TCU center Eddie Lampkin to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

TCU big man Eddie Lampkin plans to enter the transfer portal, a source told On3’s Joe Tipton. He just wrapped up his third season with the Horned Frogs.

Lampkin appeared in 24 games this season, including 19 starts. He averaged 6.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a junior after missing time with an injury. He also stepped away from the team March 8 to deal with personal matters, according to FrogsToday.

After he announced his decision to step away, Lampkin posted screenshots that alleged mistreatment by TCU coach Jamie Dixon. In the apparent conversation between Dixon and Lampkin’s mother, Vanessa — which Dixon appears to have initiated — she alleged “racial remarks” were directed to her son. She did not say what those remarks were.

“If you all don’t tell the truth of how you have mistreated disrespected and said racial remarks toward him. We will. Please do not disrespect my son’s name because all we have been is patient with YOU. Handle US with Christian Values for once. Thank you,” Vanessa Lampkin wrote.

Lampkin is a former three-star recruit and was the No. 190 overall player in the nation from the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

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.