Six-figure offers and hundreds of calls, all-conference guard details portal decision
Hudson Mayes had "glitz and glamour" of Power conference suitors. "I kept money out of my decision and made a basketball decision."
Finally, Hudson Mayes got a solid night’s sleep. The All-Big West Conference honorable mention selection out of UC-San Diego and, most notably this month, NCAA transfer portal entrant had lost track of days, let alone the “hundreds” of phone calls and texts from potential basketball suitors. On Tuesday, Mayes made official the next step in his blossoming college basketball career — and spoke about the choice exclusively to USA TODAY Sports.
Top 50 players: College basketball transfer portal rankings The 6-5, 200-pound rising sophomore guard has signed with Eric Olen’s New Mexico program. Olen guided the Lobos to 26 wins and an NIT semifinals appearance in his debut, 2025-26 season at the helm. “It felt like absolutely forever.
If you asked me how long ago, I would tell you two months ago not officially one week in the portal,” Mayes, the Tritons’ No. 2 scorer at 11. 1 points per game, told USA TODAY Sports after he ended a recruitment that also included Baylor, Notre Dame and Syracuse among top contenders.
“I tried not to let myself get too stressful with it. My agent (NBA certified agent KJ Smith of Range Sports) told me once you do enter, you’re going to get hundreds of texts and calls. “I wasn’t thinking about the portal; I was trying to help us win the Big West (tournament).