National Analyst Has West Virginia Low in Early Big 12 Rankings

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports released his early rankings for the new-look Big 12 basketball conference this week, including West Virginia. Rothstein ranked WVU 15 out of 16 teams, only ahead of Oklahoma State.

Rothstein’s Projected WVU Rotation:

G Javon Small
G Jayden Stone
G Tobi Okani
G Tucker DeVries
C Amani Hansberry
Projected Bench: Eduardo Andre, Sencire Harris, Joseph Yesufu, KJ Tenner, Jonathan Powell, Ofri Naveh

WVU’s basketball program is entering year one under head coach Darian DeVries from Drake. DeVries had a successful run at Drake, reaching the NCAA Tournament three times in six years. DeVries coached Drake to six-straight 20-win seasons after a long run as an assistant at Creighton under Dana Altman and Greg McDermott.

Last season, West Virginia finished with an overall record of 9-23, the most losses in a single season. WVU went 4-14 during conference play, tying Oklahoma State for last place.

West Virginia’s transfer class is highlighted by Tucker DeVries (F – Drake) and Javon Small (G – Oklahoma State). Both DeVries and Small have been ranked highly in the transfer databases, including The Portal Report’s database with DeVries at No. 1 overall.

The new Mountaineer staff have rounded out the roster with Toby Okani (G – UIC), Sencire Harris (G – Illinois), Amani Hansberry (F – Illinois), Eduardo Andre (C – Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (G – Washington State) and Jayden Stone (G – Detroit Mercy).

West Virginia has 11 scholarship players on the roster with two spots available for the 2024-25 season if they choose to use them.

Click here to check out Rothstein’s full rankings of the conference.