With the recent news of men’s basketball’s Glenn Taylor Jr. opting to leave Oregon State and enter the NCAA transfer portal, the school faces its latest star departure. 

Taylor Jr. was a leader for the Beavers this season, with it only being his sophomore season, and coming into this season I expected him to make the biggest leap as both a player and a leader, being one of the four players returning from the 3-28 season. 

The news of Taylor Jr. entering the transfer portal at first came prematurely, with reports of his entrance to the portal coming out on social media a week prior.

As a fan, I was saddened to see this news, but I have also learned to never trust any news or reports about an athlete until you hear it directly from them. However, on Tuesday April 4, Taylor Jr. made it official with a post on his Instagram page.

This will be a big hit for the Beavers entering the offseason and the start of the 2023-24 season. Taylor Jr. averaged 11.6 points and 3.7 rebounds this season, production that could be hard to replace as Taylor Jr. is a 6-foot-6 versatile ball handler who can get to the rim while still having the ability to knock down the three point shot.

Freshman Jaydon Stevens is likely the next man up to replace Taylor Jr. unless the team looks to recruit elsewhere. Tyler Bilodeau is 6-foot-9 but plays more like a center compared to Taylor Jr.

The Beavers’ men’s basketball team is already young, maintaining a group of primarily freshman and sophomores, and one of the Beavers brightest freshman stars this year was point guard Jordan Pope

Pope can be the future of Beaver basketball, if he chooses to stay. Pope averaged 12.6 points and tallied 74 assists during his freshman campaign, playing in a way that quickly won over Corvallis and fans of Beaver basketball.

Following the conclusion of the PAC-12 men’s basketball tournament for the Beavers, Taylor Jr. and Pope were both asked about their commitment to the team moving forward.

“We’re both with the Beavers,” Taylor Jr. said.

Obviously, Taylor Jr. wasn’t the most sincere with his comments, but I don’t think the Beavers can take losing another promising young player. Like I said, Pope can be the future of the Beavers basketball team if he chooses to stay through his career.

Historically, the NCAA transfer portal has affected the Beavers women’s basketball team more than the men’s team, having players Taylor Jones (University of Texas), Kennedy Brown (Duke University), Sasha Goforth (University of Arkansas), and Savannah Samuel (West Virginia University) all transfer out of Corvallis.

The most recent and notable players to depart the men’s basketball program at Oregon State were Jarod Lucas (Nevada) and Ahmad Rand (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).

The transfer portal can be great, as bigger programs at Oregon State, such as football, have benefitted from it greatly. 

However, for a smaller program, such as basketball and others, it seems too easy for players to achieve some sort of success and then depart to a situation that they deem better for themselves and their careers.

Lots of decisions need to be made now. How much longer will OSU stand with Tinkle? Can recruiting get any better? Who will replace Taylor Jr.?