The Real Story Behind Isiah Harwell’s Departure From Houston
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It was announced on Monday evening that freshman guard Isiah Harwell entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
Houston is known for retaining players, and now Harwell joins former forwards Terrance Arceneaux and Tramon Mark, along with former guard Damian Dunn as just a handful of recent transfers that coach Kelvin Sampson has had in his time with the Cougars.
Isiah’s father, Ron Harwell, gave his thoughts about the situation on Monday after the news broke.
Ron Harwell Speaks On Transfer News
Harwell came to the University of Houston as a five-star recruited, ranked as the No. 16 recruit in the 2025 class, per 247Sports.
A lingering knee injury kept him out most of the summer, causing the young guard to miss a lot of valuable time developing.
It was clear that Harwell was still adjusting to the pace of Division I basketball early in the season; however, he did show flashes of his potential throughout the year.
Harwell is known as an elite shooter, but he struggled this season, shooting just 27.9 percent on the year.
He later lost his sixth-man role as both sophomore guard Mercy Miller and freshman forward Chase McCarty surpassed him in the rotation at the midway point of the season.
While is was a rough start to his college basketball career, he was expected to take on a huge role with Houston next season before the transfer news broke.
"There was no reason that he left there other than than he felt that he could do more,” Ron Harwell told @PaperCityMag journalist Chris Baldwin. “He could offer a program more than what he was given. . .”
It is clear that both Isiah and his family were frustrated about the lack of playing time in his freshman season, but they are also looking for a different style program to help him develop.
"We were sad that we have to make the move, but we're looking out for the best interests of our son,” Ron Harwell told Baldwin. “And he needs development. He needs some offensive development. And that's what we're going to be seeking mostly from the next opportunity."
While Harwell didn’t have a breakout season, he still is an offensive weapon that just about any program will be interested to add in the coming weeks.
For Houston, this move will force the coaching staff to be even more aggressive in the portal this offseason.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).