Oklahoma State has lost a second player to the transfer portal this offseason.
On Monday, reports surfaced that OSU sophomore C.J. Smith is entering the portal. Smith was a walk-on for OSU last season, and the forward never played in a game for the Cowboys.
Smith was one of a few walk-ons who completed OSU’s roster last season, but finding any playing time was always a long shot. Smith came to OSU as an Oklahoma City native, playing his high school ball at Putnam City North, where he was a star.
After high school, Smith played his first season of college basketball with Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. At his first stop, he started 21 of 30 games while averaging 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. While his play at Coffeyville Community College never had the opportunity to translate to OSU, Smith’s year of experience at a Big 12 school could be helpful in landing him at another Division I program.
Smith’s move isn’t a surprise after he was unable to see the court for a single second in OSU’s season. His move is also unsurprising because of the changing landscape in college basketball and college sports as a whole.
With new roster restrictions potentially on the way in men’s college basketball, walk-ons are in a spot of great uncertainty moving forward. While walk-ons have been a major part of the heart and soul of college sports for years, their spots aren’t guaranteed to be around much longer. Considering walk-ons might simply vanish over the next few years, it is a wise move to find a secure spot on a roster at a smaller school instead of waiting in a rapidly evolving environment.
As for the Cowboys, Smith’s departure won’t change much for their offseason outlook. Obviously, it would be ideal to simply return everyone, but that is impossible in today’s landscape, which is a positive for players in Smith’s situation, who can find a better opportunity elsewhere.
Smith became the second OSU player to enter the portal this offseason, following Connor Dow. With only two Cowboys in the portal at this point in the offseason, their roster for next season has a solid outline, with some incoming transfers set to cap off the roster.
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