Former 5-Star Houston Cougars Guard to Enter the Transfer Portal
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The Houston Cougars looked to make another run through the NCAA Tournament, looking to get back to the national title game after falling just short in the tournament just a year ago, and the Coogs looked poised to do that heading into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed.
However, the Cougars were not able to replicate their success in this year's NCAA Tournament, which was cut short as the Cougars were unable to get out of the Sweet Sixteen, falling to the Illinois Fighting Illini 65-55 a week ago.
And now with the 2025-26 season in the books for the Cougars, the offseason is the time of roster turnover, and the Coogs will be hit pretty hard with both Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan both out of eligibility, and now Houston will also be affected by the transfer portal.
Freshman Isiah Harwell Enters the Transfer Portal
On Monday evening, On3's Joe Tipton reported that freshman guard Isiah Harwell plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Harwell will now be looking for a new home after spending his first year in college basketball with the Coogs.
NEW: Houston guard Isiah Harwell plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @JoeTipton reports.
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) March 31, 2026
Harwell was a 5-star in the 2025 class. https://t.co/kBZbwtzjeh pic.twitter.com/fH59LJyo8l
As a freshman, Harwell made consistent appearances, checking into all but five games for the Cougars throughout the 2025-26 season, making 32 appearances in a Houston uniform throughout the Cougars' 37 games played on the year.
In those 32 appearances, all coming off the bench, Harwell averaged 13.8 minutes per game, recording 3.6 points per game while shooting 27.9 percent from the field, 27.1 percent from three-point range, and 61.3 percent from the free throw line to go along with two rebounds per game.
Harwell's best game as a Cougar came early in the season against Jackson State, in which the freshman played 24 minutes and recorded a season-high 20 points, shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, while also bringing down four rebounds to go along with an assist and a steal.
The guard was a part of a loaded 2025 recruiting class that the Cougars brought into their squad ahead of this season, with guard Kingston Flemings and forward Chris Cenac Jr. both also a part of Houston's 2025 recruiting class, and both of whom played huge roles in the Cougars' season.
A product of Wasatch Academy in Utah and coming out of Pocatello, ID, Harwell was a five-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class per 247 Sports. The guard ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle and No. 4 shooting guard nationally by 247Sports.
