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USI men's basketball leading scorer Isaiah Swope enters NCAA transfer portal

anthony kristensen, evansville courier & press
·2 min read
Tennessee Tech’s Jaylen Sebree (2) attempts to steal the ball from Southern Indiana’s Isaiah Swope (1) in the last minutes of the Screaming Eagle’s losing match against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles with a final score of 82-71 on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.
Tennessee Tech’s Jaylen Sebree (2) attempts to steal the ball from Southern Indiana’s Isaiah Swope (1) in the last minutes of the Screaming Eagle’s losing match against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles with a final score of 82-71 on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.

EVANSVILLE — The University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball will need to replace its leading scorer and the player it was hoping to build around for the coming years.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Swope announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday. The Castle High School graduate averaged 15.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds in the Screaming Eagles’ inaugural Division I season and was an All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team selection.

He wrote the following message on Twitter: "I want to start off by saying thank you to the USI community, coaches, and my teammates. Playing for my hometown has been a blessing over the past two years and being a part of a historic season will be something that I always cherish. With that being said, and after talking with my coaches and family, I will be entering my name into the transfer portal to pursue my childhood dreams."

Swope is USI’s second player to announce their intention of entering the portal after Tyler Henry. The Eagles, with Swope’s decision to leave, will need to replace four of their five starters and each of their top five scorers.

USI is losing roughly 80% of its scoring with Swope and Henry entering the portal as well as Jacob Polakovich, Trevor Lakes and Jelani Simmons graduating.

Transfer portal tracker: Evansville, Southern Indiana men's basketball players to enter

The Eagles hoped Swope would be the centerpiece of the first years of the Division I era. He dazzled in conference play and put up a career-high 28 points against in-state foe Indiana State in December.

Southern Indiana’s Isaiah Swope (1) dribbles past SIU-Edwardsville’s Damarco Minor (0) during the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference at Ford Center on Wednesday night, March 1, 2023.
Southern Indiana’s Isaiah Swope (1) dribbles past SIU-Edwardsville’s Damarco Minor (0) during the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference at Ford Center on Wednesday night, March 1, 2023.

While at Castle, Swope lettered in both basketball and football. He was named the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference basketball player of the year in 2021 and was named to the All-State team after averaging 22.2 points, 3.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds.

He was an All-State honorable mention as a junior and was the seventh Castle player to score 1,000 career points.

Swope scored at least 10 points in 25 of USI’s 33 games this season and more than 20 in 11 of those contests.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: NCAA transfer portal: Southern Indiana guard Isaiah Swope enters name