On occasion, a Monday Mailbag question requires too much time for me to include in the weekly feature, so I write it up separately as a “Mailbag leftover.” I got such a question this week from reader John W. Johnson, who asked for Nevada’s 10 most painful transfer losses. I expanded the list to 16 athletes, who you can see below.

16. Isaiah World, football (Oregon): World never earned All-MW honors at Nevada, but he’s a projected first-round draft pick at left tackle in the 2026 NFL draft after transferring to Oregon this offseason. Nevada has never had a first-round NFL draft pick in the modern-draft era, so losing a player the caliber of World stings even though his transfer makes plenty of sense from his standpoint as Oregon has a history of placing offensive linemen high in the draft.

15. Malik Cooke, men’s basketball (South Carolina): Cooke was a glue guy for Nevada from 2007-09 before a controversial transfer to South Carolina (Nevada would not release him, meaning Cooke had to initially walk on with the Gamecocks). He averaged 10.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in two seasons in the SEC and could have been an All-WAC player for the Wolf Pack as Nevada bridged the Mark Fox and David Carter eras the year Cooke left the school.

14. Kendall Fritz, softball (Texas Tech): Fritz was Nevada’s No. 1 pitcher from 2019-21, going 30-21 overall with a 4.22 ERA while striking out 311 batters over 371 innings. After head coach Josh Taylor left for Louisiana Tech, Fritz, a native of Frisco, Texas, transferred to Texas Tech and was an all-region selection during her two seasons as a Red Raider where she won 23 games and posted a 3.48 ERA, including a 3.12 ERA in 2022.

13. Brendon Lewis, football (Memphis): Nevada helped Lewis elevate his game last season with the Wolf Pack believing he’d return for his senior season. Instead, he went to Memphis, another Group of 6 program, and brought two teammates with him (Drue Watts, Cortez Braham Jr.). Lewis only went 5-17 as a starter at Nevada, so you could argue this isn’t as large a loss as this ranking indicates. But he would have added nice continuity in 2025 after he played at an All-MW level in 2024.

12. Cal Stevenson, baseball (Arizona): Stevenson was the MW freshman of the year for Nevada in 2015 when he hit .356 and helped the Wolf Pack win the MW title. After coach Jay Johnson left for Arizona, Stevenson went to a junior college for one season before joining Johnson in Tucson. He was a 10th-round draft pick and made his MLB debut in 2022. Stevenson’s transfer did pave the way for more playing time at Nevada for TJ Friedl, who became a Pack star and future big-leaguer.

11. Cole Huff, men’s basketball (Creighton): Losing Huff to transfer spelled the end of the David Carter era (he coached one more season for Nevada, but it didn’t go well and he was fired after the 2014-15 campaign). Huff was part of a 1-2 punch with Marqueze Coleman expected to lead Nevada into the post-Deonte Burton future. Huff was a two-year starter at Creighton and played in one NCAA Tournament there. He could have been a star at Nevada.

10. Warren Washington, men’s basketball (Arizona State/Texas Tech): Nevada was bummed when it lost Washington because that was unexpected due to the great relationship he had with the staff. And the season after he left, he helped Arizona State beat Nevada in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolf Pack did reach back-to-back NCAA tournaments post-Washington, but it’s biggest weak spot those years was center (Washington’s position). With him, Nevada perhaps wins a tournament game.

9. David Fales, football (San Jose State): This one is under the radar, but Fales was on Nevada’s roster in the late 2000s behind Colin Kaepernick at quarterback. Fales was recommended to transfer to find playing time. He did after the 2009 season and starred at SJSU after a junior-college stint. In 25 games as a Spartan, he threw for 8,382 yards and 66 TDs. Nevada had Cody Fajardo post-Kaepernick, but Fales put up 335 yards and 2.6 touchdowns per game at SJSU and played in the NFL.

8. Tory Horton, football (Colorado State): Horton appeared to be the heir apparent to Romeo Doubs as the next great Nevada wide receiver, but he transferred to Colorado State after the 2021 season, following coach Jay Norvell to Fort Collins. Horton blossomed as a Ram, catching 193 passes for 2,620 yards and 17 touchdowns in 30 games at Colorado State. Nevada could have used that production in the post-Norvell era, which has not gone well. Horton was drafted this spring.

7. Enrique Dimayuga, men’s golf (SMU): Dimayuga almost single-handedly turned around the Nevada men’s golf season in 2023-24, winning three individual tournaments in a row, a program record. After spending just a semester with the Wolf Pack, Dimayuga transferred to SMU last season and finished 100th in the nation in the Clippd rankings. Nevada’s top-rated golfer last year was 531st, so there was quite a gap between him and Dimayuga.

6. Nick Davidson, men’s basketball (Clemson): We’ll see how this one turns out for Nevada, but Davidson is the only two-time all-conference honoree to transfer out of the Wolf Pack men’s basketball program. He did so this offseason after redshirting his first year at Nevada in order to be at his best as a senior in 2025-26. That senior season will come in the ACC with Clemson instead of the Wolf Pack after Nevada helped develop him into one of the MW’s top players.

5. Daiyan Henley, football (Washington State): Henley moved all over the place in five seasons at Nevada, starting at a wideout before going to the secondary and settling at linebacker in 2021 when he had a breakout season, earning All-MW honors. He was one of around 20 players who transferred after Norvell left Nevada, although he didn’t follow him to Colorado State. Henley instead went to Washington State where he was an All-American and eventual third-round draft pick.

4. Essence Booker, women’s basketball (UNLV): Booker was Nevada’s leading scorer as a sophomore in 2019-20 before she transferred to Ball State and eventually UNLV where she led the Rebels to four MW titles in two seasons. She was the MW Tournament MVP in 2022 before being the points leader in the conference tournament in 2023. Booker led UNLV to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths; Nevada has never reached an NCAA Tournament in its history.

3. Joey Vrzich, men’s golf (Pepperdine): Vrzich had two excellent seasons at Nevada, helping the Wolf Pack to back-to-back NCAA Regional berths while earning All-MW honors as a sophomore. Seeking a climate where he could play all season, he transferred to Pepperdine where he played for three seasons, earning All-American honors in 2020-21 and helping the Waves win the national title that season. His scoring margin of 71.07 at Pepperdine remains third in program history.

2. Brooke Bolinger, softball (Texas): Bolinger was a huge recruiting get for Nevada, but the Wolf Pack only hung onto her for one season (2016) as she left following the departure of assistant Josh Taylor, who later that offseason was promoted to head coach but couldn’t keep her from going to Texas. During her one season at Nevada, Bolinger went 16-6 with a 2.81 ERA. In three years at Texas, she won 29 games with a 2.98 ERA. She would have led Nevada to an NCAA Regional.

1. Darrion Williams, men’s basketball (Texas Tech/North Carolina State): An unrated prospect when he committed to Nevada, Williams was the MW freshman of the year and helped the Wolf Pack reach the NCAA Tournament. He transferred after that season and has become one of the nation’s highest-paid players. Had he stayed at Nevada, he could have become the MW’s top player and potentially led the Wolf Pack to the conference title it’s still searching for under coach Steve Alford.

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.