Jordan Mathews to Transfer from Cal: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The California Golden Bears will now have to replace their top three scorers from last year with Jordan Mathews' sudden departure from the school.   

According to a Tuesday report by ESPN's Jeff Goodman, the talented guard said he will graduate from Cal and play his final year elsewhere in 2016-17.

Mathews confirmed the news on Twitter:

"Along with our entire staff, I wish him well in his future endeavors," said Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Both CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein and Scout's Evan Daniels reported the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the front-runners to land Mathews.

As a junior, Mathews averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 2015-16. He was also a solid three-point shooter, leading the Golden Bears with 89 made threes and connecting on 41.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Despite the fact that leading scorer Tyrone Wallace is graduating and Jaylen Brown bolted for the NBA, a level of optimism remained regarding Cal's chances in 2016-17. Ivan Rabb decided to spurn the NBA and return to college, and with Mathews in the fold, the Golden Bears looked to still have a solid squad.

Now, Mathews' absence will leave a major hole in the roster, especially since Martin isn't reloading with a strong 2016 recruiting class. Cal ranks last in the Pac-12 and 88th nationally in 247Sports' composite team rankings.

Goodman found one way for Martin to salvage what has been a rough offseason:

Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee would help Cal from a talent perspective, but he wouldn't replace the three-point shooting the Golden Bears lose with Mathews' transfer.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga could certainly use Mathews in the backcourt. The Zags are losing two redshirt senior guards—Eric McClellan and Kyle Dranginis—so Mathews would have a path to the starting lineup. Dranginis, McClellan and Kyle Wiltjer also combined to account for 59.1 percent (166) of the team's made threes (281), so his presence would help in that regard, too.

Should a transfer to Gonzaga fall through, Mathews will likely have plenty of other options as he considers where to play in his final college season.