Former Louisville Forward Matt Cross Commits to UMass

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Another ex-member of the Louisville men's basketball program is opting to head back home.

Former Cardinals forward Matt Cross announced Monday that he has committed to UMass. The Minutemen, located in Amherst, Mass., are roughly two hours west of Cross' hometown of Beverly.

Cross was one of five Louisville players to enter the portal after the end of the 2021-22 season, following Gabe Wiznitzer, Samuell Williamson, Noah Locke and Dre Davis. Williamson also traveled back to his home state and committed to SMU, while Locke is shipping up to Providence and Wiznizter is heading to Ohio. Davis has yet to announce his transfer destination.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound wing's entry into the portal was not all that surprising. Starting the 2021-22 season coming off the bench, he eventually worked his way into the starting rotation by midseason due to strong early play. Over his first 13 games, he was averaging 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds, and cracked double digits in scoring seven times.

But Cross struggled mightily in the second half of the season. Not only was he benched, he barely had any role on the team at all towards the end of the year. He scored zero points in five of his final six games with Louisville, averaging 13.8 minutes per game during that stretch. He ended the season with a stat line of 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds over 28 games and nine starts, while also shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 28.4 percent on threes.

Cross joined the program last offseason from Miami, committing to former head coach Chris Mack. In his freshman season with the Canes, he put up 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14 games, and was also shooting 44.9 percent from the field and a team-best 40.0 percent on three-point attempts.

Louisville finished their 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 13-19, their first losing season in over two decades. The Cardinals started out with a 10-4 mark, only to lose 15 of their final 18 games. The program mutually parted ways with Mack in late January, and hired Kenny Payne in mid March.

(Photo of Matt Cross: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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