Tarris Reed Jr. Fails To Win National Title After Being Pushed To UCONN By Dusty May

The transfer portal has introduced a new feel to college basketball. Roster turnover is high. Players move from school to school seemingly every offseason. Some make those decisions on their own. Others are subtly asked to leave.

Michigan was the beneficiary this season, using four 2025 newcomers to fill out a national championship lineup. UCONN, too, brought in a pair of notable transfers to make its NCAA Tournament run.

Michigan just won a national championship in men’s basketball with…

-ZERO starters who enrolled at Michigan as freshman (all transfers)

-A starting lineup with the average age of 22

-A starter who is 25 years old

Go Blue!! 😂

Nice job, everyone!!🤮

— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) April 7, 2026

One player spent time at both schools across a four-year career. Somehow, he failed to win a national title at either stop.

Tarris Reed Jr. transferred from Michigan to UCONN.

The center started his career with Juwan Howard and the Wolverines. He was a prized recruit in a Top 10 class.

Reed was a four-star prospect from Missouri in the 2022 cycle. He made an immediate impact in Ann Arbor, appearing in 66 games as a freshman and sophomore.

In his second season, he posted 31 starts while averaging 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. He also paced the team with 46 blocks.

Unfortunately, the year didn’t go as planned. Juwan Howard was fired after an 8-24 campaign. Reed hit the portal amid the coaching change. He landed at UCONN, the two-time defending national champs.

With the Huskies, he shined. The center boosted scoring and rebounding totals as a junior before exploding in his senior season.

Reed led the Big East in field goal percentage, knocking down more than 60% his shots. He averaged a career-high 14.7 points a night to go along with 9.0 boards (3rd in the conference).

The production earned him all-league recognition. He played his best in the NCAA Tournament.

Reed scored 31 points in his March Madness opener against Furman. It was the first of six straight double-digit performances.

The center guided the Huskies to the championship game, where he faced off against his former school. UCONN fell just short in a 69-63 loss.

The center never won a title.

UCONN won national championships in 2023 and 2024. Tarris Reed transferred to the program the following season. His first season with the Huskies ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

His final run went much further.

UCONN knocked off UCLA, Michigan State, Duke, and Illinois to set up a title bout with Michigan. Reed played well against his old school, posting a double-double with 13 points and 14 boards.

The effort wasn’t enough. Michigan won a close game to deny the center from cutting down the nets. Despite playing for programs that won championships in three of his four college seasons, he failed to secure a trophy.

I feel bad for Tarris Reed.

Played 4 years for Michigan and UConn. The 2 schools won 3 Titles in those 4 years.

Unfortunately, he never got one.

— JBOS Dad (@JBOSDad) April 7, 2026

It represented a somber end to his NCAA career. Michigan fans flooded social media timelines with the phrase, “Those that stay…,” which is a bit ironic given the makeup of their current roster.

Other college basketball fans couldn’t help but feel for the big man.

“It was tough on me mentally,” Reed said of the move out of Ann Arbor. “Michigan was my first college I chose coming out of high school. I felt so attached to the University of Michigan, the people, family, friends. Coach Howard recruited me there. I felt so close, connected.”

Reed admitted to not living up to expectations at Michigan. Still, he kept the option of staying with new coach Dusty May on the table.

Recruiting moves eventually pushed him to UCONN.

May opened the line of communication with Reed right away. He spoke to his family and coaches. Told him about his plan at Michigan. But there was one major hang-up on Reed’s end.

“He had that Vlad (Goldin) was probably going to be coming with us,” May told reporters…

“Do you think you can make that work? I said, ‘Hey, Tarris, you both are really good; it won’t be easy. We haven’t played like that before, but I’m very confident that because of both of your skillsets and talent that we can figure it out.”

May sounded like a coach committed to making it work. But then Michigan landed 7-foot center Danny Wolf from Yale, giving the Wolverines two athletic big men… That was enough for Reed to see the writing on the wall.

-MLive.com

Dusty May won with a roster full of transfers. No one will criticize given the final result.

With that said, Tarris Reed Jr. walks away from college with no titles despite playing for a pair of national championship winners.