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Montana men's, women's basketball teams see early entries into transfer portal

Montana State at Montana women's basketball
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MISSOULA — With the college basketball season in the books for the Montana men's and women's programs, movement is already being made toward next season as both teams recently saw players enter the transfer portal.

Both programs have two known players in the portal as of Thursday afternoon, as on the women's side, freshman Macey Huard and second-year guard Libby Stump have entered, while on the men's side senior Giordan Williams and redshirt freshman Rhett Reynolds are into the portal.

MTN has confirmed all four entries. Skyline Sports was first to report Huard's transfer on March 21.

Huard, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was a standout true freshman for the Lady Griz this season. Playing alongside her sister, junior Haley Huard, Macey played in 32 games for the Lady Griz this season as a role player who averaged 16.6 minutes, 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 38.9% from the field and 36.1% from deep.

Huard played in Montana's win over Boise State in the first round of the WNIT where she scored 16 points, but entered the portal and did not play in the season finale against North Dakota State on Monday.

Stump, a sophomore guard from Ferndale, Washington, played in just five games for the Lady Griz in the 2023-24 season after she suffered a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 6 against Loyola Marymount in Missoula.

Like Huard, Stump was a breakout freshman in her first year in 2022-23. She played in all 30 games, averaging 20.9 minutes and 10.0 points per game.

Those players are the first departures for the Lady Griz this offseason. Carmen Gfeller, Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw and Gina Marxen all exhausted their eligibility at the conclusion of the season.

Montana State at Montana men's basketball
University of Montana senior Giordan Williams (4) drives past Montana State University senior Robert Ford III (20) into the key during the Brawl of the Wild at Dahlburg Arena in Missoula, MT on February 17, 2024.

For the men, Williams, a native of Carson, California, was a transfer to Montana this past year after spending four seasons at Santa Clara. In his lone year at Montana, Williams played in 31 of UM's 36 games, and made six starts, while averaging 15.5 minutes, 3.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game at UM.

He leaves as a grad transfer with one season of eligibility remaining.

Reynolds, a native of Shelby, spent two seasons with the Grizzlies. He redshirted last year before appearing in just 11 games this season for Montana, where he scored five total points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Those two transfers are the first departures for the Griz men. Aanen Moody, Josh Vazquez, Laolu Oke and Dischon Thomas all exhausted their eligibility at the conclusion of the season.