The Rutgers men’s basketball program announced that guards Matt Bullock and Souf Mensah have been granted their releases and are departing for other opportunities.

From the press release:

Rutgers University sophomore forward Matt Bullock and junior guard Souf Mensah have been granted releases and will depart the men’s basketball program. Bullock is pursuing a transfer to another university, while Mensah intends to pursue professional opportunities. “Matt and Souf have been great representatives of Rutgers Basketball,” said Head Coach Steve Pikiell. “We appreciate very much their contributions to our program. We support their decisions and wish them future success.”

Bullock’s played in nine games in his second season at Rutgers, averaging 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest. Mensah was in his first season with the program and played in 27 games, averaging 0.6 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. Neither player saw action during the Big Ten Tournament.

This is big news for recruiting, as the coaching staff has two scholarships available for next season. 3-star point guard Tai Strickland is visiting the program this weekend, which I covered in detail here. Aside from remaining unsigned players from the class of 2018, Rutgers could explore players on the transfer market, as well as JUCO prospects. Pikiell visited guard Devonte Bandoo of Hutchinson CC earlier this month. I’ll have plenty more on the impact these two scholarships can have on next season and other targets Rutgers is pursuing in the days and weeks ahead.