Matthew Cleveland set to announce transfer decision on Sunday

Matthew Cleveland, formerly of Florida State, is one of the most highly-rated players left in the transfer portal. Now, his recruitment is set to come to an end this weekend.

The latest update on Cleveland’s timetable comes from On3’s Joe Tipton via Twitter. He says that Cleveland will be making his decision this Sunday between Auburn, Miami, and Missouri.

Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland will announce his decision on Sunday, he tells @On3sports.

Considering Auburn, Miami, and Missouri. https://t.co/waRcaA7aQI

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 5, 2023

Cleveland averaged 12.7 points and six rebounds over his two seasons in Tallahassee. He played in 59 games as a Seminole but was a full-time starter as a sophomore last season in his 30 games.

Cleveland is ranked as a Top-25 player in the portal per On3’s Portal Rankings. He’s also the top remaining small forward available at the moment. Predictions lean the way of the SEC as Auburn currently has a 38.1% chance to land him while Mizzou is close behind at 33.3%.

Coming out of Pace Academy, Cleveland was a four-star prospect in 2021 per On3’s Industry Rankings, , a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was rated as a Top-25 prospect in the nation and a top-five small forward in his class as a recruit.

So, what will it be for Cleveland? A move to play in the SEC and represent one of the Tigers? Or will he remain in his previous conference and compete for a different ACC school out of the state of Florida? Only time will tell heading into his decision this weekend.

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.

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.