Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress enters NCAA transfer portal

Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday, which is the first day for non-graduates to officially list their names on the market. On3’s Matt Zenitz confirmed the defensive back’s move.

This season for the Cavs, Cypress notched 29 tackles and a fumble recovery. Since recording two tackles in 2020, the 6-foot-0, 170-pound corner increased his role on the Virginia defense. In 2021, he made six stars with 17 tackles, including a half-sack, plus an interception.

Cypress was a three-star prospect coming out of high school in the 2019 signing class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Hailing from Northwestern (Rock Hill) High School in South Carolina, he was the No. 14-ranked recruit coming out of the state.

Since this is the cornerback’s first transfer, he will be immediately eligible to play for his next school. Cypress will have two years of eligibility remaining at his next stop.

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 starts with the 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.

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 However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship is no longer valid. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school does not have to cover their scholarship.

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 for a “do not contact” tag on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want contact from schools unless they initiate the communication.