Daniel Rivera is officially entering the transfer portal after one year with the Massachusetts men’s basketball team. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native joins a group of 10 players leaving the Minutemen this offseason.

In 29 games played with UMass, Rivera averaged the third most points per game with 11.9, along with a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. He started each game he played in, averaging 28.6 minutes played a night.

Despite suffering an injury toward the end of the regular season and missing the team’s last three games, Rivera returned for the Minutemen’s Atlantic 10 Tournament game against La Salle. UMass walked away with the loss, but Rivera’s 22 point, 12 rebound, three block and two steal performance helped to keep things close.

The game against the Explorers was Rivera’s fourth game over 20 points on the season, including tying a career-high with 29 against Fordham. He finished in double figures 18 times over the course of the season, including eight double-doubles.

With Rivera exiting, the Minutemen will need to replace a big part of their presence in the paint. The 6-foot-6 forward did most of his scoring from down low, including defending opposing team’s post scorers on the other end.

With inconsistencies at the center position throughout the season, Rivera took on the challenge of playing more of a “big man” role in small-ball lineups that gave UMass some much-needed versatility.

After Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Jayden Ndjigue announced they would return to the Minutemen for next season, Rivera comes as one of the biggest possible losses for the team. Head coach Frank Martin has one more starting position that he needs to fill.

Mike Maynard can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @mikecmaynard.