Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
Washington State (Projected: 4th in WCC)
It’s an entirely fresh start for Washington State in 2024-25, switching conferences, losing their head coach, and only returning one player. Eastern Washington head coach David Riley takes the job as the Cougars head into the WCC, fresh off of back-to-back 20+ win seasons including a 31-5 mark in conference play. Riley is just 35 and has spent his entire coaching career thus far at EWU but is the perfect guy to rebuild the Cougars in the WCC, having spent his entire life in the state of Washington.
The lone returner for Wazzu is will-be sophomore guard Isaiah Watts (4 ppg, 1 apg), who saw a great finish to his freshman season. In his final three home games, Watts averaged 13 ppg, 3.3 rpg, and shot 10-17 from three-point range. Even if he doesn’t shoot over 50% from behind the arc, with more time with the ball in his hands this season, Watts should be able to come close to the 13 ppg and 3 rpg he saw during that closing stretch. Being the lone returner and a viable bench guy at the power conference level in his freshman season, I’d be surprised if Watts doesn’t start for the Cougars this season.
With conference realignment moving Washington State into the WCC for basketball, plenty of Cougars left the program looking to continue to play at the power conference level. Nine players in total left the program, including all three members from the team’s “big three” this season. Isaac Jones (15 ppg, 8 rpg) led the team in scoring and rebounding but has now run out of eligibility, Pac 12 FOTY Myles Rice (15 ppg, 4 apg) moved on to Indiana, and Jaylen Wells (13 ppg, 5 rpg) entered the draft after his junior year and was drafted in the second round. Outside of the big three, six other players departed, senior forward Andrej Jakimovski (10 ppg, 6 rpg), Oscar Cluff (7 ppg, 4 rpg), Joseph Yesufu (6 ppg), Rueben Chinyelu (5 ppg, 5 rpg), Kymany Houinsou (4 ppg), and Jabe Mullins (2 ppg).
With the high number of departures, David Riley was forced to use the transfer portal to bring in talent to Pullman. Seven players transferred into Wazzu this offseason, including four following Riley from Eastern Washington. The big fish following Riley over is senior forward Cedric Coward (15 ppg, 7 rpg at EWU), a do-it-all forward who can drive, shoot, score, and defend at a high level. He should instantly become one of the best players in the WCC this season. LeJuan Watts (9 ppg, 5 rpg), the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 2023-24, also made the move to Pullman following a great freshman season. Senior forwards Ethan Price (12 ppg, 4 rpg at EWU) and Dane Erikstrup (11 ppg, 3 rpg at EWU) will join their coach and teammates at Wazzu, bolstering the Cougars’ frontcourt depth for their final year of eligibility.
Three transfers outside of Cheney also made the move to Pullman this offseason, one from across the state, one from further down the west coast, and one from the opposite side of the country. Nate Calmese (4 ppg, 1 apg at Washington) comes from across the state, playing this past season at rivals Washington after a fantastic freshman campaign at Lamar in 2022-23. I think Calmese will be able to get back to around 80% of what he produced his freshman year at Lamar and become a viable starting point guard in the WCC for David Riley. The two other transfers coming in both will help with the front court depth, Cal transfer ND Okafor (2 ppg, 2 rpg at Cal) and Quinnipiac transfer Rihards Vavers (8 ppg, 3 rpg at Quinnipiac).
Three freshman recruits join the Cougars in 2024-25 alongside a redshirt freshman who was brought into the program by former coach Kyle Smith. Guard Marcus Wilson (3*, NAT 262) was the only nationally ranked commitment of the cycle for the Cougars, Wilson will likely fill a bench role for the Cougars this season, but if Calmese doesn’t pan out as expected, he could have large responsibilities on his shoulders as a freshman. The other two 2024 commits for the Cougars are forward Kase Wynott and guard Tomas Thrastarson, both unranked per On3. Guard Parker Gerrits spent this past season as a redshirt, and even with the coaching change, decided to stay put in Pullman and could enter the rotation this season.
After leading the program to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 16 years, Kyle Smith left Washington State for the ACC and former Pac 12 rivals, Stanford. David Riley now enters the fray, with the goal to keep the Cougars nationally relevant as they spend at least four seasons in the WCC. The hire of Riley has grown on me throughout the offseason, a young guy who can keep the excitement within the program and get recruits to buy in for the future.
Cedric Coward should be the leader of this Washington State team, having been the best player for Riley at EWU this past season. If all goes as planned, Coward should be a first team all-conference guy, and guards Isaiah Watts and LeJuan Watts should build on their promising freshman seasons. While unrelated, both Watts and Watts will be big factors towards any success the Cougars have this season. The X-factor for me though is Nate Calmese, the two-time transfer who will likely start as the point guard for Washington State. If Calmese can return to his freshman year form, the Cougars will be a force in the WCC, if he struggles to adapt like he did at UW this season, the point guard spot becomes a glaring hole in the Wazzu lineup.
The WCC should be a fun conference to see Washington State in, and they’ll be more likely to be able to compete year-in and year-out as compared to the Pac 12. Gonzaga will continue to be dominant, but Washington State should be in and around the mix of Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and LMU. For 2024-25, I like what the Cougars have going for themselves, and I think Riley’s guys from EWU will be a big part of that. I’ve got the Cougars finishing 4th in the conference behind the usual top two and San Francisco.