Ainge becomes fourth PG to transfer since Smith hiring

Former Utah State guard Crew Ainge is headed to Division III Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The news broke Monday morning, just over a month after Tauriawn Knight, another former Utah State guard, announced he was transferring to Odessa College in Odessa, Texas.

Ainge told the Aggies about his decision to transfer on March 23 while Knight informed the team on March 26, both just days after Utah State lost to Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Babson College is right down the street from where Ainge’s parents live. His father is currently the general manager of the Boston Celtics. Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported that Ainge had multiple Division I offers but opted to stay close to home. Ainge will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Utah State head coach Craig Smith did not comment on Ainge’s transfer to Babson College or Knight’s transfer to Odessa College.

Knight made the decision to transfer after falling out of the Aggies rotation at the end of the season.

“It was just a better fit for me,” Knight said. “Personally, nothing against the coaching staff, those guys are great coaches. It was a 50-50 decision.”

Smith had recruited Knight at South Dakota, Smith’s previous coaching job before landing the job at Utah State, where Knight then recommitted to.

Assistant coach Eric Peterson said it was a shock to hear that Knight had decided to transfer to Odessa College. Peterson was also on Smith’s staff at South Dakota and played a major role in recruiting Knight there and to Utah State.

“Not until he told us, you just never know,” he said. “With Tauriawn, you know it’s different because some kids that don’t play kind of go the other way and hurt your team, Tauriawn was a great teammate. He’s happy for these guys, obviously he just thought there was a better situation out there for him.”

Knight, who grew up in Oklahoma, welcomed the opportunity to play with a former high school competitor Jaycson Bereal, who recently transferred to Odessa College.

“He helped me a lot with making my decision there,” Knight said. “I think me and him can really win down the stretch and win us a championship.”

Utah State has now had four guards transfer away from the school since the announcement of Smith as head coach.