MORGANTOWN — The future of the West Virginia men’s basketball roster took a major hit Wednesday, as forwards Jalen Bridges and Isaiah Cottrell both entered the transfer portal.
WVU’s roster did gain one return, as senior point guard Kedrian Johnson announced on Twitter he was returning for his fifth year of eligibility.
Both Bridges and Cottrell confirmed the moves through social media, with Bridges posting an official goodbye on his Twitter account.
“Thank you coach (Bob) Huggins and the rest of the staff for giving me the opportunity to play for and represent West Virginia,” Bridges said. “I appreciate everyone in the Mountaineer basketball family, my teammates and Mountaineer Nation for the continuous support over the years.
“With that being said, I believe it’s in my best interest to enter the transfer portal. My recruitment is now open.”
Bridges and Cottrell were four-star recruits coming out of high school and both had family ties within the state.
Bridges was a standout at Fairmont Senior, just a 20-minute drive from Morgantown, while Cottrell lived a portion of his childhood in Parkersburg and is the son of former WVU center Brian Lewin.
Bridges just completed his sophomore season and he started 52 of the 61 games he played in during his WVU career. He averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds this season for the Mountaineers, who finished 16-17 and missed out on a postseason tournament.
He enrolled at WVU in 2019, rather than playing that year at a prep school and redshirted as a true freshman. Bridges will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school.
Cottrell, a 6-foot-10 power forward, played his final year of high school at Huntington Prep, after playing three seasons at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.
He enrolled in 2020, and Bob Huggins’ thoughts were Cottrell would become the team’s next go-to big man after Derek Culver.
But, he tore his Achilles tendon in the middle of his freshman season and was limited to just 10 games and received a medical redshirt.
He came back this season and started 28 of the 33 games, averaging 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds, but shot just 34% from the field. Cottrell will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school.
Both players were considered to be the foundation of the program for next season, as WVU tries to bounce back from its first losing season since 2019.
Their departures could leave the Mountaineers with just one returning starter in Johnson to begin next season.
Taz Sherman has used up his eligibility and Sean McNeil is a senior who has already graduated, but has the option to return for a fifth year.
McNeil, who averaged 12.2 points this season and has played in 89 games for the Mountaineers, said he hasn’t made any decision.
Johnson battled multiple injuries throughout his first season as a starter. He started 30 games and played in 32 this season, averaging 5.3 points, while scoring in double figures four times.
“Loyalty is the pledge of truth to oneself and others,” Johnson posted on Twitter. “With that said, “I’m back.”
In any situation, Huggins has some major holes to fill.
If McNeil decides to move on, that leaves WVU with just nine scholarship players, which includes the current four-man 2022 recruiting class of Patrick Suemnick, Josiah Harris, Josiah Davis and Fede Federiko.
Harris and Davis will be freshmen, while Federiko and Suemnick are junior-college recruits who will be sophomores.
Other than Johnson, the other four returners were all freshmen this season: James Okonkwo, Seth Wilson, Kobe Johnson and Jamel King.
Cottrell and Bridges joined former teammates Taj Thweatt and Seny N’Diaye into the portal. Thweatt and N’Diaye both transferred in January.
Since the transfer portal opened in 2018, the WVU men’s team has seen 12 players transfer, with seven of those coming in just the past two seasons.
TWEET @bigjax3211
