Mississippi State Bulldogs starting center Michael Nwoko enters transfer portal

With the 2024-2025 season now in the rearview mirror, Chris Jans and Mississippi State basketball have turned their attention entirely to next season. That means locking-in to the transfer portal, as State will look to reload at positions of need.

But as with all programs, the portal also takes away from your roster. Mississippi State already saw one (expected) transfer when point guard Kanye Clary entered the portal. Now, however, an unexpected move is underway as a starter has entered his name.

Mississippi State Bulldogs center Michael Nwoko enters transfer portal

On Thursday, news broke that Mississippi State's starting center, Michael Nwoko, was entering the transfer portal. Joe Tipton of On3 first reported the news. He will enter with a "Do Not Contact" tag, meaning schools are not able to reach out to Nwoko about transferring to them. While not official, that at least suggests that he's already got a destination in mind.

Nwoko started 32 games for Mississippi State at center during the 2024-2025 season. The 6-10, 245 sophomore averaged 6.1 points and 4.6 rebounds while making 52.5% of his field goal attempts. His best game of the season came in State's blowout non-conference home win over Pittsburgh, in which he posted 18 points and 11 rebounds for his first of two total double-double performances.

Though Nwoko was technically the Bulldogs' starter at the Five, he wasn't necessarily their primary option at the position. Junior KeShawn Murphy, despite coming off the bench, was State's second-leading scorer, averaging 11.7 points, and led the team in rebounding with 7.4 per game. He averaged almost nine more minutes a game than Nwoko, who played just 15.4 minutes on average.

This will be Michael Nwoko's second time in the transfer portal. The Toronto native began his collegiate career at Miami, playing one season for the Hurricanes before joining the Bulldogs as a 4-star transfer last season. As a younger player who's flashed good potential at points, he's likely to find a respectable landing spot once again.

As for Mississippi State, they still have KeShawn Murphy and depth pieces Gai Chol and Jeremy Foumena on the roster. Redshirt EJ Paymon is a high-level talent that could factor in next season, and the Bulldogs are adding a pair of 4-star freshman bigs in Jamarion Davis-Fleming and Tee Bartlett. Plus, they can obviously look to the portal if they want a more experienced and traditional center as a changeup to the lighter Murphy. No concern at center for MSU.