'Ready for new challenges': Bradley basketball star goes into the NCAA transfer portal

PEORIA — It's not a surprise that Rienk Mast is leaving the Bradley Braves.

It's where he's going that no one expected.

The decorated star center for the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champions left the team and entered the NCAA portal on Monday.

"It's been a good run here," Mast said. "I've had a great time at Bradley, and I'm just ready for new challenges. Going pro or staying in college were my only thoughts. I made a difficult decision, and today it's all a bit overwhelming."

The Braves will wait to see if anyone else leaves in the coming days. Senior guard Ville Tahvanainen is believed to be planning to turn pro in Europe. Bradley head coach Brian Wardle was already preparing for life after Mast.

"We wish Rienk the best moving forward," Wardle said Monday evening. "He has been a great ambassador for our program. Watching him develop as a player and person over the last four years has been rewarding.

"We have made some great memories together, especially winning championships."

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What is behind the decision?

Mast says his move is not about gaining an increase in NIL money; such things are secondary to his decision. He is looking for something else.

"I'm looking for a great basketball spot," Mast said. "Bradley is a great basketball spot. But you get to play against high majors 4-5 times a season. I want to see how I match up and play under bright lights every night. I want to see how I stack up against the best competition in college.

"The NIL money is nice, but it's secondary for me. I think I've proven myself enough that I know I'm going to get money from somewhere, so I'm not worried about that. For me, it's about being on the biggest stages."

Mast said that by 5 p.m. Monday, just a few hours after entering the portal, he had been contacted by 10 schools from Power 5 conferences. It's the nature of the college game now in the NIL era, which has essentially put players in a position to declare themselves free agents. Mid-major teams lose players in that trickle-up calculation. It's a hard reality.

"I've been on the phone with a couple teams, it's chaotic and I'm just trying to make sense of it all," Mast said. "It's a lot. I'm looking for a Power 5 school. I've heard from 10 so far."

The Mast legacy

The prevailing belief was that Mast would try to turn pro and play in Europe next season if he didn't return to Bradley for his senior season. Mast said in an earlier Journal Star story that he wants to find a path to the NBA or play in Europe, perhaps Spain, after his college career.

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The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Netherlands native earned all-MVC first-team honors this season.

He led Bradley with 13.8 points per game and was among the elite Valley rebounders at 8.0 per game, and shot 51.8% from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range.

He became the 52nd player to reach 1,000 career points at Bradley in his final game, the NIT outing against Wisconsin. He had nine double-doubles in his final season at BU, and finished with 19 career points/rebounds double-doubles at Bradley, tied for 12th all-time in program history.

Mast delivered a career-high 30 points in the quarterfinal win over Northern Iowa at Arch Madness in St. Louis, and earned Valley all-tournament honors. He was held to two points and six points, respectively, in the tournament semifinal and title games against Indiana State and Drake.

His 88-game career at Bradley included multiple all-MVC teams, the MVC all-Freshman Team, scholar-athlete honors, NABC honors and more.

"I came to Bradley straight out of high school," said Mast, who has two more years of college eligibility. "Came right here to the U.S., and Peoria became a second home for me. I've learned how to be on my own feet and figure stuff out on my own. Bradley and Peoria have helped me grow as a person."

What Rienk Mast will remember

Mast was a freshman with a knee injury when Bradley won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship and an NCAA bid in 2019-20. He was medically unable to play, but he was with his teammates and inspired by that moment on the floor.

"To be part of that was pretty special," Mast said. "Something really cool that sticks with you. You compete to win, and that was a great team."

The pandemic wiped out the NCAA tournament, though, and that team never got a chance in March Madness. Mast spent the rest of his career at Bradley trying to get the Braves back there.

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They narrowly missed in this 2022-23 season, winning their first regular-season Valley championship in 27 years and piling up records and milestones along the way before falling in the Valley tournament title game and heading on to the NIT.

"My most memorable moment at Bradley?" said Mast, repeating a question. "That 2019-20 team celebrating on the floor in St. Louis after clinching the NCAA bid. And Feb. 26 this year, our win at home over Drake to clinch the Valley championship. When that buzzer sounded against Drake and we had the win, it was the best moment. Teammates flying into each other's arms. Fans storming the court.

"I love those guys I played with. I told them that. We made history. Everything we did. We went through so much together. I'm going to love them, and Bradley, for the rest of my life."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball star center Rienk Mast goes into NCAA transfer portal