Former K-State Guard CJ Jones Announcement Commitment to Pacific

CJ Jones was recently given another year of eligibility, and the former K-State player committed to Pacific on Saturday night.

Kansas State Wildcats guard CJ Jones (3) dribbles the ball against BYU Cougars during the game inside Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 3, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Earlier in the week, former K-State guard CJ Jones was given another year of eligibility on Friday after a Colorado judge granted a class-wide preliminary injunction requiring the NCAA to declare *all* HS class of 2022 athletes eligible. After last season, it appeared that Jones was done playing college basketball. While there are still appeals and other things that could happen, Jones was able to start looking at schools to play his fifth season at.

It didn't take long for Jones to find a school, as he announced on social media that he would be attending Pacific.

🐯 pic.twitter.com/daSseOlCsI

— cj jones (@urcjay) August 1, 2026

Jones started his career at the University of Illinois-Chicago

He was in the class of 2022, and he played his first two years at UIC. In his freshman campaign, he was a key bench player, averaging 6.2 points and 2.1 assists. It was his sophomore season that he really emerged as a starting-caliber guard, finishing with 11.4 points and 4.8 assists. In a game his sophomore year against Bradley, he scored a career-high 25 points.

He decided to transfer after the season and announced that he would be heading to Manhattan to play for Jerome Tang and the Wildcats.

In two years in Manhattan, he really struggled to shoot the ball consistently

Jones was brought to K-State to be a guy who could provide a scoring punch off the bench. In his two seasons in Manhattan, he averaged 4.7 points on only 35.7% from the field. His shooting was even worse from deep, as he shot just 25.6% from the 3-point line.

Jones played in 64 games for the Wildcats, scoring in double figures only seven times. In K-State's final game of the year last season, he scored 10 points in a loss to BYU.

Pacific having success in transfer portal/recruiting trail

While Pacific may not be the biggest-name school, the Tigers have quietly done a good job of bringing in talent over the last year. Jones joins a backcourt of Jaden Winston (Manhattan) and Connor Amundsen (Dartmouth) that figures to be one of the most explosive in the conference.

On the recruiting trail, the Tigers received a commitment from Braxton Keathley, who was the No. 1 player in the state of Kentucky in the 2027 class before he transferred to Prolific Prep.