UC Davis guard Ty Johnson enters NCAA transfer portal
UC Davis guard Ty Johnson has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. He averaged 17.8 points this year and earned Big West honorable mention honors.
Johnson, a Chicago native, arrived at UC Davis in 2022 after starting his career at Loyola Chicago. He made an immediate impact, scoring 14.5 points per game while averaging 4.6 rebounds, as well. It was quite a leap from his time with the Ramblers where he had trouble cracking the rotation.
Johnson was more than just a scorer this season, though. In addition to his 17.8 points per game, he also led UC Davis with 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals, proving he can make a significant impact on both sides of the basketball.
UC Davis went 20-13 overall this year and 14-6 in Big West play, and eventually fell to Long Beach State in the conference tournament championship game to miss out on the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.
The Aggies will have some major needs to address, though. In addition to Ty Johnson’s decision to transfer, leading scorer Elijah Pepper is out of eligibility. He put up huge numbers in 2023-24, averaging 20.7 points – his second year reaching the 20 points per game mark – on 41.5% shooting to lead the offense. In the process, he won Big West Player of the Year and set UC Davis’ all-time scoring record.
All told, Pepper and Johnson combined for 53.2% of the Aggies’ scoring this past season.
Pepper was also among the players selected to the Reese’s NABC All-Star Game. He joined some notable names in the festivities, including Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga. Tominaga is one of the most productive players playing in the game, and probably one of the most fun to watch. He averaged 15.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game for the Cornhuskers this season en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
He wasn’t be the only major conference player involved in the action, though.
Playing for the opposite team, the East team, will be Ohio State forward Jamison Battle. Playing in the same conference as Tominaga, Battle averaged 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game for the Buckeyes. He certainly knows how to fill up a stat sheet.