Who is Eligible to Return to West Virginia in 2024-25?
In this story:
Finally, the terribly long season for the West Virginia men's basketball team is officially over as they fell to Cincinnati in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Tuesday afternoon.
Now that the season is officially over, we take a quick look into the future at what this team *could* look like next year. Of course, with a new coaching staff likely coming in, many players could look to transfer out. However, here we look at the status of each player from this year's roster moving forward.
OUT OF ELIGIBILITY - Akok Akok, RaeQuan Battle, Jesse Edwards.
Akok missed the first seven games of the regular season after suffering that medical scare in the charity exhibition game against George Mason. His return to the court was an incredible achievement by itself.
RaeQuan Battle didn't play his first game until halfway through the season, but he made a big impact on the offensive end of the floor for West Virginia. In 21 games, Battle averaged 16.2 points and shot 40% from the field. He had some issues guarding in man-to-man and maybe carried that with him to the other end trying to do to much, forcing shots early on. But if it weren't for Battle, I'm not sure the Mountaineers would have nine wins.
As for Edwards, he was as good as advertised. He didn't handle the physicality of the Big 12 as maybe some presumed, but his length and size provided matchup issues for opposing teams. He averaged 15 and 8 on the year.
IN LIMBO - Kerr, Kriisa, Noah Farrakhan, Quinn Slazinski, Pat Suemnick.
Kriisa and Suemnick walked on senior day, signaling they are contemplating a return. Slazinski walked because he may not get the extra year of eligibility from the NCAA. Kriisa, Suemnick, and Farrakhan have the option to use their COVID year for one more season and Farrakhan will undoubtedly do so. So as long as he and the new coaching staff see a fit, he'll be back in Morgantown for one more year.
Returning (for now): Ofri Naveh (So.), Aden Tagaloa-Nelson (So.), Jeremiah Bembry (R-So.), Josiah Harris (Jr.), Kobe Johnson (Sr.), Seth Wilson (Sr.).
A lot of uncertainty here with the first three. Naveh is an extremely raw player who may not have a spot on the next coach's roster but he has some potential. There's no telling if Tagaloa-Nelson will remain a two-sport athlete or if this was a one year thing with a smaller roster. Bembry played in just eight games and went 0/6 from the field. If a new staff prioritizes adding several guards via the portal to go along with Kobe Johnson and Seth Wilson, Bembry may look to bounce. In today's world, I'm not shocked by any player leaving but I would expect Josiah Harris, Kobe Johnson, and Seth Wilson to return.
