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Report: Oklahoma Lands Notre Dame Transfer

Tae Davis was an impact player for the Fighting Irish this season, which gives Sooners coach Porter Moser a big piece out of the transfer portal.

John E. Hoover

Notre Dame forward Tae Davis
Notre Dame forward Tae Davis / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Porter Moser might have finally landed an impact big man.

Moser’s Oklahoma clubs have been mostly guard-dominated, and with the loss of three post men already via the transfer portal, the Sooners’ head coach has reeled in a big-time low-post presence.

Tae Davis, a 6-foot-9 junior forward at Notre Dame, has committed to play for OU, according to On3 national basketball writer Joe Tipton.

Davis averaged 15.1 points per game for the Fighting Irish this season, shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 72.4 percent from the free throw line while averaging nearly two assists per game — all career-bests.

Last year Davis averaged 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and shot 48.4 percent from the floor.

Davis played two seasons at Notre Dame after starting his career as a freshman at Seton Hall, where he played in 32 games and averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Davis will have one year eligibility in Norman after playing in 97 career games (66 starts).

The Sooners under Moser have been built outside-in, but Moser had to offset the recent departures of post men Luke Northweather (Missouri), Jacolb Fredson-Cole (McNeese State) and Yaya Keita (TBA).

Low-post contributions have been minor at OU for most of four seasons under Moser — even more so for the last two years. This season, senior Sam Godwin averaged 19 minutes per game, while Northweather and Mo Wague averaged 11. Godwin averaged 6.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season and became a key contributor.

Last year, John Hugley IV averaged 8.4 points but spent much of his court time looking for a perimeter shot. Godwin averaged 18.7 minutes last season, while Northweather averaged 8.6.

At 6-foot-10, Tanner Groves was an everyday starter and inside presence who averaged 10.2 points and 7.2 rebounds and shot 50.8 percent from the field in 2022-23. Groves was one of Moser’s first portal additions when he got the job in 2021. Godwin also averaged 12.7 minutes that season. Groves averaged 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in his first season with Moser, and transfer Ethan Chargois played in 31 games and averaged 14.5 minutes.

With Davis' athleticism and scoring ability down low, Moser may finally have a player he can use as a first option on offense, which could help open up additional perimeter opportunities for OU's guards.

The Sooners returned to the NCAA Tournament this season, but Moser is facing another roster rebuild in 2025-26 and will need to heavily mine the transfer portal.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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