A Look at How WVU Transfers Performed at Their New Schools

Three Mountaineers hit the transfer portal a year ago and each of them had success at their new school.

Losing players to the transfer portal is no longer a rarity. It's happening everywhere, every year. Following last season, West Virginia had two veterans, Jordan McCabe and Emmitt Matthews Jr., enter the portal joining big man Oscar Tshiebwe who left mid-season.

Now, that the season is over for each of the three former Mountaineers, we take a look at how they did at their new schools. 

Jordan McCabe

After three years in Morgantown, McCabe decided to hit the transfer portal where he wound up at UNLV. This season, McCabe set new career-highs by averaging 6.4 points and 4.8 assists per game. He started all 31 games for the Runnin' Rebels who finished the year with an 18-14 record.

McCabe's role slowly diminished during his time at WVU and saw his minutes be reduced each year he was in the program. He still has one year of eligibility remaining if he chooses to opt-in to his COVID year. 

Emmitt Matthews Jr.

Matthews started 67 games for West Virginia over the span of three seasons. He had the potential to turn into one of the best wings in the Big 12, but inconsistency held him back from doing so. Transferring back home to Washington seemed to be a good move for the Tacoma native as he averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds while starting all 31 games.

Matthews also has one year of eligibility remaining via the COVID year. The Washington Huskies finished the season with a 17-15 record.

The moment Oscar Tshiebwe stepped foot on campus in Morgantown, WVU head coach Bob Huggins knew he had a good one. As a true freshman, Tshiebwe nearly averaged a double-double and started every game for the Mountaineers. He was a big part of WVU's quick turnaround from losing to Coastal Carolina in the CBI Tournament to being on the cusp of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid before COVID shut down the entire 2020 tournament.

At the beginning of his sophomore season, Tshiebwe didn't have the same bounce in his step and you could tell something was off. He decided to leave the program and landed at Kentucky just a few weeks later. Tshiebwe went into great detail on why he left WVU last April, but deep down, he always wanted to go to Kentucky.

In my opinion, West Virginia could have avoided a disastrous season if Tshiebwe stayed. They really lacked having an inside presence offensively and couldn't even compete on the boards in the majority of its games. Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per game this season for the Wildcats en route to being named SEC Player of the Year. He will also be in the running for the Wooden Award, which is given to the nation's top player.

Kentucky was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by No. 15 seed Saint Peter's. 

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