Oklahoma turns to Nijel Pack-led transfer class, opens vs. Saint Francis

After making a run to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Porter Moser's tenure, Oklahoma opens a new season Monday against Saint Francis in Norman, Okla.

The Sooners went 20-14 last season while leaning heavily on freshman Jeremiah Fears and senior Jalon Moore.

But with Moore having graduated and Fears making the leap to the NBA, Moser once again had to dip heavily into the transfer portal over the offseason.

The headliner of the Sooners' offseason portal haul was Nijel Pack, who helped Miami to the 2023 Final Four and has averaged 14.3 points in 122 games for the Hurricanes and Kansas State.

"I know this, having coached guys that have been to the Final Four ... when they come back, it's not like they're satisfied," Moser said. "They want that again."

The Sooners also added Xzayvier Brown from Saint Joseph's, Tae Davis from Notre Dame and Derrion Reid from Alabama.

"Winning mattered to all four of them," Moser said. "That was important to me. I wanted to add length. I just go on a night-in and night-out in the SEC -- it's the first thing you really notice is the length, athleticism and talent of the SEC."

The Monday matchup will be the debut for Saint Francis head coach Luke McConnell.

McConnell has been an assistant with the Red Flash since 2021 and was a part of Rob Krimmel's staff last season when they made a surprising run through the Northeast Conference tournament, earning an NCAA Tournament berth despite finishing with a 16-18 record.

Krimmel resigned following the season after the school announced its athletic programs would drop to Division III in the fall of 2026.

McConnell's father, Tom, was Saint Francis' coach from 1992-99.

While there was plenty of turnover on the roster after the announcement and coaching change, the Red Flash do bring back Chris Moncrief, who started 11 of his 32 games last season and averaged 6.2 points.

"Chris is the ultimate connector and a big piece of what we do," McConnell recently told the Troubadour, the school's student paper. "The most exciting thing is that we have a lot of depth and a lot of players with the ability to make an impact on the game."

--Field Level Media