Villanova point guard Acaden Lewis will enter the transfer portal and NBA draft

Villanova freshman point guard Acaden Lewis will enter the transfer portal and also go through the NBA draft process, he announced Sunday afternoon on social media.

Lewis, a second-team All-Big East selection, averaged 12.2 points, 5.3 assists, and three rebounds during his freshman season with the Wildcats, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“To my coaches, teammates, and Villanova community, thank you for your guidance and support in helping me reach this point,” Lewis wrote on social media. “It has been one of the most valuable years of my life and an instrumental chapter in a long journey.”

Entering the portal and seemingly announcing his departure from Villanova suggests that a financial agreement could not be reached with the team for next season.

After Villanova lost to Utah State in the NCAA Tournament, Lewis was asked to summarize his freshman season and sounded like someone who was at least already considering what was next.

“We had a hell of a season,” he said. “These guys are great dudes. They picked me up every time I fell, I picked them up every time they fell. I can’t complain about these guys. These guys did a hell of a job just mentoring me and helping me move on to my next level of basketball.”

» READ MORE: Kevin Willard said getting to the NCAA Tournament was a good ‘first step’ at Villanova. What’s next?

Where that “next level” is remains to be seen. Lewis is not a name you’ll see in many NBA mock drafts and likely stands to make more money on the open market in college than he does playing professionally next season.

His departure from Villanova underscores the difficulty in bringing in young talent and developing players in the modern era. Kevin Willard has said it will be a core tenet for the future of the Villanova program, but the financial component means there will always be a chance a player leaves for either more money or perceived greener pastures.

Lewis is the first member of the 2025-26 Wildcats who finished the season with the team to publicly announce he is heading to the transfer portal, which officially opens on Tuesday, a day after the national championship. He probably won’t be the last, though he is the biggest domino to fall in what will be a busy offseason for Willard.

With Lewis out of the fold and the previous departures of Zion Stanford and Tafara Gapare from the program, the Wildcats have only a few players eligible to return who had roles on this past season’s team: Tyler Perkins; Bryce Lindsay; Matt Hodge, who will be coming off ACL surgery; Malachi Palmer; Chris Jeffrey; and Braden Pierce.

It remains to be seen if other players hit the portal. The Wildcats will need to get bigger and more athletic up front, but Lewis’ departure means a starting-caliber point guard is a high priority, too.

» READ MORE: A decade ago, Villanova won its second national basketball title and pushed its name into the spotlight