Texas basketball transfer portal departures, where are they now?

2021

Kamaka Hepa, F

Forward Kamaka Hepa finished up his collegiate career after the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. He spent five years in college, including three years at Texas and two with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Hepa transferred from Texas to Hawaii after playing just nine games for the Longhorns during the 2020-21 campaign. He emerged as a quality starter at the power forward position for Hawaii, starting 60 games over two years with the Rainbow Warriors from 2021-2023.

In his final season at Hawaii, Hepa had a career-high 11.6 points per game and 6.6 rebounds to help the Rainbow Warriors to their best season in the win column (22 wins) in the last eight years.

Hepa went undrafted in 2023 before signing with the New Orleans Pelicans Summer League squad. He later signed a deal with Zastal Zielona Gora in Poland for the 2023-24 season. But Hepa never played a game overseas due to the tragic and sudden passing of his father in December 2023.

He returned to the States to be with his family after the passing of his brother late in 2023 before officially parting ways with Zastal Zielona Gora.

Donovan Williams, SG

Donovan Williams, a former four-star recruit from Fort Bend Elkins High School in Houston, TX, played two seasons with the Longhorns before transferring to UNLV in 2021. Williams was a rotational guard during former Texas head coach Shaka Smart's 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, playing 41 games in that stretch.

Williams found a more prominent role as a starting two-guard/wing for the Rebels for the 2021-22 season. He averaged a career-high 12.7 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists over 13 starts and 27 games.

After the 2021-22 season, Williams declared early for the 2022 NBA Draft. He signed a deal with the Brooklyn Nets after going undrafted during the 2022 offseason. Williams played two games for the Atlanta Hawks during the 2022-23 season.

This past season, Williams started nine games and played 16 with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G-League, averaging 12.1 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.

Gerald Liddell, F

Cibolo, TX, native Gerald Liddell was one of the highest-rated frontcourt prospects Smart and staff signed in his half-decade as Texas's head coach. Liddell was part of a 2018 recruiting class that featured prominent small forwards like Saddiq Bey, Keyontae Johnson, Talen Horton-Tucker, Timmy Allen, Ochai Agbaji, and Landers Nolley, among others.

Liddell ranked as a better prospect nationally in the 247Sports Composite than all those aforementioned small forwards in the 2018 class.

Due to a combination of injuries and competition for playing time in the frontcourt at Texas, Liddell never played a full season in three years in Austin to start his collegiate career. The most games Liddell started in a season in three years at Texas was in 2019-20 with 10.

After Smart left Texas for Marquette in 2021, Liddell transferred to Alabama State. He played the next two seasons at two different schools, Alabama State and Detroit Mercy.

Liddell emerged as a key impact player and a regular starter in his last two seasons in college. He led Detroit Mercy in rebounds per game (a career-high 9.8) and was second on the team in scoring, behind one of the all-time NCAA leading scorers Antoine Davis, at a clip just shy of 14.2 points per game in 2022-23.

Since his collegiate career ended, Liddell spent the 2023-24 campaign playing overseas with Akademik P. in Bulgaria.

Will Baker, C

Former five-star recruit and Austin, TX, native center Will Baker was a story of what could've been for the Longhorns. The hometown big man never found a consistent role in his short time at Texas before transferring to Nevada as a sophomore.

Baker started at Nevada for two seasons under head coach Steve Alford, scoring in double figures while averaging over five rebounds per game between 2021 and 2023. He was an All-MWC Third-Team performer in 2022-23 for a 22-win Nevada squad that finished fourth in the conference standings, earning a spot in the First Four for the NCAA Tournament.

Last year, Baker transferred to his third school in four years, joining the LSU Tigers for the final year of his collegiate eligibility. Baker averaged 11 points per game and five rebounds over 33 starts for the Tigers this past season.