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Pitt small forward Gerald Drumgoole entered the transfer portal in March, and on Wednesday night, his next destination was revealed, as it was announced that he would transfer to Albany in his home state. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports was the first to report the move.
The 6’6”, 200-pound wing joined Pitt in 2019 and held a higher national ranking than Justin Champagnie at the time of his commitment. Rivals considered him a three-star prospect and the No. 28 recruit at small forward, while the recruiting website ranked Champagnie, who was also a three-star prospect, as the No. 44 player at the same position. In addition, Drumgoole was considered the No. 136 recruit in the nation. Champagnie was not ranked.
Despite the expectations of recruiting analysts, the native of Rochester, New York, saw limited action at Pitt and only came off the bench on occasion to spell Champagnie, who became a star during his freshman season. As a result, Drumgoole started just two games in his Pitt career and averaged 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds per game in 30 appearances for the Panthers, playing 7.8 minutes per game.
Drumgoole was one of five Pitt players to enter the transfer portal this spring, as he was joined by Terrell Brown, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly, Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney. However, he was the last to reveal his transfer plans. Brown ended up at San Diego, Coulibaly went to St. Bonaventure, Johnson landed at Indiana and Toney committed to Arkansas.
At Albany, Drumgoole will not only be back in his home state, but he will also likely occupy a larger role than he would have at Pitt. In New York’s capital city, he will join a Great Danes team that went 7-9 last season and underwent a coaching change, parting ways with longtime head coach Will Brown after 20 seasons and hiring Marquette assistant Dwayne Killings.
Albany enjoyed seven straight winning seasons under Brown, which included three straight NCAA tournament berths in the 2010s. But the program began to struggle in 2018 and subsequently suffered three consecutive losing seasons, leading to the departure of Brown. Since his hiring in March, Killings has landed commitments from Temple transfer Dre Perry and Bucknell graduate transfer Paul Newman in addition to Drumgoole, and with that trio in place, he will look to right the ship.