A shade over two weeks after Marist men’s basketball’s season came to a close in the MAAC Tournament, reports surfaced announcing sophomore guard Justin Menard’s intention to enter the transfer portal. Then, on April 21, Menard announced his commitment to Colorado State University.
Menard’s decision comes after he averaged 18.9 points in his final eight games at Marist. It also marks the second consecutive season that the Red Foxes’ best player has bolted to Colorado State after Josh Pascarelli joined the Rams last year. Marist had five players enter the portal this year, three of whom—Menard, redshirt sophomore center Jason Schofield and sophomore forward Parby Kabamba—played significant on-court roles.
The departures from Marist—at least for Menard—have to do with what has become the constant search for new opportunities, both on the court and in the bank account.
“My whole thing was [to] play at the highest level where you can make the most money,” Menard said. “I didn’t want to go somewhere where one outweighed the other.”
Some schools offered Menard a lot of money but were not quite at the level of play he was looking for. Others offered the chance to play at a prestigious program, but perhaps would not have been the best opportunity for Menard to continue developing on the floor.
“Some of my dream schools reached out,” Menard said. “But, the role is not what I want it to be. So, it’s about finding that balance.”
While money played a factor in Menard’s decision, he did not participate in any financial negotiations. His lack of desire to negotiate himself is a large reason why he hired his agent, German Srulovich of WEAVE. They spoke seven, even eight times per day during the transfer process.
Menard’s decision also had to do with his ultimate career goals—he wants to play in and go on a run in the NCAA Tournament. Playing out of the Mountain West Conference, Colorado State has made the big dance in three of the last five seasons. The Rams will be joining the newly re-built PAC-12 Conference beginning in the 2026-27 season, which can become a consistent multi-bid league. Meanwhile, Marist has not qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 1987 and plays in a one-bid league.
“Playing in a four-bid league, it gives you a better chance playing out-of-conference where you’re going to the Maui Invitational, you have these home-and-aways against some big schools,” said Menard.
When Menard came to Marist from MAAC foe Iona, he did not intend to spend just one season in Poughkeepsie. He averaged 5.5 points for the Gaels as a freshman largely coming off the bench, and entered the portal the same day Iona fired its head coach, Tobin Anderson. He got to Marist with a lot to prove to even make transferring up a possibility.
“Obviously the landscape has changed a little, but I came to Marist to win the MAAC championship and focus on the year, not with the intention of leaving,” Menard said. “I think if you go to a place with the intention of being there for one year and then leaving, oftentimes it doesn’t work that well.”
Agents reached out to Menard throughout the season in attempts to sign him and get him to think about the future. Despite this, he claims that he managed not to think about the portal during the season, with his father encouraging him to remain present.
“A lot of people are hitting you up and stuff, but you gotta stay focused on what you have right now,” Menard said. “We always would say, ‘we’ll talk about it when the season’s over.’ But really, in the middle of the season it did not cross my mind. This is where I wanted to stay.”
Menard has maintained that he did not think about the portal during the season. In an appearance on the Student Section Podcast recorded the day before the portal opened, he also said he did not think about the portal until after the season ended, despite being contacted about it throughout the year.
When Marist returned home from Atlantic City, Menard met with head coach John Dunne to discuss the future. They had honest conversations about the pros and cons of Menard staying and leaving. Dunne made it clear that he supported Menard in whatever decision he made. After those conversations and discussions with his family, Menard decided to enter the portal.
“We just thought it was best to see what was out there. That’s why I said I planned to enter, and then once we kind of got a good sense of what was out there, it was hard to pass up those opportunities,” said Menard.
Dunne’s support made an impression on Menard.
“I expressed to [Dunne] that I didn’t necessarily want to leave because I love Marist so much and I love playing for him,” he said. “His support was unbelievable, and that’s something I’ll never forget.”
Several other schools spoke with Menard while in the portal including Fordham, Stanford, Rutgers, UC Santa Barbara and more. Colorado State separated itself in Menard’s eyes by correctly identifying the way he plays the game. He views himself as not just a passer or scorer, but a more well-rounded player.
“A lot of coaches weren’t really identifying my game correctly,” Menard said. “They would ask me what I am…Colorado State really identified what I was—a playmaker.”
In Fort Collins, Menard appears primed to compete with Pascarelli for playing time. Pascarelli averaged 10.2 points and shot 41.5% from beyond the arc in his first season with Colorado State.
“On the visit, we talked,” Menard said of Pascarelli. “Not a ton, but I asked his opinion and he loves it out there.”
Menard represents a microcosm of what the transfer portal has become for programs like Marist. He played exceptionally well for the Red Foxes and led them down the stretch and into the MAAC Championships. But just as Marist fans reveled in the joy of his game-winning 3-pointer against Sacred Heart or his clutch 26-point performance to sneak past Quinnipiac in the MAAC quarterfinals, other coaches took notice, and the gears started turning faster on his departure.
Edited by Nate Shoemaker Mike Schiavone
Graphic by Xavier Angel
Photos from Xavier Angel and Colorado State Athletics
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