How Good Will Cal's Basketball Transfer Arrivals Be?

Cal saw a fourth player head out the door Tuesday, just hours before the the transfer portal’s exit closed.

Freshman point guard TT Carr decided to leave, joining the Bears’ starting backcourt duo of Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen. Small forward Rytis Petraitis, who missed much of this season due to injury, also is gone.

So coach Mark Madsen, entering his fourth season, is left to rebuild his roster once more. He has secured four transfers to go with returning freshman guard Jovani Ruff, who was redshirted this season, and incoming freshman small forward Dionycius Bakare from Scottsdale, Arizona.

Players already in the transfer portal remain free to find a new school indefinitely, so Madsen may yet get more help.

For now, here's a look at the four players who came out of the transfer portal and will make their way to Berkeley, with insights from beat writers who covered them this past season:

Wright State's Michael Cooper drives to the basket against Virginia during the NCAA tournament | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Michael Cooper, Wright State

Bio: 6-3 sophomore combo guard from Jeffersonville, Indiana

2025-26 stats at Wright State: 13.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 35.6 percent on 3’s, 31 games, 15 starts as a freshman for a 23-win team that reached the NCAA tournament

Best games: Scored double digits in 22 of 31 games, with five games of 20-plus points, including a season high of 25 points in a victory over Northern Kentucky in the second round of the Horizon League tournament.

Other: Helped Jeffersonville High School win the Indiana 4A state title. At Wright State, earned All-Freshman honors for the Horizon League regular-season champions.

From beat reporter Doug Harris, Dayton Daily News: “They had an exhibition game at UD Arena against Ohio University like in October and he was the star of the game. So right away, everybody was thinking this was an instant upgrade on what they had. I thought all year, `Wow, high majors missed on this kid.’ I thought he was that level.

“The thing I instantly thought about is he’s 6-3 and about 185 pounds and he’s sturdy. He can get in the lane and not get knocked off his spot by older, stronger, bigger guys. He can hold his ground, he can score inside. He’s really good at getting to the rim.

“He’s a pretty good outside shooter also. He’s a good scorer — led them in scoring. He’s not like a quintessential point guard. His assists were low for a point guard. He’s really more of a shooting guard. Not that he can’t bring the ball up.

“He’s fearless. No nervousness, no fear, very confident, really good speaker. I think he’ll be good at Cal’s level. I think he’ll be good in the ACC. I’d be shocked if he’s intimidated at all. If anything, the coach might have to slow him down a little bit. He’s that self-confident. I don’t know how Wright State got him.”

Pittsburgh's Nojus Indrusaitis looks to pass against Penn State. | Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nojus Indrusaitis, Pitt

Bio: 6-5 junior shooting guard from Chicago

Previous school: Iowa State (2.1 points) in 2024-25

2025-26 stats at Pitt: 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds 38.7 percent on 3’s, 33 games, 6 starts. Averaged 10.6 points on 43.9-percent from 3-point over the final 17 games

Best games: Scored 16 points, including 4 for 6 on 3’s, in Pitt’s 72-56 win at Cal on Feb. 28. Scored a season-high 19 points, with 5 for 8 from deep, in a 98-88 loss to Syracuse in the ACC tournament

Other: Played for Lithuania in the 2024 under 18 Eurobasket event, averaging 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 35.4 percent on 3’s in seven games

From beat reporter Abby Schnable, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “He was a guy that took a minute to kind of get settled. He really hit his stride in February. That’s not to say he was bad leading up to that.

“Once that shot started falling in February, there was no holding him back. He’s got a beautiful catch-and-shoot 3-pointer. I definitely think he’s more of a traditional 3-and-D guy. He absolutely can shoot from anywhere. I don’t think his ball handling is his biggest strength. He’s at his best when he’s hitting 3s because you can see his intensity go up, not only offensively but defensively as well.”

“One of his best strengths is that he is very gritty. He is really solid on defense. Even when buckets weren’t necessarily going in, he was always a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end. You could tell he had some maturity to him.

“He can come off the dribble, he’ll drive. But Pitt had a lot of guys who could score in the paint and not necessarily a lot of guys who were able to score outside the arc, so that’s where he kind of settled in because Pitt needed that shooting that he provided. He really provided a spark off the bench. It took a little pressure off him.”

Georgia guard Jordan Ross goes to the basket against Kentucky | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Jordan Ross, Georgia

Bio: 6-3 senior combo guard from Pleasant Grove, Utah

Previous school: Played his first two seasons at Saint Mary’s, averaging 8.3 points while starting all 35 games for a 29-6 team in 2024-25. He scored a season-high 19 points vs. Arizona State as a sophomore.

2025-26 stats at Georgia: 6.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 42.0 field goal percent, 32 games, 25 starts

Best games: Had eight double-digit scoring games, including a high of 15 points vs. Western Carolina

Other: In 18 games vs. SEC teams, including 12 starts, averaged 5.9 points on 38-percent field goal shooting but had just 11 turnovers in 380 minutes.

From beat reporter Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: “Jordan started for most of the season at point guard. They made some changed with 9-10 games left in the season and he came off the bench. I’m sure Jordan wanted to play more, start more.

“He’s not one that’s going to create a lot offensively, but he’s not going to hurt you as a passer. Jordan Ross had a very good assist-to-turnover ratio (2.55 to 1), kind of an unsung glue guy. I’m sure they would have liked to keep him. He’s a solid point guard.

“Georgia went 11 players deep and he started for 20-some games and was one of the top guys off the bench when he wasn’t starting. He wasn’t a guy who was going to get you 16 or 20 points a game — they had other guys who could do that.”

Georgia forward Jake Wilkins passes against Tennessee Tech | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Jake Wilkins, Georgia

Bio: 6-9 sophomore small forward from Lilburn, Georgia. The son of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins

2025-26 stats at Georgia: 4.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 46.6 percent FG, 21.1 percent (12 for 57) on 3’s, 10.2 minutes

Best games: Averaged 12.6 points over his first five college games as a freshman last season, scoring double-digits four times, including 16 points vs. Maryland Eastern Shore. An 11-point contributions against Arkansas was his high point total in SEC play.

Other: Was a 2-time Georgia all-state selection, a four-star prospect and a top-50 national recruit at Lilburn High School

From beat reporter Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: “Very exciting player. He didn’t get as many minutes as I assume he would want. When he did play, chances are he made some electric plays. Three-point shooting percentage wasn’t great. He did hit some 3’s in the minutes he had.

“Especially around Georgia, I think fans were not happy to see him go. He’s the son of a Georgia legend. That’s the day and age of college basketball now. Even if you’re the son of a guy who’s number is retired — and he’s the only Georgia player whose number is retired because they stopped retiring numbers — there’s no guarantee he’s going to stick around.

“(Coach) Mike White hasn’t said this, but I assume (he didn’t play more because of) his consistency as a shooter and how much he had to grow as a defender. He wasn’t the thickest guy — I imagine another offseason in the weight room would have helped.

“The minutes he did get, people were wondering, `Why aren’t you playing him more?’ I think he was on SportsCenter Top-10 like three times. He was dunking like his dad during the season.”

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