South Alabama basketball player Diante Smith announced Wednesday evening he’s entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Smith, a 6-foot-7 forward, sat out all of the 2022-23 season following the offseason death of his mother, Samantha. He remained with the team for practices and was on the bench during games, but has struggled to recover emotionally from his personal tragedy and took a redshirt season.

Smith announced with a lengthy social media post on Wednesday that he’s leaving the South Alabama program, thanking Jaguars coaches fans and teammates.

Smith, a Fort Walton Beach, Fla., native, joined South Alabama as a transfer from TCU midway through the 2020-21 season. He sat out the remainder of that year under NCAA transfer rules, then averaged 7.0 points and 3.7 rebounds as a part-time starter in 2021-22.

Smith, who is the first player to announce he’s leave the South Alabama program since the transfer portal re-opened this week, will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school. Jaguars coach Richie Riley tweeted out the following message in response to Smith’s announcement:

“I love you more than you know @D1ANTE0! The way that you’ve handled all the adversity in your life is incredible. Your Mom is watching over you and I’m certain she’s so proud of the man you’ve become. Your future is bright, and know that we are family for life! Love you brother!”

South Alabama completed its 2022-23 season with a 19-15 record, losing to Louisiana 71-66 in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game on March 6. Arguably the team’s top four players — All-Sun Belt Conference guard Isaiah Moore, center Kevin Samuel (the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year), starting guard/forward Owen White and sixth man Greg Parham — have exhausted their eligibility.

Among those eligible to return next season are starting guard Tyrell Jones, 3-point specialist Judah Brown, backup center Marshall Kearing and guard Jamar Franklin, an off-and-on contributor as a true freshman. A trio of forwards who played sparingly this past season — Elijah Ormiston, Tyler Shirley and Julian Margrave — round out the possible returning players.

Guard Adam Sizemore, a fan favorite and former walk-on, also has one season of eligibility remaining. Sizemore said last month he was undecided if he will return for his final year or begin pursuing his coaching career as a graduate assistant.

The Jaguars added three high school players in the early signing period, guards John Broom (Jacksonville) and Smurf Millender (Friendswood, Texas), plus forward Ethan Kizer (Metamora, Ill.). Broom led his team to back-to-back Alabama Class 4A titles, while Kizer is an electric, long-tressed dunker nicknamed “Hair Jordan.”

South Alabama is expected to be active in the transfer portal, just as it was last offseason. Moore, Samuel, White, Brown and Ormiston all joined the Jaguars’ program from other four-year schools during the summer of 2022.