The transfer portal floodgates officially opened on April 7, and Ole Miss is already starting to feel the chaos with another player entering the transfer portal.
Rebels' forward Corey Chest announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday, per ON3's Joe Tipton.
Corey Chest was a total gut-punch for Ole Miss
It might turn out to be a hit Beard might not find an easy replacement for.
Chest might not have made headlines in the single season he spent with Ole Miss, but his value was tucked away in the dirty work he did to keep the Rebels afloat in the season.
His stats from a late January tipoff against Alabama prove that losing Chest is a much bigger gut punch than advertised.
Against Alabama, Chest scored 18 rebounds (with 12 points and 3 blocks). That type of rebounding will be the toughest offseason job for Beard to replace, especially when it was a forward with a 6'8" frame.
Plus, Chest rarely took bad shots. He shot 59.4% from the field this season and finished with 25 blocks despite playing limited minutes, 13.1 per game. He was a defender who produced nearly 2 blocks per 40 minutes, the type of deception that is only felt once it's lost.
Its going to be a tall order for Beard to fill out the gap in the defense.
This makes Chest the third exit from Ole Miss that will sting the locker room next season if Rebels can't lure in players, which, given their 15-20 record last season, will be an altogether different type of headache.