UNLV players Caleb Grill, Devin Tillis enter transfer portal

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, March 26, 2021 | 10:16 a.m.

Two more UNLV players entered the transfer portal on Thursday, and these ones may actually hurt the scarlet and gray on the court.

Sophomore guard Caleb Grill and freshman forward Devin Tillis are the fifth and sixth players to transfer this week.

Grill, a 6-foot-3 guard from Kansas, originally committed to T.J. Otzelberger at South Dakota State in 2019. When Otzelberger left SDSU for the UNLV job, Grill de-committed and almost followed him to Las Vegas before choosing Iowa State.

After one disappointing year at ISU, Grill entered the transfer portal and was recruited by Otzelberger again. This time Grill chose UNLV, and after being granted immediate eligibility he started all 27 games for the scarlet and gray in 2020-21.

Grill flashed a quick release and an accurate outside shot in knocking down 34.2 percent of his 3-point attempts last year. He also proved to be UNLV’s only capable perimeter defender. For the season he averaged 9.1 points, 2.3 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per game.

When Otzelberger bolted for Iowa State two weeks ago it was expected that Grill would enter the transfer portal and that he could potentially follow Otzelberger to Ames. While it’s rare for a player to return to a previous school, Grill and Otzelberger obviously share a longstanding mutual appreciation.

Tillis was an unranked recruit from southern California who intrigued Otzelberger with his passing ability and cerebral approach. The 6-foot-6 forward started started eight games as a freshman, played in 24 contests and averaged 3.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Grill and Tillis are the first UNLV rotation players to enter the portal this offseason. Freshmen Isaac Lindsey and Jhaylon Martinez didn’t play at all in 2020-21, while freshman Donavan Yap got 19 minutes. Junior forward Edoardo Del Cadia contributed 208 minutes in 21 games.

With those six players set to leave the program and only two 2021 recruits signed (Arthur Kaluma and Keshon Gilbert), new UNLV coach Kevin Kruger will have to be active in the transfer portal to fill the open roster spots.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.