Ryan Murphy announces transfer from Pitt to Tulane

Former Pitt guard Ryan Murphy announced on Thursday that he will transfer to Tulane. The sharpshooter entered the NCAA transfer portal on March 15 and heard from a variety of schools before trimming his list to a final four of BYU, East Carolina, Tulane and UC Santa Barbara and then selecting the Green Wave.

Upon arriving in New Orleans, Murphy will join a program that has struggled since leaving Conference USA for the AAC, as it has yet to post a winning record in its six seasons since realignment. However, his arrival will follow the departure of Nic Thomas, Tulane’s most prolific three-point shooter last season. So he should slide into a familiar role in a situation with less pressure than the one he faced at Pitt.

Prior to the announcement, Murphy thanked the Pitt community for its support during his several months with the program.

"I wanted to say thank you to the University of Pittsburgh, the fans and coaches for a fun year," he said in a message posted on Twitter. "Through the ups and downs, I learned a lot, made a lot of lifelong friends. I’m extremely blessed and excited to be getting my degree from this amazing university."

Pitt coach Jeff Capel landed Murphy — then the 45th-ranked JUCO player in the nation — from New Mexico Junior College in 2019. In his lone season in New Mexico, Murphy led the Thunderbirds with 18.5 points per game and shot 46.7 percent from distance through his first three games. But by the end of the 2018-19 season, his three-point percentage fell as he dealt with a foot injury and missed 20 games, playing in just 13 total.

Murphy’s season at Pitt was also derailed by an injury, as he suffered a concussion during a team practice on Jan. 30 and was never quite the same player afterward. In his 21 games prior to the concussion, Murphy averaged 10.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. In the nine after, those averages dipped to 1.9 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists. His shooting also suffered as his three-point percentage fell from 35.5 to 17.6.

Murphy would finish his lone season at Pitt averaging 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He made 33.1 percent of his 127 shots from beyond the arc.

The 6’2”, 185-pound guard will be able to play immediately at Tulane as a graduate transfer, and he has one year of eligibility remaining.