University of Wyoming guard Brendan Wenzel drives against Fresno State during the Mountain West tournament on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
University of Wyoming guard Brendan Wenzel drives against Fresno State during the Mountain West tournament on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
LARAMIE – The University of Wyoming men's basketball team lost its second starter to the transfer portal Thursday afternoon.
Just hours after starting forward Caden Powell entered the portal, sharpshooting guard Brendan Wenzel followed suit. Wenzel spent the past three-and-a-half seasons with the Cowboys after transferring to UW from Utah midway through the 2020-21 season.
Wenzel averaged 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 31 games for the Cowboys this winter. He was named an All-Mountain West honorable mention by the league's media during last week's conference tournament in Las Vegas.
Wenzel was part of UW's NCAA Tournament team two seasons ago. He enters the portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.
"Obviously, you'd love to have him back, but at the same time, too, he's done whatever he needed to do for us," UW coach Jeff Linder said after senior night March 5. "He's been here for five years. He's graduated, and he's working on a second degree.
"For him, he's going to have a decision to make, whether or not he wants to go pro. ... A guy like him, you look at his stats and what he's done, a guy like him commands a lot of attention in the portal. I hate to say it, but he's a guy that could go get, what they like to say, 'A pretty big bag.' That's the reality of it. If you want to keep these guys, you have to have to ability to make them stay.
"... Whatever is best for Brendan, that's what we're going to do. We're going to support him either way. Obviously, you'd like to have him back, but I'm not going to (make a pitch for him to stay). He's done what we've asked him to do, and if he feels like there's something else out there that's going to give him a better chance of doing what he wants to do, then, so be it. He's earned that right."
Wenzel and Powell joined guard Jacob Theodosiou as the three outgoing transfers so far this offseason. The portal will remain open until May 1.
"Playing for the University of Wyoming has been the biggest blessing in my life," Wenzel posted on X. "I can't thank coach Linder, coach (Ken) DeWeese and the coaching staff here enough for the development, the teaching of the game and for giving me a chance when they definitely didn't have to.
"I gave my heart and soul to this program, and I became a better player and a better person because of this place. To the fans at the University of Wyoming, I want to thank you guys."
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Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.
