Kansas Jayhawks sophomore forward Zach Clemence enters transfer portal for basketball

Kansas sophomore forward Zach Clemence has elected to enter the transfer portal and will play for another college basketball program next season, Kansas Athletics confirmed to The Star on Wednesday.

Clemence, 6-10, 230 pounds from San Antonio, Texas, never made it into the regular playing rotation in two seasons at KU but did appear in 24 games during KU’s national-title season and 18 games during the just-completed 2022-23 campaign.

Clemence averaged 5.9 minutes per outing his soph season. He totaled 25 points, 25 rebounds, and six blocks. He scored a career-high 10 points with two threes in a 79-75 win over Oklahoma on Jan. 10 at Allen Fieldhouse.

He also had a career-high three blocks (with five points and three rebounds) in a 90-78 win over Kansas State on Jan. 31 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Clemence played his junior and senior seasons of high school at Sunrise Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas. He averaged 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a senior. He was the No. 67 overall recruit in the 2021 cycle, according to the On3.com Consensus, an industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Clemence was hampered by foot and knee injuries this past season.

Speaking of Clemence during a spot on the Hawk Talk radio show this past season, assistant coach Norm Roberts said: “He’s gotten stronger, has a little more confidence being in the post. He has one of the best jump hooks on our team. He has to go to it more, is doing a little bit better job rebounding. He gives us an element of being to able to play out on the perimeter, being able to spread teams out because he is capable of making two, three threes in a row. He has to keep improving because having that element can put pressure on other teams.”

Roberts added: “He has a chance to be really good, health hasn’t been on his side of late.”