Michigan's Isaiah Barnes to enter transfer portal

It didn't take long after the Wolverines' season ended for the roster attrition to start.

Sophomore wing Isaiah Barnes plans to enter the transfer portal after struggling to crack Michigan’s rotation during his two years in Ann Arbor, a program spokesperson confirmed. Barnes' departure comes one day after the team's season-ending loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday in the second round of the NIT.

Barnes appeared in 15 games this season and averaged 6.1 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-7, 200-pounder tallied 16 points, 17 rebounds, one assist and a block while shooting 5-for-16 from the field.

He didn’t play in Michigan’s final 13 contests and was unavailable for Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt due to a leg injury. He last played in a game for Michigan on Jan. 29 at Penn State.

Ultimately, Barnes didn’t make the most of his limited opportunities. His best outing came during Michigan’s overseas clash against Kentucky in London, when he scored six points in seven minutes on a pair of corner 3-pointers.

The last time he received meaningful minutes was when Michigan hosted then-No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 26 and was without freshman wing Jett Howard, who was out with an ankle injury. However, Barnes had a rough outing and shot 1-for-4 from the floor in six minutes, with each miss being well off the mark.

Barnes made two brief appearances his freshman year but was granted a redshirt waiver from the NCAA, meaning he still has three years of eligibility remaining.

A former four-star recruit out of Chicago Simeon, Barnes is the fourth player to leave the program from Michigan’s highly ranked 2021 recruiting class. Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate declared for the NBA Draft after their freshman seasons, while Frankie Collins transferred to Arizona State last offseason. The only two remaining from the six-man group are Kobe Bufkin and Will Tschetter.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @jamesbhawkins