Kansas men's basketball forward Cam Martin says he has entered transfer portal

LAWRENCE — Cam Martin’s time playing for the Kansas men’s basketball program is coming to an end.

After a two-season stint with the Jayhawks, Martin confirmed Monday he has entered the transfer portal. The revelation of the decision comes not long after Kansas’ 2022-23 season ended Saturday with a loss in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament against Arkansas. And it means Martin, who had declined to comment on his future in the immediate aftermath of the loss against the Razorbacks, will look to finish his college career elsewhere.

“Just getting to practice every day with — I mean, last year we were national champions and the best players in college basketball, and then learning from a Hall of Fame coach,” Martin said Saturday, as he reflected after the Arkansas loss on his two-year journey with the Jayhawks. “So, I’ve gotten better regardless of if I’ve played, even though I’ve wanted to, but just unfortunate circumstances. But I’ve definitely gotten better over the last two years.”

Kansas forward Cam Martin warms up prior to a game against Oklahoma State on Dec. 31, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas forward Cam Martin warms up prior to a game against Oklahoma State on Dec. 31, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Martin redshirted during Kansas’ national championship run during the 2021-22 season, after transferring to Division I from Division II-level Missouri Southern State. The forward was going to compete for a spot in the rotation this past season, until a shoulder injury sidelined him to the point head coach Bill Self has said Martin will pursue a medical redshirt so he can have one more year of eligibility. In the end, Martin only played about 10 and a half minutes across four appearances in-season for the Jayhawks and scored seven points.

Martin praised his teammates Saturday for how they were able to come together and win the Big 12 Conference regular season title this past season, despite at one point losing three-straight games. He thought they had to go through one of the toughest, if not the toughest, schedules in the nation. And he thought they all handled it well.

“The biggest memories to me are just the road trips where we have so much downtime, so we hang out at the hotel with the guys, as a group, and things like that,” Martin said Saturday about the memories that will stick with him from this past season. “Just the collective time we get to spend together.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU basketball forward Cam Martin says he has entered transfer portal