Where Shocker basketball stands with roster & recruiting with transfer portal closed
Transfer portal season has become one of the busiest times of the year to track roster movement for college basketball fans.
Wichita State fans, in particular, have grown used to this phenomenon, as the Shockers have had to replace at least one-third of their scoring production from the previous season through the transfer portal four of the last five years.
Rosters can fall apart and be replenished in a matter of weeks spanning April and May. In the case of graduate transfers, like Dalen Ridgnal this past season for WSU, they sometimes wouldn’t enter the transfer portal until late July.
There will be no late entries into the portal this offseason, as new transfer legislation passed two weeks ago by the NCAA has closed the window on when players, even graduate transfers, could enter the transfer portal.
The deadline for players to enter the transfer portal came and passed on Wednesday, meaning the players remaining on WSU’s roster from last season are now locked in to play for the Shockers for the 2024-25 season. More than 2,000 Division I men’s basketball players ended up entering the portal, which averages close to six transfers per team.
To catch up Shocker fans on the offseason movement to date:
Wichita State basketball roster movement
Exhausted eligibility (2): forward Dalen Ridgnal, center Jacob Germany.
Returning (7): center Quincy Ballard, guard Harlond Beverly, guard Xavier Bell, guard Bijan Cortes, forward Ronnie DeGray III, guard Joy Ighovodja, guard Yanis Bamba.
Transferring out (4): guard Colby Rogers (Memphis), center Kenny Pohto, forward Isaac Abidde (Cleveland State), guard Jalen Ricks.
Transferring in (2): guard Justin Hill (Georgia), guard A.J. McGinnis (Lipscomb State).
High school signees (2): guard Zion Pipkin, guard T.J. Williams.
What to look for in 2024 from the Shockers
From the eight-man rotation WSU head coach Paul Mills settled on late last season, the Shockers must replace their leading scorer in Rogers (16.4 points), starting power forward in Ridgnal (7.2 points, 5.9 rebounds) and backup big man in Pohto (8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds).
With 51% of points returning from last season, WSU actually ranks second in the 13-team American Athletic Conference for returning production. Bell (11.3 points), Beverly (11.2 points) and Ballard (7.4 points) bring plenty of scoring punch back, while Cortes and DeGray became key pieces after joining the team midway through the season.
Mills landed his highest-profile recruit to date, fending off Utah for the services of Georgia transfer Justin Hill, a veteran point guard who should inject WSU’s backcourt with scoring and playmaking. He boasted a 2.15 assist-to-turnover ratio this past season and ranked third with a 27% assist rate against SEC competition.
After losing the team’s top shooter, Rogers, in the portal, Mills made it a priority to find shooting help and found it with McGinnis, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who averaged 13.2 points last season for Lipscomb and made 77 3-pointers on 39.7% accuracy.
The coaching staff is high on both of the incoming freshmen, as Pipkin is more of a score-first lead ball-handler and Williams is more of a versatile wing who should excel right away on the defensive end.
Recruiting update for Wichita State basketball
To fill out the final two spots in Wichita State’s 2024 recruiting class, Mills is pursuing a versatile wing who could play minutes at power forward and a center to form a one-two punch with Ballard. If things break right for the Shockers, they could have their roster filled soon.
WSU just wrapped up an official visit with Saint Peter’s transfer Corey Washington, a high-motor, 6-foot-6 forward who averaged 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds this past season for an NCAA Tournament team. The Shockers are also set to host 7-foot Longwood transfer Szymon Zapala, who averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in less than 17 minutes per game this past season.
