Wyoming Forward Abou Magassa to Enter Transfer Portal

LARAMIE -- Abou Magassa was one of only two returners, along with Matija Belic, who played meaningful minutes for the Cowboys during the 2024-25 campaign.

Now, he's one of three Wyoming players, so far, who plans to hit the open market, joining guard Damarion Dennis and Adam Harakow, along with forward Simm-Marten Saadi.

The NCAA Transfer Portal is set to officially open tomorrow.

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Magassa, a 6-foot-7 forward from France, appeared in 29 games last winter, averaging just 3.1 points and three rebounds a night. He connected on just 57.6% of his shots. His role diminished with the emergence of freshmen Gavin Gores and Simm-Marten Saadi.

Kiani Saxon, a senior transfer, also became a regular in the starting five, especially in Mountain West play.

The sophomore was on the floor for just 10.3 minutes a night and was in the starting lineup just 11 times.

"I've been trying to re-center and refocus Abou for a long time," head coach Sundance Wicks said after Magassa logged just 22 seconds in a 106-79 home win over South Dakota in early December. "I told you from the summer, I've been trying to get more out of him. Abou has got to fight more. He's got to get in the gym more.

"There are things that Abou needs to do that he's not doing -- and he knows what those are -- but until he confronts those and approaches those, that's between me and Abou. Until he gets those right, he's going to battle all the time.

Magassa didn't even play a full minute when the Cowboys were ousted by UNLV in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.

He was on the court for a grand total of 11 minutes in the final three games of the regular season and never left the bench during the team's National Invitational Tournament tilt with Wichita State.

Magassa, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, came to Laramie after redshirting during his true freshman campaign at St. Louis University. He was an impact player during Wicks' first season on the sidelines, starting 14 games and appearing in all 31 outings. He netted 3.2 points per night while shooting 72.4% from the field and pulled down nearly four boards.

"He's a great teammate and he's a great human being, but you just don't get to wake up and have success," Wicks continued. "You got to go earn it every day. I want Abou to fight through this right now, because we need him. We need his defense, we need his rebounding and we need his ability to finish. We need that going forward."

It's been a quiet offseason, to this point, for a program that has been decimated by transfers in recent seasons.

Wicks said his top priority this offseason was retention. He has also begun adding to the roster. On Monday, 6-foot-6 forward Michael Mora announced on social media he will be inking with the Cowboys after spending last season at Division-II Cal State Monterey where he averaged 17.2 points per outing.

Rookies Naz Meyer and Gavin Gores, last weekend, along with senior guard Uriyah Rojas, have announced they will return to the program.

Wyoming will also welcome incoming freshmen Madden Smiley (Windsor, Colo.) and Chris Pohl (Marshfield, Wisc.) into the fold this summer.

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