MORGANTOWN — The WVU men’s basketball program added a major piece to its roster Sunday in picking up former Manhattan star guard Jose Perez out of the transfer portal.
Perez was named the preseason player of the year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after averaging 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season for the Jaspers.
But the school fired head coach Steve Masiello on Oct. 25 and Perez entered the portal shortly after.
It took all of five days to secure Perez’s commitment to the Mountaineers, and he’ll be on the roster as a walk-on, according to a team source.
Perez, a native of the Bronx, N.Y., isn’t expected to become eligible until after final exams of the fall semester are completed on Dec. 16, and would need a waiver from the NCAA to become eligible during the second semester in January. The source did add there was a possibility Perez could enroll at WVU immediately and begin to practice and work out with the team.
This is Perez’s final season of eligibility, but WVU could apply for a sixth season, the source said, due to extenuating circumstances surrounding his season at Marquette in 2020-21.
Perez was expected to redshirt that season, but was called into action late in the season by then- head coach Steve Wojciechowski and the redshirt was burned. Wojciechowski was fired by Marquette at the end of that season.
WVU will be his fourth school. Perez began his career at Gardner-Webb in 2018, before transferring to Marquette in 2020.
He played in just 10 games for the Warriors, and did not travel with the team to the Big East tournament that season due to personal reasons, the school said at the time.
He then transferred closer to home to Manhattan last season.
TCU, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, N.C. State and Missouri were the other schools after Perez.
He gives WVU head coach Bob Huggins another experienced option, who has the ability to score at all three levels.
This past season, Perez shot 40% from the field and 25% from 3-point range.
Overall, Perez is the fifth addition to the WVU roster this season through the transfer portal, along with Emmitt Matthews Jr., Tre Mitchell, Joe Toussaint and Erik Stevenson.
The addition of Perez brings the Mountaineers’ roster to 15 players this season with 13 on scholarship and point guard Josiah Davis joining Perez as a walk-on.
The Mountaineers begin their regular season at home on Nov. 7, against Mount St. Mary’s.
— BY KEENAN CUMMINGS
