Villanova Rim Protector Braden Pierce Hits the Portal

Villanova center Braden Pierce plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens on April 7, per reports from his agency to a number of sites: Pierce confirmed them via an Instagram repost.

A seven foot tall rim protector, Pierce is a rising redshirt sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining. He followed Villanova head coach Kevin Willard from Maryland, where he spent the first two seasons of his college career, and earned playing time as a reserve this past season.

Pierce averaged 6.5 minutes across 30 games, putting up 1.2 points and 0.9 rebounds in that limited playing time. He also made 66.7 percent of his shots, throwing down a number of dunks. Size (or a lack thereof) was a major issue for the Wildcats, so Pierce played a valuable role down the stretch in spelling senior forward Duke Brennan as part of the team’s second unit — even when he wasn’t playing major minutes.

His departure leaves Villanova with nine spots to fill on their roster ahead of next season: he’s the fourth transfer and they have four seniors.