St. Frances grad Jahnathan Lamothe becomes 3rd Maryland men’s basketball player to enter transfer portal
Maryland shooting guard Jahnathan Lamothe, a Baltimore resident and St. Frances graduate, wrote on social media Thursday morning that he will be entering the transfer portal.
Thank you to the coaches and players for making my first year memorable, after prayer and talks with my family i have decided to enter the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility thank you terp nation and wish yall nun but the best pic.twitter.com/BtTc7yOux8
— Jahnathan Lamothe (@JahnathanLamot1) March 21, 2024
“Thank you to the coaches and players for making my first year memorable,” Lamothe wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “[A]fter prayer and talks with my family i have decided to enter the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility thank you terp nation and wish yall nun but the best.”
Lamothe became the third Terps player to enter his name into the portal after the completion of a lackluster 16-17 season that ended in an 87-56 pummeling on March 14 by Wisconsin in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Sophomore small forward Noah Batchelor entered the portal on Friday, and sophomore center Caelum Swanton-Rodger joined him on Monday.
I am officially entering the transfer portal. Excited for the next chapter!
— noah batchelor (@noah_batchelor_) March 15, 2024
Lamothe, a 6-foot-4, 192-pound freshman, appeared in only 16 games this past winter and averaged 0.8 points and 0.7 rebounds. Unlike more ballyhooed classmates DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser Jr., Lamothe did not make a single start.
Lamothe was part of a four-member freshman class that had earned the No. 15 ranking nationally before the season. But Harris-Smith started 30 of 33 games and averaged 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, Kaiser ranked third on the team in total 3-pointers with 30 in 33 games including five starts, and center Braden Pierce took a redshirt year.
If Lamothe elects to remove his name from the portal and return to Maryland, he would be the third St. Frances product on next season’s roster. Junior power forward Julian Reese, a 6-9, 230-pound Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, led the team with 16 double-doubles and 9.5 rebounds per game and ranked second in points per game (13.7), and Baltimore native Derik Queen, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound center and five-star prospect, is expected to join Reese in the post. Queen spent his freshman season at St. Frances before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida.
Batchelor played in 26 games with one start, averaged 1.7 points, and ranked sixth among the Terps in overall 3-pointers with 12. Swanton-Rodger made 31 appearances with zero starts and compiled 1.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
If all three players transfer, Maryland will have five scholarships to work with as point guard Jahmir Young and small forward Donta Scott closed out their careers in the setback to the Badgers. Young, an All-Big Ten selection, paced the team in points (20.4) and assists (4.2) per game and grabbed 4.9 rebounds, while Scott averaged 11.2 points and 4.7 rebounds.