Boston College men’s basketball guard Donald Hand Jr., who was named the ACC’s Most Improved Player in 2025, is planning on entering the transfer portal, according to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68.
BC grad transfer Donald Hand Jr. will enter the transfer portal, his agency at ProMondo Sports told @TheFieldOf68.
The 6-5 guard averaged 12.4 points this past season for the Eagles.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 6, 2026
With Hand’s expected departure, the Eagles have now lost five total players to the portal, which officially opens on Tuesday. That includes guards Akbar Waheed III, Luka Toews, Fred Payne, and forward Boden Kapke, all of whom — but Waheed — regularly started for the Eagles in 2025-26.
Hand had an off year this past season (12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds per game) compared to his redshirt-sophomore campaign, in which he ranked third among all ACC players in scoring average increase at nearly +11.0 points per game.
He finished that year at a clip of 15.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, and was one of only four players in the ACC to rank in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding.
Nevertheless, he was arguably the top returner for the start of the Luke Murray era on the Heights — even before Toews, Payne, and Kapke transferred — which officially kicks off on Tuesday after the 2026 National Championship between Michigan and UConn on Monday night.
A 6-foot-5, 210-pound right-handed shooter from Virginia Beach, Va., Hand spent the past four seasons in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
As a true freshman, he suffered a season-ending knee injury less than 30 seconds into BC’s matchup against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 11, but he managed to play in 34 games for the Eagles in 2023-24.
He averaged 15 minutes per game and had six games with four or more rebounds, including seven in which he reached double figures.
2026 Boston College Men’s Basketball Transfer Portal Departures:
- Akbar Waheed III – Guard – 6’6″, 205 lbs. – Freshman
- Luka Toews – Guard – 6’1″, 190 lbs. – Sophomore
- Boden Kapke – Forward/Center – 6’11”, 255 lbs. – Junior
- Fred Payne – Guard – 6’2, 185 lbs. – Redshirt Sophomore
- Donald Hand Jr. – Guard – 6’5″, 210 lbs. – Redshirt Junior
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