First-year Finley Bizjack entered the transfer portal after completing his first season at Butler. Photo by Jonathan Wang. 

CALEB DENORME | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | cdenorme@butler.edu 

As the men’s basketball season draws to a close, attention shifts to the NCAA transfer portal. Players from around the nation will be on the move in the coming weeks, including those who played last season for Butler. As of right now, Connor Turnbull, DJ Davis, Finley Bizjack and Artemios Gavalas have all announced they have entered the transfer portal. Davis, Jahmyl Telfort and Posh Alexander have all declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining their college eligibility. 

The transfer portal opened on March 18 and will close on May 1. The NCAA shortened the length of the portal from 60 days in 2023 to 45 days in 2024. Eight of Butler’s 14 players in the 2023-24 season were brought to the Bulldogs via the transfer portal. 

Davis, a 6’1” guard from California, transferred to Butler from UC Irvine. Davis was third on the Bulldogs in points per game with 13.5 and shot 35.1% from beyond the arc. He ended the season tied for first in the nation in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive 95% from the charity stripe. Davis’ season-high 28 points came in an overtime victory against Villanova. Before Butler, he spent three seasons at UC Irvine where he hit 149 three-pointers and was named to the 2022-23 All-Big West Conference First Team. 

Alexander, a 6’0” guard from New York, transferred to Butler from St. John’s. Alexander was fourth on the Dawgs in points per game with 11.3 and led the team in steals with 71. Out of the 32 games he played this season, he started all of them. He scored a season-high 21 points on Jan. 16 at Xavier in a losing effort. Before Butler he played three years at St. John’s, winning Big East Freshman of the Year and Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year in his first season. He also led the Big East in steals per game every season he played for the Red Storm. 

Telfort, a 6’7” forward from Canada, transferred to Butler from Northeastern. The Canadian was second on the Bulldogs in points per game with 13.9 and led the team in minutes per game with 34.7. Telfort also was second on the team in total rebounds with 126 on the season. His best game came on Feb. 2 at Creighton where he scored 26 points and led the Dawgs to a road win over the Bluejays. Before Butler, Telfort played for three years at Northeastern where he made the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Rookie team and CAA Third Team. 

Bizjack, a 6’4” guard, came to Butler from Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, Texas. The first-year played in all 33 games, averaging 4.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. Bizjack’s best game came on Feb. 13 against Marquette where he scored 19 points in a losing effort. He was named to the Big East All-Freshman team in his first season with the Bulldogs. The Texas native was a four-star recruit and was ranked as the No. 97 player in the class of 2023. 

Turnbull, a 6’10” forward from Missouri, came to Butler as a four-star recruit in 2022. Turnbull played in 22 games as a first-year, averaging 2.0 points and 5.3 minutes per game. He returned for his sophomore season and appeared in nine games, averaging 4.1 points and 11.7 minutes per game. Turnbull suffered an elbow injury that would hold him out of the rest of the 2023-24 season before entering the portal. 

Gavalas, a 6’0” guard from New York, transferred to Butler from St. John’s. He played in seven games, totaling eight minutes played on the year. At St. John’s, Gavalas played in seven games in two years, scoring three points in seven minutes of action. 

None of the players who are transferring have committed to another school yet. All players are eligible to return to Butler if they choose to do so, but all of them coming back is unlikely. The Dawgs have not signed any transfers from the 2024 portal yet. The transfer portal will remain open until May 1 for players to leave or join the Bulldogs.