Former UNC Basketball Big Man Heads to SEC Program

As things stand, only two 2024-25 UNC basketball players have entered the transfer portal. Sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau has already found his new home at Michigan, and his former teammate, Jalen Washington, now also finds himself heading to a different conference.

ALSO READ: UNC Loses Battle for Transfer Point Guard

On Friday, On3’s Joe Tipton reported that former Tar Heel big man Jalen Washington has pledged allegiance to Vanderbilt, leaving UNC following three seasons in Chapel Hill and moving to the SEC.

Washington recently took a visit to Ohio State. But he's now on board with the Commodores just a few days later, joining a program that made it to the NCAA Tournament this season as a No. 10 seed under the program's new head coach, Mark Byington.

In his junior season at UNC, the 6-foot-10, 235-pound Jalen Washington averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds while seeing an up-and-down role, playing some games as a starter and others as a reserve.

He's now set to reunite with his former Tar Heel teammate in Tyler Nickel, with the two spending time together at UNC during the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have already replaced Washington via a commitment from former Arizona center Henri Veesaar, who pledged his allegiance to the UNC basketball coaches on Friday afternoon.

Stay tuned to North Carolina Tar Heels On SI for more UNC basketball news.