Norchad Omier, the high-energy power forward who helped lead the University of Miami to the 2023 Final Four, is headed to Baylor for his final year of eligibility.
He announced his decision Sunday night on Instagram.
Calling it “one of the most difficult decisions of my life,” he wrote: “I have been fortunate enough to help lead a team to the Final Four and am hungry to not only get back there again, but this time help lead my team to a National Championship. I know how hard I will continue to have to work in order to achieve my goals and dreams, including being the first player ever to play in the NBA from my home country, Nicaragua.”
Omier, who played two years at Arkansas State before transferring to Miami, initially declared for the NBA Draft and had no plans to return to college. But he changed his mind and entered the transfer portal on April 25. He was one of the most coveted post players in the portal and he was expected to land a lucrative NIL deal with the Bears, who also landed Duke transfer Jeremy Roach.
He has averaged a double-double in each of his four college seasons, including 17 points and 10 rebounds per game this past season. He was a second-team All-ACC selection as a fourth-year junior with 17 double-doubles.
He ranked second in the ACC in rebounds per game behind North Carolina’s 6-11 Armando Bacot and second in Player Efficiency Rating at 26.8 behind Virginia Tech’s Lynn Kidd (27.6), who just transferred to Miami.
Omier also won the prestigious 2023-24 Skip Prosser Award, presented annually to the top scholar-athlete in ACC men’s basketball.
Last year he was a key player in Miami’s Final Four run with averages of 13.1 points and 10 rebounds. At Arkansas State, Omier won Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2022 and was first-team all-conference honors both seasons with the Red Wolves.
With the departure of Omier and Poplar, who is weighing the NBA Draft and transfer portal, the only key player remaining from the 2023 UM Final Four team is guard Nijel Pack, who announced that he will return for a fifth season.
Others who transferred are Bensley Joseph (Providence), Michael Nwoko (Mississippi State), AJ Casey (St. Louis University), Christian Watson (Southern Mississippi), and Jakai Robinson.
Matt Cleveland, who transferred to UM from FSU last year, is returning, and the Hurricanes added 6-10 Virginia Tech transfer Lynn Kidd, 6-8 East Carolina transfer Brandon Johnson, and Stetson sharpshooter Jalen Blackmon, who ranked 10th in the nation last season with 21.3 points per game.