Florida forward Keyontae Johnson enters NCAA Transfer Portal

The Florida Gators could be losing one of their promising young talents at the forward position as he enters the transfer portal ahead of the deadline. Keyontae Johnson has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, despite medical and off-court concerns that could have kept him from being recruited to another program.

Johnson was having an impressive season for Florida two seasons ago before collapsing in a Dec. 12 game against Florida State. He has not been cleared to return to basketball while they examine him further to determine if a heart malfunction is the reason behind his health scare.

Florida forward Keyontae Johnson enters transfer portal

“Florida basketball forward Keyontae Johnson has entered the transfer portal,” explained On3’s Matt Zenitz on Sunday.

The news comes right before the May 1st deadline for NCAA athletes to declare for the portal to be eligible to play this season for their new school. Johnson averaged 16 points per game and 4.5 rebounds through four games in the 2020-21 season with the Gators before his health scare. Following his collapse, Johnson indicated that he would return to the game of basketball no matter what it took — even if it wasn’t with Florida.

“I don’t know if it will be here, but I’m for sure going to play basketball again,” Johnson said last year. “Just taking it day by day, going to see doctors and everything. They really haven’t given me a timeline yet.”

Johnson’s entering the transfer portal also comes after a recent report that coaches around the nation believed he would become available for recruiting.

“There’s growing speculation from college coaches that Florida’s Keyontae Johnson might enter the Transfer Portal,” said Adam Zagoria of the New York Times on Saturday. “There are medical concerns attached to it but he’s a lottery level talent.”

Johnson only played in one game last season with the Gators — the season-opener — before his heart problem continued to keep him from playing. His last full season with Florida was the 2019-20 season as a sophomore, where he averaged 14 points per game and 7.1 rebounds while starting all 31 games he played in.