Colorado
Colorado men’s basketball transfer portal tracker ahead of 2024-25 season
Colorado basketball and coach Tad Boyle have had to re-tool the Buffs roster after one of the most successful seasons in program history.
Each of Colorado’s top six rotation players from the 2023-24 campaign have transferred or entered the NBA draft. Boyle’s Buffs won a program-record 26 games last season (and back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins for the first time since 1955) and a pair of transfers were crucial to that.
As Colorado transitions into the Big 12, the portal will have to be utilized once again with so much production on its way out of Boulder.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the players leaving the Colorado men’s basketball program and those who will join via transfer.
This list will be updated through the offseason as players leave and join the Buffaloes.
Colorado players entering transfer portal or NBA draft
EDDIE LAMPKIN JR.
Position: Center
Notable: The 6-foot-11, 265-pound big man was an emotional leader for Colorado in his first season with the Buffaloes. Lampkin Jr. played in all 37 games, averaging 10.6 points and seven rebounds per game. The former TCU center is headed to Syracuse to play for the Orange.
J’VONNE HADLEY
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior improved mightily in his second season at Colorado, setting career highs in points (11.6), rebounds (six), assists (2.4), field goal percentage (53.8%) and 3-point percentage (41.7%). Hadley, a former junior college standout, will also spend the 2024-25 campaign in the ACC after committing to Louisville.
LUKE O’BRIEN
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior spent the last four years at Colorado and set career highs in both points (6.7) and field goal percentage (45.6%) last season. O’Brien, a Littleton native, will finish his college basketball career at Georgia Tech.
TRISTAN DA SILVA
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior spent the entirety of his college career at Colorado and was a three-year starter. da Silva, who averaged 16 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, is headed to the NBA draft as a projected first-round pick.
KJ SIMPSON
Position: Guard
Notable: The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior was a first-team All-Pac selection last season as he led Colorado in points (19.7 per game), assists (4.9), steals (1.6) and 3-point percentage (43.4%). Simpson declared for the 2024 NBA draft earlier this month and is projected to be a fringe first-round pick.
CODY WILLIAMS
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-8, 190-pound freshman flashed enough of his high upside as a true freshman to be a potential lottery pick. Williams missed 13 games last season with various injuries (wrist, face, ankle) but still managed to average 11.9 points on 55.2% shooting from the field on 41.5% shooting from deep. The former McDonald’s All-American should hear his name called early on during the 2024 NBA draft.
Players transferring to Colorado
TREVOR BASKIN
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward was Colorado’s first addition from the transfer portal this offseason. Baskin averaged 18.5 points (39% from deep), 8.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last season for Division II Colorado Mesa. After choosing the Buffs over Colorado State, Baskin projects to be a starter for Boyle in 2024.
“The first thing you look at when you see (Trevor) play is his diverse skill set,” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “For a guy that’s 6-foot-9 with a long wingspan, he can really shoot the ball, put it on the floor and he can pass and rebound. He can do a little bit of everything.
“When you lose a Tristan da Silva, who’s 6-foot-9, with a great diverse skill set, and you’re able to pick up a guy like Trevor, it makes you feel better about Tristan’s loss. Trevor’s going to be able to impact the game in a lot of different ways, and the thing I like about him is he can play multiple positions offensively and guard multiple positions defensively. Anyone who has followed Colorado basketball knows it’s something that we value.”
ANDREJ JAKIMOVSKI
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior from Macedonia started all 35 games he played in last season for Washington State (33.7 minutes per game) and averaged 9.7 points to go along with 5.6 rebounds. Jakimovski dropped a team-high 19 points on the Buffs in Boulder on Dec. 31, has 80 career starts under his belt and should slot right into Colorado’s starting lineup for 2024-25 alongside Baskin.
More: Colorado basketball picks up Washington State transfer Andrej Jakimovski from portal
“I think our five-out system is really going to help Andrej expand his game offensively and show some other things he’s capable of doing, that he didn’t have a chance to at Washington State based on their personnel (primarily playing with two bigs),” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “They had a heck of a team, finished second in the league, one spot ahead of the Buffaloes. I’ve got great respect for Andrej, and what he’s done in his career at Washington State and I think he can build on that as he comes to Colorado for a year.
“We lost the majority of our 3-point shooting this year, and so to be able to sign a guy that is a proven 3-point shooter at the highest level of college basketball is something we needed to replace. The thing I love about Andrej is his toughness and his ability to rebound both offensively and defensively.”
ELIJAH MALONE
Position: Center
Notable: The 6-foot-10 big man was the NAIA Player of the Year last season as he averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks last season at Grace College. Malone was one of the hottest names in the transfer portal, choosing Colorado over Boise State, Indiana, Notre Dame and others. The 2024 Bevo Francis Award winner, given to the best player among all of small college basketball (NCAA Div. II, Div. III, NAIA, junior colleges), gives the Buffs a formidable paint presence.
“Elijah could have left Grace College after his sophomore or junior years and very easily gone to the Division I level,” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “But the fact that he showed loyalty to his teammates and coaching staff that he signed with coming out of high school, that tells you everything you need to know about his character and kind of person he is. His value system and our value system are aligned very well.
“He wants to be able to prove himself at the highest level of college basketball and playing in the Big 12 is going to allow him the opportunity to do that. The way we play our style and the way he played at Grace College are very similar. So I feel really good about him in terms of what we lost and what we need for next year’s team. He fits the bill perfectly.”
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In his first spring training action of 2026, Kyle Freeland faced the daunting task of pitching against Team USA in an exhibition game on March 4. He gave up a solo homer to Aaron Judge in a two-hit, one-strikeout performance in one inning.
Today, Freeland and the Rockies (8-6-1) will take part in his first Cactus League action against the White Sox (10-7) at Camelback Ranch. The Rockies are 5-2 on the road this spring vs. 3-5-1, including the showdown vs. Team USA, at Salt River Fields.
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Today’s game represents a rematch of a Feb. 23 showdown where the Rockies beat the White Sox 5-4. Chicago will send Jedisxson Paez to the mound to start the game. The 22-year-old RHP will be making his third spring appearance. He’s posted a 23.14 ERA in 2 1/3 innings over two starts with six earned runs, six hits, including one homer, three strikeouts and one walk. Former Rockie Drew Romo will be starting at catcher for the White Sox.
On Sunday, four pitchers combined to throw five scoreless innings and Kyle Karros and Tyler Freeman each had two-hit performances in the Rockies 4-4 tie with Cleveland. Even though it’s only spring training, the Rockies offense has been much improved thus far. The Rockies rank among all Major League teams this Spring in: on-base percentage (.381, T-1st), home runs (23, T-4th), average (.287, 3rd), HBP (14, T-2nd), slugging (.492, 3rd), OPS (.871, 3rd), runs scored (98, 5th), RBI (91, 6th) and total bases (254, 6th).
Earlier on Monday, the Rockies released a new motto for the 2026 campaign: “New era. At altitude. We are here for the climb.”
First Pitch: 2:05 p.m. MDT
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TV: None
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM KOA Rockies Radio Network (1:55 p.m. pregame)
Lineups:
Data centers: What good are they for Colorado?
Re: “Dueling policies for data centers,” March 1 news story
The Denver Post article about two competing bills in the legislature regarding new data centers in Colorado seems to start with the presumption that we want the data centers.
Why do we want them and who wants them? Is it the politicians wanting bragging rights about our state becoming another Silicon Valley? Perhaps they want more businesses so they can collect more taxes from the new residents. Alternatively, they just want more power in Washington by increasing our population. Has anyone stopped to ask why we want to attract more people to our state?
Colorado is in a fight with other Western states to obtain more water for our growing population. Our wildlife is being crowded out by the increased urbanization. The roads are so crowded that it is not uncommon to come to a complete stop on our interchanges during rush hour. We have a serious housing shortage. The air is being polluted by the increased number of cars. These are all the result of a growing population. Did anyone stop to ask why we want more people?
During my 53 years living in Colorado, I have never heard anyone (other than politicians) say, “We need more people.” On the contrary, the conversation is more often about how we are becoming overcrowded. I would like the politicians to explain why we need more businesses and more people in our state. It should not be a presumption that more is better! Are our elected representatives truly reflecting the wishes of their constituents?
Doug Hurst, Parker
Anger and disbelief were our reactions when we read about House Bill 1030, which is under consideration at the statehouse. This outrageous corporate welfare bill would provide some of the world’s wealthiest corporations with massive state tax reductions to build monstrous resource-thirsty data centers. Analysts projected a $92.5 million tax loss in just three years if a bunch of these data centers are built. Just one 160-megawatt facility would gobble up as much power as 176,000 homes once completed. Consider for comparison that the entire DIA airport uses around 45 megawatts of power!
As the state legislature grapples with bone-deep budget cuts, we cannot afford to exempt data centers from paying their own way nor allow their unregulated construction. Taxpayer-funded corporate handouts would entail massive hits to tax revenue that should be used for our schools, roads, infrastructure, and valid state needs. What essential services will potentially be cut or axed to cover the lost revenue to the state from this corporate giveaway?
These data centers also demand massive amounts of our water. A CoreSite data center in Denver alone will use approximately 805,000 gallons of water per day to air-condition its computers. That is the same as the average daily indoor water use of 16,100 Denver homes.
I pray our state legislature will condemn HB-1030 to the corporate welfare hell where it belongs in. Instead, they should support Senate Bill 102 that will hopefully properly regulate these tax-eating, water-wasting, and electricity-gobbling monstrosities.
Terry Talbot, Grand Junction
As a pediatrician, I’ve noticed one key issue missing from the data center debate: public health.
Data centers are extraordinarily energy- and water-intensive. Nationally, they already consume about 4% of U.S. electricity — a figure expected to more than double by 2030. Much of that power still comes from burning fossil fuels. Without strong safeguards, that growth means more air pollution. In my clinical practice, I see firsthand how health is shaped by the air we breathe. More pollution means more asthma attacks, heart disease, and premature deaths, especially in communities already burdened by poor air quality.
Water use is another concern. Large data centers can use enormous amounts of water for cooling. In a drought-prone state like Colorado, this raises serious questions about long-term drinking water reliability and heat resilience.
Energy affordability is also a health issue. When infrastructure is built to serve massive corporate users, costs can shift to households. I see the effects of energy insecurity in families forced to choose between cooling their homes, buying medication, or putting food on the table.
Colorado has an opportunity to get this right. Senate Bill 102 would establish guardrails to protect ratepayers, limit pollution, and ensure large electricity users pay their full infrastructure costs. Other states, including Michigan and Virginia, are reconsidering generous tax incentives after seeing how quickly public costs can outpace public benefit.
Colorado can welcome innovation without sacrificing clean air, clean water, affordable energy, and community health. Public health must be a priority, not an afterthought.
Clare Burchenal, Denver
As the story makes clear, data centers in our communities have real impacts on our health, our pocketbooks and our quality of life. I’m a mom of two small children who are counting on the adults in the room to make responsible decisions that impact their futures. It’s dizzying to see the pace of data centers sweeping the country and confusing as to why leaders are rushing to accommodate them without taking into consideration all of the impacts these massive industrial complexes have on communities.
It’s critical that data centers are powered by clean-burning renewable energy, not fossil fuels. We are in a no-snow winter in Colorado, and we have no safeguards in place against data center water use. Energy infrastructure should be paid for by the billion-dollar big tech companies that will profit from it, not by unfair rate increases for our families and small businesses.
There is a way to do this right. Senate Bill 102 has some important protections for our families and communities while still allowing for the responsible construction and operation of data centers built in appropriate places in our state. It is unacceptable that our leaders do nothing to protect us from big tech excesses. SB-102 will protect all Colorado kids – and their parents and communities. Join me in urging our legislators to pass this important bill.
Sara Kuntzler, Arvada
U.S. women’s hockey players above the game and politics
Re: “Trump tore athletes down on the world’s stage,” March 1 commentary
Dear Megan Schrader,
Thank you for your column on how the president disrespected the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team. Your excellent commentary hit and sent the puck into the back of the net, so to speak.
To take it a step further, I believe the women’s choice not to visit the White House was more than meets the eye. Ostensibly, they declined the invitation because of the timing, specifically the resumption of play in the professional women’s hockey league.
Yet, I would like to believe it was more an expression of contempt for the president and his policies.
The women were smarter and braver and truer to their values than were the men’s Olympic hockey team, who, with the same timing issues, chose to accept the invitation to the White House. That visit and the visit to the State of the Union Address only helped bolster the president’s optics. An exception was the Colorado Avalanche’s own Brock Nelson, who declined to accompany the men’s team because he valued his family time more than a public charade.
In sports — as in life — we need more people like the women hockey players who will elevate their values above the games and politics.
Bill Allegar, Denver
Backing up to park for safety?
Re: “Do you back into a parking spot or back out?” March 1 feature story
I read this with slight amusement. For someone who has traveled a bit, and especially in Asia (Japan in particular), backing into a parking space is a very common practice (not a new trend) and has been for decades. On my first trip to Japan, around 1992, I was told it was what most people did.
As for the company Imminent Threat Solutions recommending “tactical parking” because they should “prevail against all threats,” seems like marketing hype of the biggest kind, building fear into your daily life of running errands and going to work. Has there been bad behaviour, shootings, and whatnot in a parking lot? Sure, but let’s not build fear for something that happens rarely to the average individual.
Randy DeBoer, Denver
To add to the parking procedures article in Sunday’s paper, there is another option, one that I use and recommend; it’s the “drive-through” to an open space.
After having been hit and having a rental car damaged (a three-month hassle to resolve) by a driver who backed out of an opposite space without looking, I don’t drive into a parking space if I can help it. What I do instead is find an open space where I can drive in straight and continue to a back-to-back adjoining space where I can park and then drive ahead to depart. These parking spots are typically a longer walk to my destination, and I benefit from the additional steps.
G. E. Cole, Centennial
I enjoyed your article on discussing whether to back in or pull straight into parking spaces. Our oldest son is a backer-inner, and I am starting to be one too. What is missing from your analysis, though, is the grocery store, much less Costco or Home Depot. Almost nobody is a backer-inner in these places, since you’re typically loading stuff in your backseat, hatch, or pickup bed. I guess the backer-inners are just not going to be able to escape as quickly once they’ve picked up 50 pounds of dog food, 25 rolls of paper towels, or five sheets of 4′ x 8′ plywood. Hope they survive.
Tim Hickisch, Highlands Ranch
You can support immigrants and the law
Re: “Faith communities show support for immigrants,” Feb. 22 news story
Faith communities do show support for immigrants. I don’t agree with those who stand against the law and ICE. While we may support all people made in the image of God, we should not be for illegal immigrants. They have broken the law, and some are doing great harm while living here. Legal immigrants, please come. Illegal immigrants, please go home and come here legally.
Deanna R Walworth, Brighton
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Early Sunday morning, Colorado rescue crews found the body of a missing skier who was killed in a recent avalanche.
The skier was reported missing in the Boss Basin area in the upper portion of Resolution Creek on March 7.
Summit County Rescue Group, Vail Mountain Rescue and the Summit and Eagle County Sheriff’s Offices began searching the area and discovered the site of the avalanche. They noticed that nearby ski and snowmobile tracks led up to where it occurred.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center says Flight for Life helped with the search. They found the body of the missing skier in the avalanche debris on Sunday, around sunrise.
CAIC staff said the avalanche started near the treeline on a northeast-facing slope and was about two feet deep. The slope angles ranged from 33 to 36 degrees.
According to CAIC data, this is the first person killed in an avalanche during the 2025-2026 ski season.
Avalanche danger in some parts of the high country is considerable, particularly on north- and east-facing slopes and on large open slopes just below ridgelines.
The CAIC Forecast for Sunday says:
“The avalanche danger will stay at CONSIDERABLE (3of5) on Sunday for the places that picked up the most snow in this last storm (Elk and Sawatch Ranges). Areas that received less than 8 inches will go back to MODERATE danger, but this may vary significantly from drainage to drainage and with elevation. Assume a higher danger if you find a foot or more of new snow. Across the region, wind-drifted slopes will remain the most dangerous regardless of the danger. In the shallower areas (Elks and Sawatch), we’re more concerned about avalanches in motion breaking deeper, failing in buried facet layers.
On Sunday, as the sun pops out, remember that a strong spring sun can make sunny slopes unstable rather quickly. Keep an eye out for roller balls as an indication of a forthcoming shed cycle of loose avalanches.”
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