Virginia transfer Dai Dai Ames commits to Cal

Former Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames has committed to take his talents to California, joining the Golden Bears via the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3 has learned. He averaged 8.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Cavaliers during the 2024-25 season.

PLAYER played high school football at Kenwood Academy (Chicago, IL), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 67 overall recruit in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He originally committed to Kansas State, before takings his talents to the ACC. He’ll remain in the conference with California, but play on the opposite coast for the 2025-26 season and beyond, it seems.

The college basketball transfer portal officially opened for business on Monday, March 24, and will close 30 days later on Tuesday, April 22. As of March 26, more than 1,000 players had already entered their names.

Last spring alone, 1,962 Division I players tested the portal waters. Based on the early numbers from this year, even more could follow. For the first time in history, more than half of the points scored in college basketball were scored by players from the transfer portal, not high school, in the 2024-25 season.

In data gathered over the first two years with transfer windows, the NCAA found most athletes enter the portal within the first four weeks of the portal opening. The study showed that 73% of men’s and women’s basketball undergraduate athletes entered during the first four weeks. That increased to 82% for men and 86% for women in 2024.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on the California Golden Bears, NCAA Transfer Portal

Moreover, Dai Dai Ames isn’t the only exciting player California has landed via the NCAA Transfer Portal Former Campbell shooting guard Nolan Dorsey committed to the Golden Bears as well. Dorsey has bounced around throughout his college career.

Originally with New Mexico, Dorsey also played for Holy Cross before playing for Campbell this past season. In 20242-25, Dorsey had 9.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists per game, shot 43.3% from the floor and 36.3% from three-point range.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Dorsey was not ranked, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He played his high school basketball at Millbrook HS in Knightdale (N.C.).

— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.

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