Syracuse basketball reaches out to 4-star transfer PG who averaged 20 points per game

Syracuse basketball is among numerous programs that have reached out to San José State junior point guard Colby Garland, who is in the transfer portal.

That's according to a post on X from national analyst Sam Kayser. The 6-foot, 190-pound Garland, who hails from Magnolia, Ark., is hearing from college programs such as Syracuse,
Kansas State, Indiana, Nebraska, Providence, BYU, Auburn, SMU, USC, Ole Miss, UCLA and Oregon, among others.

The transfer portal opened on Tuesday and will run through April 21. At least seven Syracuse basketball players from the 2025-26 season plan to enter the portal, including junior point guard Naithan George.

For SU's new head coach, Gerry McNamara, and his staff, point guard is a key position of need via the transfer portal, along with center. On Tuesday, in its national transfer rankings, 247Sports rated Garland as four stars, No. 50 overall and No. 11 at point guard.

Syracuse basketball may have an interest in 4-star transfer PG Colby Garland.

In the 2025-26 campaign, Garland averaged 20.3 points, 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while making 49.0 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from beyond the arc and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Last season, San José State, a Mountain West Conference school, went 9-24 overall. In March, Garland was named to the All-Mountain West third team. He previously played for Longwood and Drake.

On Tuesday, McNamara and his assistants scored a pledge from Siena sophomore guard Gavin Doty, who is a four-star transfer prospect. Doty is expected to compete for sizable minutes in the upcoming campaign.

A day earlier, on Monday, European wing Mark Morano Mahmutovič committed to the Orange. Mahmutovič, a four-star player in the 2026 class, is hailed as an elite scorer and excellent 3-point shooter.

Doty and Mahmutovič are nice pieces for GMac & Co. A high-quality point guard out of the portal is critical for the Syracuse basketball staff, as is a center, among other positions.

Garland clearly knows how to score points in droves, and we'll have to wait and see if he and the Orange coaches continue their dialogue moving forward. It's important to note that when reports come out stating that Syracuse basketball has reached out to a college transfer, it could ultimately be something, or it could be nothing.