Oregon center Kel'el Ware plans to transfer, will not enter 2023 NBA Draft

Oregon center Kel’el Ware will not be back with Ducks next season and it is not because of the NBA. Per On3’s Joe Tipton, Ware is entering the transfer portal and will not enter the 2023 NBA Draft. Ware spent just one season with the Ducks after being a top freshman entering the year.

Ware was a five-star prospect and the No. 6 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. While Ware had high expectations entering the season, his statistics did not quite meet those expectations. Ware averaged just 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Ducks this season.

Ware showed some signs of high potential early in the season. In his first seven games of the season, Ware managed to go over 15 points three times, including a season-high 18 points to go along with nine rebounds in a loss to UConn. But after that game, Ware never got to that level again.

Once conference play began, Ware scored double figures just three times for Oregon. In the season-ending loss to Wisconsin in the NIT quarterfinals, Ware had just two points and six rebounds in 15 minutes of game action.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.