What's Next for WSU MBB?

    With the Cougs season ending with a 85-82 loss to Georgetown on March 31st, it's time to look towards next season. With Nate Calmese, Isaiah Watts and Marcus Wilson already in the transfer portal, Cedric Coward exploring his NBA options and with Ethan Price and Dane Erikstrup graduating there will be plenty of holes to fill. 

    As of this writing LeJuan Watts, Tomas Thrastarson, Parker Gerrits, Rihards Vavers, ND Okafor, Kayse Wynott and redshirt freshman Dimitrije Vukicevic still remain on this roster. Retaining this core will be vital towards building a WCC contender next season. 

    David Riley and staff have already reportedly been in contact with quite a few players in the transfer portal. This list of names include:


  • UMass Lowell G Martin Somerville
  • SEMO G Rob Martin 
  • Virginia Tech G Jaydon Young
  • Southern Utah F Brock Felder
  • Wofford F Jeremy Lorenz
  • Cal State Northridge F Marcus Adams Jr 
  • Texas State F Josh O’Garro
  • Longwood G Colby Garland 
  • Fresno State F Elijah Price 
  • Bethune Cookman G Trey Thomas 
  • Northern Arizona F Carson Towt


    There are a lot of intriguing names here that would be great fits in the David Riley system. I have confidence in this staff to find guys that can fit into the returning core. I would expect them to take 2 guards, 1 wing and 2 bigs.  With the 6th open scholarship spot I would expect it to go to a freshman to develop. Whether that be a EURO prospect or a high school prospect neither would be a surprise. 

A projected lineup going into next year currently looks something like:

Transfer pg

Tomas Thrastarson 

LeJuan Watts 

Transfer F 

Transfer C 

Bench:

Transfer guard 

Parker Gerrits

Rihards Vavers

ND Okafor 

Kayse Wynott a

Dimitrije Vukicevic

Transfer C

Freshman 


    The basketball transfer portal does not close until April 22nd, meaning players still have 3 weeks to make decisions about where they want to play next season. This is a pivotal offseason for David Riley going into year 2. Next season will be an important step towards building momentum going into PAC12 play in the 2026-2027 season. 




Comments

  1. Buster McNamaraApril 1, 2025 at 2:53 PM

    Good start hope pac12 succeeds

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM

    Why can’t Okafor start?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 1, 2025 at 11:33 PM

      He’s got some holes in his game. But if he develops well this offseason I could see it

      Delete
    2. The Go Cougs BlogApril 2, 2025 at 1:16 PM

      I think he could start, but it will depend on who we get in the transfer portal

      Delete
  3. AnonymousApril 2, 2025 at 8:56 AM

    Will be following. Good start!

    ReplyDelete

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