Oregon State Men's Basketball Team Hit Hard by Transfer Portal
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Wayne Tinkle has his hands full.
Two weeks after all-conference first team standout Michael Rataj entered the transfer portal, the German wing has been joined by five other Oregon State players: Da'John Craig, Nate Kingz, Parsa Fallah, Liutauras Lelevicius, and Damarco Minor.
Notably, the latter four names have something in common with Rataj: they were starters.
Below, here is a breakdown on each of the transfer portal players, their performance at Oregon State, and whether they have committed to another school.
Da'John Craig - Guard - Sophomore
Craig played in fifteen games during his freshman season, mostly in mop-up duty: he averaged 2.7 points per game. In his follow-up campaign this year, he barely saw the floor. Over ten contests, Craig averaged 1.9 points per game. His last game action came January 2nd against Loyola Marymount.
On the same day that Rataj entered the portal, the sophomore guard from Indianapolis entered the portal. Last week, he announced his commitment to Coastal Carolina.
Damarco Minor - Guard - Senior
Oregon State's starting point guard this season, Minor played his best basketball deep in the Beavers' schedule: he scored 22 points against Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference tournament quarterfinal, and then earned 16 points and 8 rebounds in The Crown opening round game against UCF last week.
Minor is no newcomer to the portal; he transfered to Oregon State from Southern Illinois University's Edwardsville campus (SIUE) last offseason. The senior guard entered the portal last Friday April 4th, and has not yet announced a commitment to another school.
Liutauras Lelevicius - Wing - Redshirt Junior
The 6'7" Lithuanian might have been Oregon State's streakiest shooter this season. In the season finale last week against UCF, he notched a season high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He also logged several performances this season that were less memorable: 0-2 in 29 minutes vs College of Charleston, and no 3PTs against St Mary's on March 1st, Portland on February 13th (despite 5 long range attempts), and Santa Clara on January 9th.
He entered the portal last week, and has not announced a commitment to another school.
Nate Kingz - Wing - Redshirt Junior
A breakout two-way player in 2024-25, Salem's own Nate Kingz entered the portal shortly after Michael Rataj's announcement. Kingz' road to Corvallis was a bumpy one: after failing to secure a D1 scholarship offer out of high school, he spent his freshman year at NAIA Westmont College, then a year in juco ball at The College of Southern Idaho, before transfering to Oregon State ahead of the 2023-24 season, only to miss the entire season with an ACL injury.
Last week, Kingz announced his commitment to Syracuse, and the proud McNary HS alum projects as an impactful perimeter defender in the Orange's iconic 2-3 zone defense.
Michael Rataj - Wing - Junior
Rataj might be the biggest name of the bunch, and for good reason: Rataj made all-conference first-team, was Oregon State's leading scorer, and doubled as their locker room leader. The junior from Germany entered the portal two weeks ago, and has commited to Big 12 powers Baylor.
Parsa Fallah - Forward - Redshirt Junior
The Beavers' big man from Iran entered the portal at the end of March, and will likely have a long list of suitors. When Fallah was healthy - the redshirt junior struggled through several injuries - he was far and away Oregon State's biggest contributor down low. Fallah averaged 12.8 points and 4 rebounds per game.
So far, he has not announced a commitment to another school.
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.