WVU Basketball

3 New Mountaineers will Join Eilert in Kansas City During Big 12 Media Day

Published

7 months ago

October 13, 2023

Big 12 basketball media days are coming up next week in Kansas City. West Virginia is sending interim HC Josh Eilert with new players Jesse Edwards, Kerr Kriisa and Quinn Slazinski to Wednesday’s media day, per the conference.

West Virginia was picked ninth in the preseason poll voted on by the coaches. Edwards was also selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention list.

See y’all in KCMO 🏀 pic.twitter.com/Mw1q8JEbet
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 13, 2023

Edwards (6-foot-11) is the centerpiece of West Virginia’s transfer portal haul this offseason, coming in as a top-five transfer recruit. Edwards averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks on 59 percent shooting from the field during his senior year at Syracuse. Edwards was named to the All-ACC Third Team this past season. Edwards has started for the Orange in the past two years. Edwards played seven minutes against West Virginia in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Edwards has one year of eligibility remaining.

Kriisa (6-foot-3) served as a full-time starter for the last two years under Tommy Lloyd. Kriisa, a native of Estonia, averaged 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists this past season. Kriisa was second in the Pac-12 in total assists and also shot 37 percent from three. Kriisa has appeared in the last two NCAA Tournaments for Arizona, reaching the Sweet-16 last year. Kriisa has two years of eligibility remaining.

Slazinski (6-foot-9) transferred to St. John’s earlier in the spring after head coach Rick Pitino took the job. Slazinski played the previous two seasons at Iona under Pitino, appearing in 40 games over that span. The Houston, Texas native averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in just seven games for the Gaels. Slazinski dealt with knee and ankle injuries last season and was eventually shut down by Pitino for season-ending surgery in January. Slazinski, at the moment, has one year of eligibility remaining but could be granted another year for a medical redshirt.