CBSSports.com: Ex-Michigan basketball forward Evan Smotrycz will transfer to Maryland, according to report

The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward will have to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules, and then will have two years of eligibility remaining at Maryland.

The Terrapins went 17-15 last season under first-year coach Mark Turgeon, but do welcome in the country's 15th-best recruiting class next season, according to Scout.com.

Had he returned to Michigan, Smotrycz would've been a candidate to start next season. The Wolverines bring in a top 10 recruiting class and, with the return of Trey Burke, are pegged as early Big Ten title and Final Four contenders by various national pundits.

Smotrycz, along with Carlton Brundidge and Colton Christian, announced their plans to transfer from Michigan coach John Beilein's program last month, less than a week after the Wolverines' season ended in the NCAA Tournament.

According to Smotrycz's mother, Charleen Smotrycz, the former Wolverine power forward was no longer happy in Ann Arbor.

"This is something Evan's been thinking about for some time," Charleen Smotrycz told AnnArbor.com. "He was kind of assessing things along the way, things he needed to work on and things that he felt would make him a stronger player, not just at Michigan but moving forward.

"He wasn't happy and he felt that he needed to take a pause, head home and kind of re-assess what he was looking for in the next step of his life, and we supported him."

Of the three Michigan transfers, Smotrycz was the biggest loss on paper.

The Reading, Mass. native played in 69 games during his two seasons at Michigan, and averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2011-12.

He began last season as a starter, and was averaging 11.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Wolverines in December.

But once Big Ten play began, Smotrycz began to wear down. He was eventually replaced in Beilein's starting lineup by senior guard Stu Douglass, and never quite regained the consistency he displayed early in the season.

"We never like to see players leave the program, however, Evan, Colton and Carlton have made the decision to transfer and continue their careers elsewhere," Beilein said in a statement in March. "All three are fine young men with bright futures. We wish them and their families nothing but success going forward."

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