Temple transfer Quante Berry commits to Memphis

Memphis basketball has landed its first commitment from the transfer portal.

Former Temple guard Quante Berry is headed to the Tigers, he announced on Instagram Sunday. Berry took the only visit in his recruitment with Memphis earlier this month.

The 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.3% from the field and 33.8% from 3-point range this season. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Berry, who began his college career at Providence, helped Temple become one of two American Athletic Conference (AAC) teams to defeat Memphis in 2024-25, recording 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a block on 8-for-12 shooting (2-of-4 on 3-pointers) in the Owls’ 88-81 upset victory over the Tigers on Jan. 16. He also notched 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals on 6-for-13 shooting during Temple’s rematch with Memphis on Feb. 9, which the Tigers won 90-82.

Berry and the Owls started 6-3 in AAC play, but finished 9-9 after leading scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. missed all but one of their final nine regular-season games with a lower leg injury. Both he and Berry (finger) sat out Temple’s loss to Tulsa in the second round of the AAC Tournament.

The Cleveland, Tennessee native should help fill the void left by starting guards Tyrese Hunter and Colby Rogers, who both exhausted their eligibility this year. Memphis is expected to lose Hunter, Rogers, Nick Jourdain and Moussa Cisse to expired eligibility, and Jared Harris, Baraka Okojie, PJ Carter and walk-on Damarien “Dink” Yates to the transfer portal. This means coach Penny Hardaway must replenish at least seven more roster spots with Berry now on board.

Dain Dainja is currently out of eligibility too, but he’s repeatedly expressed belief that he’s entitled to an additional campaign. Sources say that Dainja plans to file for a waiver from the NCAA to potentially rejoin Memphis next season.

PJ Haggerty, Dante Harris and redshirt Bouna Kebe can all return in 2025-26. Berry, Eastern Florida guard Felipe Patino and Overtime Elite guard Daniel Vieira-Tuck are the only incoming players for next year’s team as of now.

This leaves Memphis with seven open scholarships.

Besides Berry, Memphis has reached out to the following players in the transfer portal:

Syracuse forward Chris Bell (visited last week)

Utah Valley guard Tanner Toolson (visited last week)

Milwaukee forward Jamichael Stillwell (visit pending)

South Carolina forward Zachary Davis (visit pending)

UAB forward Christian Coleman (visit pending)

Wichita State center Quincy Ballard (visit pending)

Monmouth guard Abdi Bashir

South Carolina Upstate guard Brit Harris

Western Kentucky guard Julius Thedford

UMass Lowell guard Martin Somerville

Texas Rio Grand Valley guard Hasan Abdul-Hakim

Purdue Fort Wayne forward Chandler Cuthrell

Arkansas State guard Derrian Ford

Clemson guard Del Jones

Louisville guard Koren Johnson

High Point guard Kezza Griffa

Wofford forward Jeremy Lorenz

Boston College guard Chas Kelley

Florida State forward Jerry Deng

Jacksonville State guard Jaron Pierre Jr.

Lindenwood guard Jadis Jones

Oklahoma guard Duke Miles

Chattanooga guard Honor Huff

Georgetown center Drew Fielder