After testing transfer portal, Jake Hall announces return to Lobos in 2026-27
On second thought, he’ll be sticking around.
University of New Mexico star basketball player Jake Hall withdrew his name from the NCAA transfer portal Thursday morning, opting for at least one more season in a Lobos uniform in 2026-27.
The announcement, which started with a post on Hall’s Instagram and X accounts and quickly spread like wildfire in a tinder-dry forest, came 24 hours after his younger brother, Dax, signed a national letter of intent to play for the Lobos.
Jake’s social media post contained a photo of himself in a turquoise Lobos uniform with the words “I’m back” scrawled across the top of his signature. Other accounts, like UNM’s official men’s basketball account, quickly followed suit with their own entries.
Hall had a fantastic freshman season for UNM, one that ended with a loss to Tulsa in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals following a 26-win campaign sparked by Hall’s emergence as a record-setting player. He set the single-season record for 3-pointers made and etched his name among the greatest freshmen to ever play for New Mexico.
He led UNM in scoring, averaging 16.4 points while shooting 43.8% from distance. He was named the Mountain West Conference freshman of the year and voted onto the MWC first team.
He earned nicknames like “Pump Fake Jake” and “Better Call Hall” by a Lobos fan base that quickly fell in love with his blue-collar style of play.
That’s why it came as such a shock to Lobo fans when Hall entered the transfer portal not long after it opened April 7. He tossed his name into the free agent feeding frenzy just as fans were coming to grips with big men Tomislav Buljan and J.T. Rock entering the portal on the first day of activity.
Hall’s name quickly became the focus of the country’s top blue blood programs with Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, UConn, Illinois and Indiana all expressing interest. Virtually a who’s-who of the nation’s premier programs were on his tail.
When Hall entered the portal, he did so with a “do not contact” tag on his entry, meaning coaches and schools could not contact him directly. All inquiries went through his agent, and through the entire process, Hall remained extremely quiet.
Reports suggested he could have commanded a healthy seven-figure payday through NIL and revenue sharing at more well-funded programs. Some suggested he might take a route similar to that of former Lobos guard Donovan Dent, who transferred from UNM to UCLA prior to this past season while getting paid $3 million from the Bruins.
Details of Hall’s NIL deal with UNM have not been disclosed. He is expected to meet via video conference call with local media early next week.
His return to Eric Olen’s roster gives the Lobos seven active players for next season: the Hall brothers, returning guard Uriah Tenette, incoming freshman Tavid Johnson, Austrian forward Benjamin Schuch, St. John’s transfer Imran Suljanovic and Lobos senior Chris Howell. Howell sat out most of last season after suffering an injury in early December.
He didn’t find out until this week that he’d been granted an additional season by the NCAA. He said Thursday that Olen called him at home in San Diego with the news, as the two shared a very brief celebratory moment on the phone.
Howell played for three years for Olen at UC San Diego and was the first transfer to jump on board and announce he was coming to New Mexico last spring.
Howell appeared in only 11 games before suffering a season-ending oblique injury against Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 14.
He admitted Thursday that he hadn’t gotten off to the start he was hoping for, averaging 5.5 points and shooting just 37% from the field.
“To say the least, just plan on seeing a different Chris Howell in terms of just aggression at both ends of the court,” he said. “That’s the goal, that’s the plan.”
He said the first few weeks after getting hurt were difficult physically and emotionally. The physical part was the obvious lack of mobility in doing simple everyday things, the little body movements that any healthy person probably takes for granted.
Once he began feeling better and the mobility returned, the Lobos were so deep into their schedule that returning simply wasn’t possible. That, he said, was just as difficult.
“I think it would be easy for anybody to know you’re injured and know you’re possibly going to be out for a season and it’s year senior year, it would be easy for anybody to just sit back and wear that sadness, to sit back and just be to yourself,” Howell said. “I didn’t want to do that. It’s not about me, it’s a team game and I want to do anything it takes to win.”
