Pitt reserve Gerald Drumgoole Jr. decides to transfer, becomes 3rd to leave in 2021

Sophomore Gerald Drumgoole Jr., who caught Pitt coach Jeff Capel’s eye at the outset of his freshman season and was in the starting lineup for the first two games of the 2019-2020 season, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, Capel announced Thursday.

Drumgoole was the 20th freshman in Pitt history to start an opener, but he never started another game in two seasons. He injured his ankle early in his freshman season and ended up missing 12 games. He appeared in only eight games this season, getting his most playing time (eight minutes) in the regular-season finale at Clemson last Saturday.

In 30 career games, Drumgoole, a 6-foot-5 forward, scored 42 points with 31 rebounds. He totaled 17 points this season, collecting five each against Notre Dame and Clemson.

“Gerald has been an outstanding teammate and an important member of our program over the past two seasons,” Capel said in a statement. “We are grateful for his commitment to the Pitt basketball program and supportive of his desire to seek other opportunities to continue to grow as a player. Gerald has a bright future and we wish him nothing but the best on and off the court.”

Drumgoole, a native of Rochester, N.Y., was a highly regarded player in high school, rated in the top 125 by 247 Sports during his senior season at La Lumiere (Ind.) High School. He was a member of Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class with Justin Champagnie and Abdoul Karim Coulibaly that was ranked 41st in the nation by Rivals.com.

Drumgoole is the third Pitt player to enter the transfer portal in the past 16 days, joining starters Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney. Guards Trey McGowens (Nebraska) and Ryan Murphy (Duquesne) transferred last season.

With the departure of Drumgoole, Capel has five available scholarships in his quest to rebuild the program.

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