Tulane Basketball Star Admits Finances Could Play Role in His Future With Program
In this story:
Ron Hunter had to get busy in the transfer portal for Tulane last offseason.
With tons of departing production, he needed to use this new era of collegiate athletics to his advantage, something he did in spades by fielding a team that finished top four in the American Athletic Conference and was close to reaching the title game.
However, it seems like he might have to get busy again.
The Green Wave have already lost one of their standouts from this past campaign, with Kam Williams transferring to Kentucky in the latest example of mid-major programs getting poached by the upper tier schools.
It looked like they could lose another when Mari Jordan entered his name into the portal, but he decided to come back to New Orleans for at least another year.
Hunter and Tulane will wait on what Kaleb Banks decides to do as a potential transfer, with him potentially following suit of Williams or choosing the same thing as Jordan.
One player who seems like he'll be back is Rowan Brumbaugh.
The 6-foot-4 guard transferred in for the Green Wave last year, and he immediately became an impact player for the program this season by averaging 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per contest across his 33 games -- all starts.
That earned him All-AAC First Team honors, and it appeared like Tulane would have a staple in their backcourt leading into next season.
However, there's a chance he could test the transfer waters at some point, too.
While Brumbaugh is not in the portal, and he stated he loves it at Tulane, he also admitted finances are going to play a role if that presents iself.
#Tulane guard and All-AAC First Team member Rowan Brumbaugh was very honest about his future with the program.
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) March 29, 2025
"I love it here."
"It'd be more of a financial thing at the end of the day."
More from him and HC Ron Hunter on why he's confident Brumbaugh will be back next year: pic.twitter.com/VF7kNjyAes
"I love it here. There's nothing more from a people perspective, basketball school perspective. Honestly, it would be more of a financial thing at the end of the day. When you look back five years, do you regret not taking out on a big opportunity? So that's where I'm at for me. I'm always going to be an open book," he said.
Hunter probably appreciates that about his star guard, especially in this day and age where a lot of things regarding NIL and transfer stuff is done in the shadows.
"You never know what could happen. I could be gone tomorrow," the head coach stated. "You just don't know how this whole thing works. Right now we're worried about today."
With all of that said, though, Hunter is confident Brumbaugh will be back with Tulane.
"He's out there right now. I mean, you're not going to be sitting out there going through all this stuff if you're not planning on being here. So we feel pretty confident about that," he added.
This will be something to keep an eye on.
Having Brumbaugh back would be huge for this program, and unless something massive changes this situation, then he should be on the floor for Tulane during the upcoming season.
