Texas A&M PF Pharrel Payne enters NCAA transfer portal

Texas A&M power forward Pharrel Payne entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. He has a do-no-contact tag.

Payne originally played for Minnesota out of high school. He spent this past season playing for the Aggies under Buzz Williams. Williams is now the new head coach of Maryland, which helped lead to this transfer decision.

Since Payne has a do-not-contact tag, there’s a possibility he’s heading to Maryland to follow his head coach. This past season, Payne was productive with 10.4 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, 0.4 assists per game and a shooting percentage of 64.6%.

As a member of the Class of 2022 Payne was a three-star recruit out of Cottage Grove (Minn.) Park Senior, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 7 overall prospect in the state, the No. 34 power forward in the class and the No. 193 overall prospect in the class.

Pharrel Payne to follow Buzz Williams?

It’s logical to wonder if Payne will follow Williams from Texas A&M to Maryland. Williams takes over for Kevin Willard, who left for Villanova. The 52-year-old Williams is coming off an incredible run of success at Texas A&M. This season, the Aggies reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Texas A&M has now made the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons after last appearing in the Big Dance in 2018. It took Williams a little bit to get things going, but once he did the Aggies were a formidable team.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.