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Byron Wesley Announces His Plans To Transfer

USC will look to rebuild from a two-win conference slate without the efforts of the Etiwanda H.S. product.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

One month following a disappointing 11-21 campaign that ended in a three-point loss during the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, USC Basketball received a tough blow when junior leading-scorer Byron Wesley announced his intentions over Twitter to officially transfer from the program.

Head Coach Andy Enfield responded shortly after hearing Wesley's intended plans: "We wish Byron well and we thank him for his valuable contributions to our program." We are happy for him that he will leave USC with his degree. He had a very productive career here and I am sure he will do well wherever his career takes him."

After surprisingly coming up short of Pac-12 All-Honorable Mention selection, Byron Wesley's departure leaves USC without all four of its top scorers from last season and six of their top eight offensive contributors overall.

Wesley finished the season averaging 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds (tops on the squad) and if he can complete enough units to graduate this summer, he will have an opportunity to immediately play at another program starting this fall.

The Trojans three-year starter had been a stable force in the basketball program during his career, but sent out sincere appreciation for his time spent in Southern California from his prep days in Etiwanda all the way through his strongly undervalued career playing for sub-par basketball programs at the Galen Center.

Wesley, the team-elected Sam Berry Award Most Valuable Player winner, was suspended during the Stanford and Cal road trip for a violation of undisclosed team rules. He scored in double figures in all but four games that he played, setting career highs in points (31 vs. WSU) and rebounds (14 vs. ASU) earlier this past season.

The Trojans will now look to the future with transfers Katin Reinhardt (UNLV) and Darion Clark (Charlotte) who are eligible to play this fall. Wednesday was the first official day NCAA Division-I programs could announce their incoming freshman classes, and USC basketball will now be adding one more player (rumored to be Westchester High School PG Elijah Stewart) before finalizing their newest crop of talent along with returning contributors Julian Jacobs and Nikola Jovanovic.