Syracuse’s leading returning receiver is entering the portal
Syracuse Orange wide receiver Trebor Pena is expected to enter the transfer portal, per a report from CBSSports and 247Sports reporter Matt Zenitz. Pena was expected to return to the Orange for a fifth season. Syracuse head coach Fran Brown had previously confirmed at an event in December that Pena would be a captain and returning to the Orange for the 2025 season.
Pena led the Orange last season with 84 receptions and nine receiving touchdowns en route to second team All-ACC honors. His receptions ranked fifth all-time in Syracuse history for a single season. Pena finished second in receiving yards for Syracuse, which finished the year as the top ranked passing offense in the NCAA. His 941 receiving yards only trailed Jackson Meeks’ 1,021 receiving yards.
Syracuse All-ACC wide receiver Trebor Pena is currently expected to enter the transfer portal, sources tell @McAllisterMike1 and me for @CBSSports/@247Sports.
Posted 84 catches, 941 yards and nine touchdowns last season.https://t.co/10Sz3YwNKg pic.twitter.com/KGEO9OmX8T
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 15, 2025
Pena played in a limited role his first two seasons at Syracuse. He only caught 3 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in 16 games, mainly featuring as a kick and punt returner. Pena started to flourish in 2022 with 22 catches for 203 yards. An injury sidelined him for all but one game in the 2023 season before having his breakout campaign in 2024 under Brown and Jeff Nixon’s offense.
CBSSports and 247Sports writer Chris Hummer said that Miami is an early team that is reportedly interested in Pena’s services. He had six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown against the Hurricanes in 2024. Syracuse is set to travel for a road game at Miami on November 8 for the 2025 season.
Miami is an early team have on the radar here, per a source.
The Hurricanes have been looking for a high-level receiver in the portal. Trebor Pena certainly fits the bill. https://t.co/URGAJCu9QS https://t.co/2WofLeiJvL
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) April 15, 2025
With Pena’s expected departure, Syracuse has lost four of its five top receivers from last season either due to graduation, the transfer portal or the NFL draft. The leading returning receiver for the Orange is now Darrell Gill Jr. He had 31 catches for 570 yards and two touchdowns. Gill has been spending the spring season at Syracuse on the track team, running in the 4x100m relay with fellow Orange football players Malachi James and Malachi Coleman.
Pena becomes the third player from Syracuse expected to enter the transfer portal in the spring window. Quarterback Michael Johnson Jr. posted on social media on Monday that he is entering the portal. Offensive lineman David Wohlabaugh Jr. is also expected to enter the transfer portal. The spring transfer portal window officially opens tomorrow, April 16. It closes on April 25.