Northwestern men’s basketball is reloading after a five-conference-win season, picking up its third player out of the portal Friday. Former UC Santa Barbara forward Colin Smith, a redshirt junior, has committed to the Wildcats, according to Sam Kayser of LeagueRDY. 

Smith started his career at Vanderbilt, medically redshirting his sophomore season before transferring to UCSB for two seasons. He arrives in Evanston with one year of eligibility left.

The Dallas native averaged 11.9 points, tying him for third most on the team, in 29.3 minutes per game with the Gauchos this season.

His 45.5% shooting percentage was bolstered by his 40.5% mark from 3-point range. Smith’s two strongest performances this season came against San Jose State and a March Madness-making Hawaii squad, when he scored 24 and 19 points, respectively. Against the Rainbow Warriors, he added eight rebounds, tied for his season high and the second-highest mark in the game. 

Consistency was the name of Smith’s game at UCSB, where he scored double digits in 13 of his final 16 games with the Gauchos. He missed one game last season, but started the other 31, making the second-most starts on the team.

NU beat out several teams for Smith’s services. He also received interest from other high-majors, including tournament teams Texas Tech, SMU and Virginia, his agents told Dushawn London of 247Sports.

Smith joins former Bellarmine forward Jack Karasinski and former Mount St. Mary’s forward Luke McEldon in coach Chris Collins’ incoming transfer class. The duo announced their commitments to the Wildcats on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. 

NU’s roster is now up to eight players, with three transfers, three returning players and two incoming freshmen.

Email: [email protected]

X: @YoniZacks

Related Stories:

— Former Mount St. Mary’s forward Luke McEldon commits to Northwestern

— Former Bellarmine forward Jack Karasinski commits to Northwestern 

— Men’s Basketball: Freshman duo commits to second year at Northwestern