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Freshman forward Woody Newton has entered the transfer portal, a source confirmed to The Daily Orange on Tuesday. Newton appeared in 11 games this season, including just five games and 14 minutes after Syracuse’s second pause due to COVID-19 in late December. Verbal Commits first reported Newton’s decision to enter his name into the portal.

Newton averaged 1.8 rebounds per game and 3.5 points per game, including a 3-pointer late in Syracuse’s first-round NCAA Tournament win against San Diego State. He played 14 or more minutes in three of SU’s games within the first month of the season. Head coach Jim Boeheim said that Newton played much better in the zone than he expected, since “he’s been OK in practice,” and he hit a season-high three 3-pointers in the Orange’s win against Rider on Dec. 5.

“He’s been real active, he’s got a lot of talent,” Boeheim said after Syracuse’s win against Boston College on Dec. 12. “He puts in a lot of effort. In the zone, that’s pretty much the main thing, he’s been flying around. When you show that on the defensive end, it carries over to the offense.”

But Newton fell out of the Orange’s rotation after the team returned from its second pause, returning to practice late because of an extended isolation and never appearing for more than four minutes the rest of the season.

“We’re playing the guys that are playing the best in practice,” Boeheim said when asked about Newton after the Orange lost to UVA on Jan. 25.

Newton committed to Syracuse in May 2019 before continuing at Mt. Zion Prep for a postgraduate year, and he was a three-star power forward in the Class of 2020 rankings — choosing Syracuse over offers from Kansas State, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Xavier. With Newton now in the portal, Syracuse has the potential to lose four players from its team that advanced to the Sweet 16. Robert Braswell and John Bol Ajak are exploring a transfer, and Kadary Richmond committed to Seton Hall.