On Friday, the Illinois Fighting Illini freshman forward Morez Johnson hit the transfer portal. He followed behind sophomore Carey Booth in doing so. Johnson hitting the transfer portal felt like a sucker punch to Illinois and their fans, but he has to do what’s right for him at the end of the day.
Johnson averaged seven points and 6.7 rebounds in 17.7 minutes as a freshman. Johnson, the Illinois native, committed to Illinois four years ago, is from Illinois, and saw the court a lot as a freshman. However, he’s looking for their next best step, and he’s named his final six programs in the transfer process.
Morez Johnson Names Final Six Schools in His Transfer Process
Johnson has cut his list to the following programs: Ohio State, Kansas, Michigan, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Johnson has made it known with his list that he wants to go to a contender. Johnson, who started eight games this past season, played in 30 of them. Now, he’s looking for a bigger role.
Three of these schools are from the SEC—Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Along with the three SEC programs, two are from the Big Ten—Ohio State and Michigan—while one is from the Big 12—Kansas.
Illinois transfer Morez Johnson has cut his list to the following programs, per his HS coach RaShay Russell.
Ohio State
Kansas
Michigan
Tennessee
Arkansas
Kentucky— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 1, 2025
Illinois went 22-13 overall and finished seventh in the Big Ten standings. The Fighting Illini earned a sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round before losing to Kentucky.
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas are all looking to fix up their rosters as they plan to lose a good number of players. Some are leaving for the NBA, and others are just having their college eligibility run out.
Michigan could certainly be in the running for a player like Johnson. Losing both Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, the Wolverines likely need another big-bodied player. Johnson could certainly fit that bill. Johnson could certainly be a valuable ‘4’ for the Wolverines.
Johnson is an under-the-basket type of player who isn’t afraid of being around the paint. He could add some valuable minutes to any frontcourt next season, regardless of the school he ultimately decides to go to.
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Johnson enters the transfer portal in hopes of finding a new school for a better opportunity. Johnson made it clear that he hopes to go to a contender and that’s what he’s certainly looking to do with his final six schools he named for the transfer portal. 247Sports currently ranks him as the No. 25 overall player in the portal and No. 4 forward.
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