Men's basketball loses coaches and players as offseason begins

Since the departure of head coach Scott Cross, Troy men’s basketball fans knew a large portion of its championship team would be entering the transfer portal. After the portal opened on April 7, Troy has seen six players and nearly its entire staff depart from the program. 

As of the time of writing, both Cobi and Cooper Campbell, Austin Cross, Thomas Dowd, Victor Valdes and Javen Colbert are/were in the transfer portal. Cobi and Cooper Campbell announced their commitments to Liberty on Sunday. Counting the transfer portal alone, roughly 70% of the Sun Belt championship-winning team’s total point production is leaving the program. 

Along with those losses, seniors Theo Seng, Corbin Green, Jerrell Bellamy and Kam Mitchell are expected to graduate with no remaining eligibility. Seng averaged 12.7 points per game last season. Bellamy averaged 7.9 points and notably one block per game. He was also part of the Sun Belt All-Tournament team. 

With Troy’s top eight scorers all departing, Kerrington Kiel is the biggest producer remaining. Kiel is the only Trojan to officially announce his return to the team for next season. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds over 16.1 minutes played per game. 

As many expected, Scott Cross brought a notable part of his staff with him to Georgia Tech. Assistant coaches Brandon Gilbert and Kelvin Lewis both will join Cross as assistants for the Yellow Jackets.  

First year assistant coach Kaleb Canales was named the head coach at Weber State on April 3. Prior to Troy, Canales was an assistant coach and interim coach for the Portland Trailblazers, along with multiple other roles over his 18 years in the NBA. 

Troy’s other first-year assistant, Scott Campbell, who is the father of Cooper and Cobi Campbell, will not be returning to Troy’s staff next year either. There has been no official announcement from Campbell, but he was pictured in the Liberty commitment photos posted to social media for both of his sons. 

Multiple incoming recruits have decommitted as well. Most notably Haiden Harper and Quintin Mansfield. Mansfield, who plays for Gainesville High School in Georgia, flipped his commitment to UNC Asheville. Harper, who was the 2024 AISA Player of the Year at Lee Scott Academy in Alabama, has now flipped to follow Coach Cross to Georgia Tech. 

With many departures, newly hired head coach Adam Howard will be tasked with assembling an all-new roster, staff and recruiting class. The transfer portal window officially closes on April 21.