Jaylen Curry (2) and the UMass men’s basketball team welcome VCU to the Mullins Center for a huge Atlantic 10 game on Tuesday.
Jaylen Curry (2) and the UMass men’s basketball team welcome VCU to the Mullins Center for a huge Atlantic 10 game on Tuesday. Credit: STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE


AMHERST — Within the last two days, the UMass men’s basketball team received big news regarding two of its student-athletes.

Freshman guard Jaylen Curry and sophomore forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford each signed NIL deals with The Massachusetts Collective, UMass’ donor-driven NIL collective which creates opportunities for Minutemen basketball players. The collective announced the news via Twitter/X – sharing Hankins-Sanford’s on Monday and Curry’s on Tuesday.

With Keon Thompson and Josh Cohen entering the transfer portal last week, retaining both Curry and Hankins-Sanford was vital for Frank Martin and UMass. The two played the most out of anyone on the Minutemen bench throughout the 2023-24 season and were No. 1 and 2 in bench scoring on the team.

Curry averaged 7.4 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game to help him earn Atlantic 10 All-Rookie honors for his efforts during his first year of collegiate basketball. Hankins-Sanford brought a clear spark every time his number was called. Usually spelling either Cohen or Matt Cross, Hankins-Sanford averaged 6.5 points and 5.3 rebounds a night, and his raw athleticism helped create highlight plays on both ends at any given moment.

Both of their roles are sure to expand given that they are each a year older and the Minutemen are – for now – thin at those positions.

The end of the college basketball season is getting closer and closer, so more transfer portal news will soon unfold.

Garrett Cote is a sports writer for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he covers high school and college athletics – including UMass football and men’s basketball. A lifelong resident of western Massachusetts,...