Breaking: West Virginia Lands Manhattan Transfer Jose Perez

Manhattan transfer Jose Perez announced on Sunday night that he is committing to West Virginia, he told On3 Sports first. Perez entered the transfer portal on Tuesday after Manhattan dismissed head coach Steve Masiello.

West Virginia contacted Perez (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) within hours of him entering the portal. Perez chose WVU over Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina State and TCU. The MAAC Preseason Player of the Year was heavily recruited during the five days in the transfer portal. Other programs like Memphis, Oregon, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Texas, Alabama and many more reached out to Perez.

Perez spent the last season at Manhattan, averaging 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The guard shot 40 percent from the field, 26 percent from three and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Before his time at Manhattan, Perez played for Gardner-Webb and Marquette.

Manhattan’s basketball program announced on Tuesday morning that they were reliving Masiello of his duties, leaving the entire team without their head coach two weeks before the season starts. Perez made it known that Masiello is his coach and he was extremely disappointed with what the university decided on.

“What a joke!! Unbelievable why do it two weeks before the season and leaving 10 seniors not knowing what they’re going to do with their lives… crazy crazy,” Perez wrote on Twitter earlier in the week.

Perez has one year of eligibility remaining. It has not been announced yet on when Perez can play. Perez is led to believe that he will be able to play this season.