Veteran Point Guard Hits the Transfer Portal After One Season with Gophers

Minnesota officially had its fifth transfer portal entry of the offseason on Tuesday.

Nov 3, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Chansey Willis Jr. (0) reaches foe the ball against Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Chansey Willis Jr. is heading back to the transfer portal after one season with the Gophers, according to a report from 247Sports analyst Dushawn London on Tuesday.

Minnesota guard Chansey Willis is entering the transfer portal, per his agent Rob Murphy of Equity Sports

Willis only played in 7 games this season due to injury.

During the 2024-2025 season with Western Michigan, he averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds pic.twitter.com/oVvbsdMfhm

— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) April 14, 2026

Standing at 6-foot-2, Willis came to Minnesota with some solid hype as a Western Michigan transfer after averaging 16.8 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game with the Broncos in 2024-25. He began the season as the Gophers' starting point guard alongside Isaac Asuma in the back court.

Willis averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game before suffering a season-ending foot injury against Stanford at the Acrisure Invitational in California. His injury resulted in Langston Reynolds assuming the starting point guard role for the rest of the season.

Willis joins Chance Stephens, Robert Vaihola, B.J. Omot and Nehemiah Turner as the fifth player from the Gophers to officially enter the transfer portal this offseason. That means Niko Medved and his coaching staff have six available roster spots to use how they see fit this offseason.

Minnesota is set to return Asuma and potential Kai Shinholster in the back court, alongside walk-on Max Lorenson. Incoming freshman Cedric Tomes gives them four guards currently set to be on the roster. North Carolina transfer Kyan Evans remains near the top of Minnesota's transfer portal wishlist. Losing Willis makes it a forgone conclusion that they will add a veteran guard in the portal this offseason, but could it be two?

Texas Tech's Nolan Groves is a natural shooting guard or an undersized three, so Minnesota might need to find another ball-handler. There has been some smoke connecting them to Yale transfer Isaac Celiscar. He would certainly be another veteran ball-handler to pair alongside Asuma.

Willis likely waited to see what Minnesota had to offer financially and in terms of a potential role on next year's roster. He was very well-liked by the Gophers' roster and coaching staff, so this was likely a mutual decision.

Minnesota is still looking for its first transfer portal addition of the offseason, and it feels like there's a lot of momentum on that front.