MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Emmitt Matthews Jr. became the third player this season to transfer out of the WVU men’s basketball program Thursday, following former teammates Oscar Tshiebwe and Jordan McCabe.
Matthews, who started 67 games over his three seasons with the Mountaineers, announced on Twitter he was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.
“I’d like to thank you for the endless support over these past three years. Through all of the ups and downs, you guys never gave up on us,” read Matthews’ tweet that was addressed to Mountaineer Nation. “I am forever thankful for the relationships that I have built during my time here.”
Matthews went on to thank WVU head coach Bob Huggins and his coaching staff for helping him grow on and off the court and also said to his former teammates that he would cherish the memories they built over three years.
“With that being said, I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal and reopen my recruitment,” Matthews’ tweet ended.
Matthews is from Tacoma, Wash. and he scored 592 points and added 325 rebounds in 92 career games. His best game came as a freshman during the 2019 Big 12 tournament, when he scored 28 points and added eight rebounds in a quarterfinal victory against Texas Tech.
On Tuesday, McCabe — also part of WVU’s 2018 recruiting class — announced he was also transferring, while teammate Sean McNeil announced he was entering his name into the 2021 NBA Draft, but was keeping his option open of returning to college.
If McNeil keeps his name in the draft, Huggins would currently have four open scholarships to use for the 2021 recruiting class.
The Mountaineers have already signed Ohio high school products Kobe Johnson and Seth Wilson, two 3-star guards according to Rivals.com.
McCabe and Matthews became the eighth and ninth men’s players to transfer from WVU since 2018.
That list also includes Wes Harris, Teddy Allen, D’Angelo Hunter, Brandon Knapper, Trey Doomes, Andrew Gordon and Tshiebwe, who transferred to Kentucky in the middle of the 2020-21 season.
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