For the second time in as many years, a former Michigan State basketball star has hit the portal.
Well, there are now actually two former Spartan guards in the transfer portal as both decided to leave Michigan State last offseason in search of greener pastures. One found out that the grass isn’t always greener and the other suffered an injury that kept him out for the year, so he can’t truly say that yet.
Gehrig Normand is reportedly back on the move after spending one season at Santa Clara and he’s going to have three seasons of eligibility left, assuming the new five-year window rule doesn’t go into place for him. If it does, he’d only have two years left.
6-6 plus SG Gehrig Normand @GehrigNormand20 will be entering the NCAA portal - the talented Texas native will have 3 years remaining after sitting out this past season with @SantaClaraHoops due to a preseason injury @ThePortalReport @NCAAPortal
— Antonio Curro (@ACNY2LA) April 20, 2026
Seeing this move makes me believe that Normand is going to head back home to Texas for his final years of college ball.
The former four-star recruit from North Richland Hills, Texas, was expected to be more of a Matt McQuaid-type in East Lansing but instead battled injuries and never truly cracked the rotation in two years. He transferred out in the same cycle that Xavier Booker and Tre Holloman did, but he’s looking to get another opportunity probably at a smaller school that needs a shooter.
Back in high school, Normand held offers from Auburn, Oklahoma State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, and SMU. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him at one of those programs, but he was also offered by Texas-Rio Grande Valley which is the exact type of program I’d expect him to commit to this time around.
It’s unfortunate that his two years at Michigan State and one at Santa Clara didn’t work out, but he needs a change of scenery, probably back at home in Texas.
Everyone is rooting for Normand to succeed.
The transfer portal is full of familiar faces
Normand isn’t the only familiar face in the portal for Spartan fans, but as mentioned before, Holloman is also transferring from NC State with no eligibility remaining — he’s hoping for that fifth year.
Outside of those two, there are several other former Spartan targets who spent time in the transfer portal this offseason. Guys like Jalen Haralson, Milan Momcilovic, Aiden Sherrell, Flory Bidunga, John Blackwell, Devin Royal, Darius Adams, Ty Rodgers, and Dwayne Aristode all hit the portal this offseason and they could have all been Spartans at one point in time.
Normand is one of those guys who’s about to be on his third school that you can’t help but to root for, though. He’s had some tough luck, but he’ll land on his feet.
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