Kansas basketball: Jayhawk transfer Zach Clemence heads west to UCSB

The last of five Kansas basketball transfers from the 2022-23 season found their landing spot, this one being former Jayhawk forward Zach Clemence.

While the Kansas Jayhawks recently picked up commitments from two transfers, they also had five players leave the program in the offseason. Joseph Yesufu, Bobby Pettiford, MJ Rice, and Cam Martin found their transfer destinations, and now Zach Clemence has too.

From here on out, the stretch big will play college ball with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. They won the Big West conference tournament and 27 total games, the most in their program’s history. Head coach Joe Pasternack has been taking the Gauchos to unprecedented heights since he was hired.

It might not be what Clemence envisioned when he committed to Kansas, but he has a sizeable role cut out for him. He should be one of the best players in the conference as his game continues to grow.

Clemence was the No. 50 prospect in the Class of 2021 and won a national championship with Kansas as a freshman. He held lofty expectations as a sophomore, as some even believed he would be the team’s starting big man. However, he wound up ceding minutes to KJ Adams and Ernest Udeh Jr. after a mediocre start to the season.

In 2022-23, he appeared in 20 contests, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds. Clemence had an abysmal slash line of 32.4/22.2/33.3. Nothing went right for the Texas native.

He will put his time with Kansas basketball behind him in hopes of carving out a respectable D-I career. Clemence has size and occasionally showed off his jump shot, and he can become a massive threat to opposing defenses if he develops a post-game. Great things could be in store for Clemence.

We wish the best of luck to Zach and his future endeavors.