WVU Sophomore Forward to Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

The West Virginia women’s basketball team will look very different next season. Not only will they have the task of replacing three starters due to graduation, but forward Jordan Thomas announced that she will be entering the NCAA transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining.

Thomas appeared in every game during her freshman season, averaging just over 16 minutes per game. That number dipped to just 11.5 per contest this season.

The move comes after a rough sophomore season for Thomas, who dealt with circumstances out of her control. The team brought in Kierra Wheeler through the transfer portal last offseason, and she quickly became the team's best rebounder and one of their top scoring options. Thomas also missed a stretch of the season, dealing with injuries that kept her off the floor even more.

Thomas was a highly-touted four-star prospect out of college who committed to WVU after Kellogg’s first season in Morgantown. With Thomas’s expected departure, West Virginia only has two forwards currently on their roster in Carter McCray and Riley Makalusky. Both McCray and Makalusky averaged more minutes per game while also appearing in more games due to Thomas’s injury.

Despite a successful season as a team and Wheeler declaring for the WNBA Draft, Thomas has opted for the portal for a chance to earn a starting spot somewhere else.

Mark Kellogg will have to work his transfer portal magic again this offseason

Between graduation and the transfer portal, the WVU women’s basketball team is set to lose at least six players this offseason. However, Mountaineer fans should keep their expectations high given the success that Kellogg has had in the transfer portal during his tenure.

The senior class of Jordan Harrison, Sydney Shaw, Sydney Woodley, Kierra Wheeler, and Cece Rivière was all brought into the program through the transfer portal.

This makes sense for a coach like Kellogg, who values a certain type of aggressive defensive player. All of his transfers have fit this mold so far, and there should be no expectation of a change to that philosophy anytime soon.

Thomas’s departure brings up an interesting question. Who will the Mountaineers get to supplement her role? Wheeler brought a physicality and rebounding ability to the Mountaineers that we had not seen under Kellogg. After her success in Morgantown, it would not be shocking to see Kellogg put more of an emphasis on the interior this offseason.