Freshman forward Jordan Caroline announced Tuesday on Twitter he will transfer to Nevada University.

Freshman guard Deion Lavender is transferring to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

The two, who verbally committed, are among the five SIU players to decide to transfer after this season. Caroline averaged 9.5 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, second and first on the team respectively. Lavender averaged 6.6 points.

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Caroline previously said he wanted to take his abilities to a higher level. Lavender previously said Carbondale was not the right place for him and when his friends decided to transfer, it was the nail in the coffin.

Nevada finished 9-22 last season and 5-13 in conference compared to SIU’s 12-21 and 4-14 conference record.

The Nevada Wolf Pack is under the direction of first-year coach Eric Musselman, who served as an associate head coach at Louisiana State last season. He also had two head coaching stints in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors from 2002 to 2004 and the Sacramento Kings from 2006 to 2007.

The Wolf Pack has one letter of intent signed and three other verbal commits, including former Missouri State guard Marcus Marshall, who was the 2013 MVC Freshman of the Year.

UAB finished 20-16 last season with a 14-4 Conference USA record and upset third-seeded Iowa State in the NCAA tournament. The Blazers had the youngest team in the tournament last season. 

Both players will sit out next season because of NCAA transferring rules.

There is a chance Caroline will play against SIU, as the Missouri Valley Conference and Mountain West Conference have a contract to play 10 games annually. Matchups are based on the previous season.

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SIU will play Air Force Academy on Nov. 13. Caroline’s Wolf Pack will play Drake on Dec. 12.

This story has been updated.

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 256.