USC’s Kyle Sturdivant transferring to Georgia Tech

Kyle Sturdivant takes a jump shot for USC against Marquette on Friday, November 29, 2019 at the Orlando Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, FL. (Mary Holt/USC)

Credit: Mary Holt/USC

Credit: Mary Holt/USC

Kyle Sturdivant takes a jump shot for USC against Marquette on Friday, November 29, 2019 at the Orlando Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, FL. (Mary Holt/USC)

Georgia Tech received a commitment Thursday from a second transfer – USC guard and Norcross High grad Kyle Sturdivant, who entered the transfer portal March 24. Sturdivant made the announcement in an Instagram post.

Sturdivant played 21 games for the Trojans in his freshman season, averaging 2.0 points, 1.2 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. Sturdivant did not play after Feb. 8, following the death of his father, Gary.

“Obviously, it’s been a difficult couple of months for him, but I think that he’s excited to have an opportunity to be back closer to home and closer to family, so I’m sure that played a lot in his decision,” Norcross coach Jesse McMillan told the AJC.

He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. If an NCAA proposal to allow all Division I athletes to transfer one time without having to sit out a season passes as expected, he would be able to play immediately. It’s possible that, even if it doesn’t pass, Sturdivant could receive a hardship waiver.

“He’s a guy that can play on or off the basketball, and he has the ability to score the basketball as well,” McMillan said. “He makes players around him better. I think he’ll be an asset for the program, and I’m sure it won’t take him long to make an impact on the program.”

Coach Josh Pastner made a concerted effort to recruit Sturdivant out of Norcross, where he was a three-star prospect and the No. 143 player in the class and No. 7 in the state (247Sports Composite). Tech was among Sturdivant’s finalists, McMillan said.

Sturdivant follows Rodney Howard, who made his commitment to transfer to Tech from Georgia on March 23. Like Sturdivant, Howard also just completed his freshman season and is a local product. Howard is from Alpharetta and played at Centennial High before he completed his high-school career at a high school in Greenville, S.C. Sturdivant joins Jordan Usher in transferring from USC to Tech. Usher, a Wheeler High grad, transferred in January 2019.

With Sturdivant and Howard, Pastner has one available scholarship for the 2020-21 academic year.