Nate Santos fifth member of Dayton Flyers to enter transfer portal this spring

Nate Santos became the fifth member of the 2023-24 Dayton Flyers roster to enter the transfer portal on Sunday.

Santos, a 6-foot-7 forward from Geneva, Ill., ranked second on the team in scoring (11.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.3) in his one season at Dayton. He played his first two seasons at Pittsburgh and transferred to Dayton last June. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Santos scored the go-ahead basket in the final minute of a 63-60 victory against Nevada in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He also made a tie-breaking 3-pointer in the final seconds of a 70-67 victory against LSU in November. He was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Conference third team and all-academic team.

With Santos leaving, Dayton now has seen three of its top four scorers enter the portal. Koby Brea (11.1 points per game) and Kobe Elvis (9.4) were the others. Petras Padegimas and Zimi Nwokeji also entered the portal.

Brea will choose from Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Connecticut and Kentucky earlier this month. He visited UConn over the weekend, according to reports.

Elvis is transferring to Oklahoma. Nwokeji picked Jacksonville.

The news of Santos’ departure came one day after Jacob Conner, an Alter grad and Marshall transfer, committed to Dayton. He’s the second transfer to pick Dayton this spring, following Ohio State forward Zed Key, who will play his final season of eligibility at Dayton.

Players have until Wednesday to enter the transfer portal. Dayton has filled nine of 13 scholarships, assuming DaRon Holmes II keeps his name in consideration for the NBA Draft. The current roster looks like this if no one else leaves:

Guards: Malachi Smith; Enoch Cheeks; Brady Uhl; Javon Bennett; and Marvel Allen.

Forwards: Zed Key; Isaac Jack; Jacob Conner; and Jaiun Simon.

Santos is the 19th player recruited and signed by Anthony Grant and his staff to enter the transfer portal. Here’s the list of those players, the dates they entered the portal and where they ended up:

• Frankie Policelli, April 10, 2018 (Stony Brook/College of Charleston).

• Jhery Matos, March 30, 2018 (Charlotte).

• Luke Frazier, March 22, 2021 (Ohio/John Carroll)

• Dwayne Cohill, April 16, 2021 (Youngstown State)

• Rodney Chatman, March 23, 2021 (Vanderbilt).

• Lynn Greer III, Dec. 27, 2021 (Saint Joseph’s).

• Moulaye Sissoko, March 23, 2022 (North Texas)

•. Elijah Weaver, March 29, 2022 (Chicago State).

• Tyrone Baker, Dec. 19, 2022 (Florida SouthWestern State College).

• Kaleb Washington, Dec. 20, 2022 (Butler Community College).

• Mustapha Amzil, March 21, 2023 (New Mexico).

• R.J. Blakney, March 22, 2023 (Old Dominion).