Nebraska Freshman Guard Quentin Rhymes Hits the Transfer Portal

The first departure for Nebrasketball is officially here.

The transfer portal opened on Tuesday, beginning a 15-day window for underclassmen to look for new homes. Husker freshman guard Quentin Rhymes is among those looking to play elsewhere.

Rhymes redshirted his first season in college, helping on the scout team. Prior to Lincoln, he was the No. 108 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite ranking and the No. 5 player in the state of Arizona, while On3 had him ranked No. 118 nationally and the sixth-ranked prospect in the state in 2025. He averaged 22.4 points per game as a senior, to go with 7.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

It appeared that Rhymes would follow one of two options in the Fred Hoiberg era.

Option 1) The Braden Frager. Frager redshirted his first year at Nebraska and improved his game to a point that he was the 2025-26 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. The Lincoln Southwest product averaged 11.8 points a game, breaking the 20-point barrier six times.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager gets the game-winning lay-up against Vanderbilt during the second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Option 2) One and done. This has been the more traveled route in the Hoiberg era. While Frager redshirted and came back, his classmate Nick Janowski redshirted and left. Before them, it was guys like Eli Rice, Matar Diop, and Quaran McPherson who were here one year and gone the next. Add in players like Wilhelm Breidenbach, Oleg Kojenets, and Ramel Lloyd Jr., and you have very few to last more than one or two seasons when arriving as true freshmen.

As a matter of fact, Jamarques Lawrence is the first high school signee to begin and end his career in Lincoln in the Hoiberg era. Yes, that includes an excursion to Rhode Island for his junior season. Sam Hoiberg was a walk-on, but he is now the first player for his dad to play out his entire career as a Husker.

Fellow true freshman Leo Curtis has not yet announced his intentions for next season. The 7-foot-2 forward from Iceland appeared in 17 games, averaging less than four minutes per game. Curtis did see 13 minutes at eventual national champion Michigan and scored two points on a dunk against Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Leo Curtis dunks over Vanderbilt Commodores guard Chandler Bing during the first half of a second-round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The loss of Rhymes removes his potential replacement of Lawrence or Hoiberg in the starting lineup. While those two were the main ball handlers in a number of situations, neither was a true point guard. As more of a combo guard, Rhymes fit their mold.

Nebraska isn't short on guards and wings coming back. Besides the sharpshooting forwards of Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager, the Huskers also bring back Cale Jacobsen, who was consistently in the rotation all season. Guard Connor Essegian is also on his way back from a season-ending injury that took him out in November.

Will Cooper, a 6-foot-6 forward from Omaha, also redshirted this season. He played his true freshman season at Air Force, averaging 5.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game.

Nebraska is also bringing in a pair of high school forwards who may push for immediate playing time. Colin Rice and Jacob Lanier are both four-star signees, according to 247Sports.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg huddles with the team during a practice session ahead of the South Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

With the departure of Rhymes, Nebraska has four spots available for this transfer portal cycle. Hoiberg has said that the emphasis on additions is fit in terms of skills, with the returning players, and the culture.

"A lot of this is going to revolve around Pryce (Sandfort) and Braden (Frager) and getting Connor (Essegian) back," Hoiberg said on Monday. "But it's important to get a group that fits with those guys."

Hoiberg would also like to get guys that fit the way he wants his team to play, being able to make an impact on both ends of the floor.

"We're gonna have to replace (starters Lawrence, Hoiberg, and Rienk Mast)," Hoiberg said. "Both ends. If you can get two-way players in those spots, it's very important. But when you look at our needs, that's the biggest thing, especially with what we've got returning."

The portal window runs through April 21.

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