After a senior season riddled with injuries, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team’s star guard Noah Fernandes entered the transfer portal on Monday, per his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
This season, Fernandes averaged 13.4 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc in 11 games, as he missed the other 20 contests with an ankle injury. The senior was named to the preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team.
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A Wichita State transfer following his freshman campaign, Fernandes started on 63 of 65 games played over three seasons in his UMass career. He averaged 13.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists in his tenure with the Minutemen, earning the nickname “Mr. Massachusetts” and collecting many memorable moments in the process.
Before his injury in the win at Harvard this season, Fernandes led UMass to a 6-1 start to non-conference play. In the Myrtle Beach Invitational, he scored 22 points to help the Minutemen beat Colorado in the team’s strongest win of the year, then buried a buzzer beater to defeat Murray State in the next round before holding off Charlotte to claim the invitational’s title. Fernandes was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
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UMass had a 7-4 record with Fernandes on the court before he aggravated his injury following a loss to La Salle in early A-10 play. The Minutemen finished the year 15-16 and 6-12 in the A-10, with a first-round loss to Richmond in the conference tournament.
The senior from Mattapoisett, Mass. will look for a new home for his fifth year of eligibility: “Thank you to the University of Massachusetts, for encouraging a small town kid from your backyard to do great things… I am excited to go on this new journey and find another home.”
Pedro Gray Soares can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @P_GraySoares.
