The last scholarship member of Iowa's 2024-25 men's basketball roster has clarified his future plans: on Wednesday, junior forward Carter Kingsbury officially announced his plans to enter the transfer portal.
Kingsbury, a 6'5", 225-pound forward from Ponca, Nebraska served as a bench player for Iowa in 2024-25. Over the course of the season, he played in 23 of Iowa's 33 games and averaged 7.2 minutes per games. In his appearances, he averaged 1.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg, and 0.4 apg while shooting 47.6% from the field and 35.7% from three-point range.
Due to Iowa's dismissal of Fran McCaffery as head coach, Kingsbury and all other members of the current roster are able to enter the transfer portal within a 30-day window of the move. In addition to that, the standard transfer portal also opened for men's basketball on March 25.
"Playing at the University of Iowa -- the same school my dad played for -- has been a huge blessing," Kingsbury said in the statement announcing his decision. "Getting to wear Iowa across my chest and be a part of this program is something I'll always be proud. I've grown so much on and off the court, and I'm incredible grateful for every moment."
"Thank you to Coach McCaffery and the staff for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. Thank you to my teammates for becoming family, and to the fans for always showing love and support -- you guys made it special," Kingsbury added.
"After praying about it and talking with my family, I've decided to enter the transfer portal. I fully trust that God has a plan for my life and I'm excited to see where He leads me next. I'll forever be thankful for my time here. Iowa will always have a place in my heart," he concluded.
Kingsbury arrived at Iowa as a walk-on, though he was placed on scholarship before the 2024-25 season. He was more notable than most walk-ons at Iowa thanks to his lineage as the son of legendary Iowa sharpshooter Chris Kingsbury, a star from the Tom Davis days in the 1990s.
Kingsbury's career high in points came earlier this season against New Orleans, when he posted six points on 3-of-4 shooting, along with two rebounds and an assist in Iowa's blowout win. His best performance may have come against Washington; he played a career-high 29 minutes off the bench in Iowa's 85-79 win and had three points, a rebound, and two assists, as well as solid defense against Great Osobor, Washington's leading scorer.
READ MORE: Iowa 85, Washington 79: The Game That Had Everything
"[The staff] always tells me to stay ready at all times," Kingsbury said after the game. "So it's kind of every game, you're just kind of waiting to see what moment and how big of a role I'll play. But, you know, Tristan Spurlock always tells me to stay ready. So it happened to be a lot more minutes tonight."
"They talked to me about guarding Osobor," Kingsbury added. "He's a tough guard, obviously, and he had a good night tonight. But, yeah, we needed multiple guys to be able to guard him tonight, and we knew that. So it was kind of a team effort containing him, I guess. We didn't stop him every single time, but he's a really good player."
Kingsbury will have one year of eligibility remaining and is the tenth scholarship player to enter the portal following the departure of McCaffery. Stay tuned to Hawkeye Beacon to follow along with transfer portal coverage.
