Forward Yvan Ouedraogo enters transfer portal

The first offseason domino fell in Nebraska’s offseason roster attrition as sophomore forward Yvan Ourdraogo is expected to enter his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound native of Bordeaux, France, played in 54 games with 34 starts over the past two seasons, averaging 47. points and 5.3 rebounds per game for his career.

Ouedraogo committed to the Huskers as a 17-year old in May of 2019 and started 30 of 32 games a true freshman, posting 5.7 points and a team-best 6.3 boards per game.

He ranked third among Big Ten freshmen in rebounding and set NU freshman records for rebounds in a season (203) and double-doubles (3).

His 19 boards against Northwestern on Mar. 1, 2020, set a freshman school record, breaking the previous mark of 17.

But Ouedraogo’s impact steadily dropped throughout his sophomore campaign. He averaged 20.3 minutes over the first 11 games of the season, including starting the first four Big Ten contests.

Then, before NU’s home game vs. Indiana on Jan. 10, Ouedraogo tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out against the Hoosiers.

When the Huskers came back from their month-long COVID shutdown, Ouedraogo’s role was never the same.

He only played more than 14 minutes in one of Nebraska’s final 15 games, including not playing at all in four of the last five outings.

Ouedraogo’s best performances this season were his 13 points and 13 rebounds against Doane on Dec. 17 and then seven points and eight boards in 20 minutes vs. Purdue on Feb. 20.

His departure gives Nebraska an available scholarship to fill for its 2021-22 roster.