallette is transferring to the University of Alabama, Ajayi is transferring to WCC rival Gonzaga University, Pitre is transferring to Sacramento State University and Stansberry is transferring to Western Carolina University, according to each players personal Instagram.
Reason for Entering the Portal
Lorenzo Romar, former Pepperdine Men’s Basketball head coach, tenure ended at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. Romar leaving was a big reason why the players decided to enter the portal, multiple players said.
“We all came here to play for Coach Romar,” Mallette said. “He’s one of the best recruiters, but now Coach Romar won’t be coaching here — I know, for some of us, we don’t want to continue our basketball career here.”
Multiple players said the team was frustrated with the way they found out Romar was leaving — mainly due to the timing of it. The team found out when they were about to play in the conference tournament.
“I thought it’d be best to make a statement saying that I have Coach Romar’s back,” Mallette said. “And, if Coach Romar won’t be here anymore, then I won’t be here anymore.”
During the past three seasons under Romar, Men’s basketball had an 8-40 record in conference play and ended in eighth, eighth and sixth place respectively, according to the WCC.
Porter said he was frustrated because he felt the team was only one year away from competing with the top teams in the West Coast Conference — and would have this season had it not been for injuries.
“If you’re not producing for them, they’re not gonna keep you, but I just felt like we were so close to getting to that level,” Porter said. “And I feel like, this year, we would have been at that level if it weren’t for the injuries.”
Ajayi transferred to Pepperdine for the 2023-24 season after spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Pierce College, according to Pepperdine Athletics. He said, without Romar, Pepperdine wouldn’t be a good fit for him.
“The only reason why I came to Pepperdine was Coach Romar,” Ajayi said. “And his belief in me and what he wanted me to achieve over there. And it wouldn’t make sense if he leaves [and goes] somewhere else. It wouldn’t be good for me.”
WCC rival Loyola Marymount hired Romar as an assistant coach, the University announced March 19.
Knowing Your Coach
Mallette originally verbally committed to play for Penn State in May, 2020, but de-committed from the school in November, 2020, when Pat Chambers, then Penn State Men’s Basketball head coach, resigned, according to Mallette’s Instagram.
Mallette said it’s important to know who your coach is before you decide where to play because of how impactful a head coach has on their players’ experiences at a school.
“We understand we’re having our scholarship paid for by how we play basketball and the people we play basketball for,” Mallette said. “So, I know, sometimes, the new coach comes in and wants to make changes [or] decisions himself.”
For Porter, he said having trust in his coach is why he needs to know who his coach is beforehand.
“Whoever I’m playing for, he does have a lot of effect on my life,” Porter said. “And I want to make sure that I’m going to play for somebody that is not going to lie to me or tell me one thing [but] do another.”
Ajayi said part of the reason he decided to play for Gonzaga next was because of his interactions with Mark Few, Gonzaga Men’s Basketball head coach. Ajayi felt Few had a need for him to play for Gonzaga — not a want — which made Ajayi want to play for him.
“It’s really important to be in a good relationship with your head coach,” Ajayi said. “And find ways to improve your game, and they’ll tell you your weaknesses and what you have to do to get better to reach the next level.”
Looking to the Next Program
Gonzaga Men’s Basketball has made it to the NCAA tournament every year since the 1998-99 season, including two national championship appearances, and has a 744-150 record over that span, according to Basketball Reference. The program has also had 40 players go on to play in the NBA, according to Basketball RealGM.
Ajayi said his ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA and believes Gonzaga was the best place to achieve that goal.
“There’s a lot of winning,” Ajayi said. “It’s a good environment — a lot of fans. It’s a basketball school [and a] good college. A lot of NBA players went to that school, and that’s where I want to be — I want to be in the NBA.”
At Pepperdine, Ajayi said he felt his growth was limited at times since Pepperdine only has one gym.
“It’d be occupied almost every time I would go to the gym,” Ajayi said. “So, it’s kind of hard to develop your game.”
Porter has yet to decide where he’ll play next but said he wants his next program to be somewhere where he will fulfill his potential as an athlete.
“[I’ll be looking for] somewhere that I can develop and become the player that I envision myself becoming,” Porter said. “And then, also, I want to be somewhere that we can win. I want to be part of a winning team, and I want to help contribute to the winning team.”
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Contact Tony Gleason on X: (@tony__gleason) or via email: anthony.gleason@pepperdine.edu
