The season has been over for several weeks, but the TCU Horned Frogs have made a long-awaited splash in the transfer portal, gaining a commitment from Long Beach State freshman guard Gavin Sykes. The first major move of the offseason for coach Jamie Dixon and staff, Sykes was named the Big West Freshman of the Year and an All-Big West Second Team selection in 2025-26. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder played in 28 games and made 26 starts during the 2025-26 season, averaging 19.4 points on 47.3% shooting and 38.7% shooting on 3-pointers.
Sykes fills a major void for the Horned Frogs, who are returning starting point guard Brock Harding, but losing several backcourt players to the transfer portal. Among TCU’s departing players are Kayden Edwards, RJ Jones, Jace Posey, Liutauras Lelevicius and Ashton Simmons. Frontcourt players David Punch and Malick Diallo are also leaving the program, while starting shooting guard Jayden Pierre has no more eligibility remaining.
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Sykes broke multiple freshman records at Long Beach State including the most points in a single-game (39) and points in a season (542). His 19.4 points per game ranked sixth among freshman in the country, just behind AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Ebuka Okorie (Stanford), Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Caleb Wilson (North Carolina). Three of those players (Dybantsa, Boozer and Wilson) will be lottery picks in the 2026 draft.
