WSU's David Riley says next roster is all but wrapped up: 'We have a lot more talent walking in the door than we did last year'

May 9-PULLMAN - Washington State's next basketball roster is all but complete.

That's the word from coach David Riley, who said in a Zoom news conference Friday that with the exception of a post player to be announced later, the Cougars' roster for next season is in place.

"I think we did a really good job being efficient this year in the in the portal," Riley said.

Since the end of WSU's regular season, which ended with a 12-20 record for the program's first losing season in seven years, coaches have landed nine new players via the transfer portal: Oregon transfer guard Jamari Phillips, UNLV transfer Ladji Dembele, Northwestern transfer Tyler Kropp, Providence guard Jaylen Harrell, Wake Forest guard Sebastian Akins, Central Missouri (DII) transfer Lazerek Houston, Manhattan transfer Fraser Roxburgh, TCU transfer RJ Jones and East Texas A&M transfer Ronnie Harrison, plus Golden State prep alum Roman Stathis, whose addition was announced on Friday.

That group will join the Cougars' two returners, forward Dominik Robinson and walk-on guard Dio Blakely, and incoming freshman Brayden Kyman to make up the team's 2026-27 roster. All told, including the unnamed player to be announced next week, that's 11 newcomers for Washington State.

WSU was forced to act because of the departure of its entire starting five. Star guard Ace Glass decamped for Vanderbilt, forward ND Okafor committed to Ole Miss before flipping to Mississippi State, fellow forward Eemeli Yalaho went to NC State, wing shooter Ri Vavers took his talents to Memphis and guard Jerone Morton signed with Kentucky.

In other departures, reserve guards Parker Gerrits committed to Wyoming and Kase Wynott to nearby Idaho. Point guard Adria Rodriguez returned to his home country of Spain, and forward Simon Hildebrandt exhausted his college eligibility.

In all, Riley said, his outgoing transfers earned about a combined $10 million in NIL contracts at their new schools.

"So we basically 10x'd their value, and it's exciting for those guys," Riley said. "And obviously we would love to keep them and have a little more retention than we did this year. But at the same time, we've done that two years in a row now, where we've created a lot of value for players. I think there's a very clear path: you can probably 5 or 6x your NIL value in one year. You can 10x it in two years. You can 50x it in three years when you look at guys like LeJuan (Watts) and Cedric (Coward), and ND and Ri these guys staying for two years."

To hear Riley tell it, the Cougars' coaching staff feels better about this spring's portal haul because of how the timing worked out. In late March and early April, before the transfer portal officially opened, many of the WSU players who planned on leaving announced their plans to do so. The Cougars knew the players they would have to replace and had more time to scour the portal for new fill-ins.

That stands in stark contrast to last spring, when the players leaving WSU didn't make that decision until after the portal opened, leaving coaches with less time to find their replacements.

"I think with what we've got walking in the door, we have a lot more talent walking in the door than we did last year," said Riley, who added that Eastern Washington transfer Casey Jones is expected to redshirt next season after spending the previous two years on a church mission. "I think our confidence level with the players and who they are as basketball players, their confidence level is a little bit higher, and their talent level is a little bit higher."

With that, here are Riley's evaluations of the nine players he and coaches have brought in via the portal.

Sebastian Akins, guard, Wake Forest/Denver

"What he was able to show at Denver, and then starting a bunch of games in the ACC this year over at Wake Forest. He's a guy who can pass it, but can also score at all three levels. Really physical guard. His steal rate is up there in the country. What he does defensively and offensively is really good. He's a guy that we don't get without relationships. I think Nate (Calmese, transferred to Wake Forest) had a great experience here and talked highly of us. And what Sebastian needs is a system and a coaching staff that's going to believe in him and and let him play to his fullest potential. We're really excited to have him out here, and he's someone that I think can can do really good in this system. He's a bigger guard that can do a lot of things, so excited for his his potential."

Lazerek Houston, guard, Central Missouri (DII)

"Zerek's another guard that we're really, really high on. He's someone that we've really kind of dove into the analytics of these guys and what translates and what doesn't. He's someone that I think is going to have a ton of success moving from the DII to the DI level. He's a crazy talented guard. His change of pace is wild. And he was just a freshman last year, won MVP of the conference .... He's on a winning team. Just love his mindset, his attitude. He's a guy that has pro potential. We get him a little stronger, getting him playing in this system, I think can really help him."

RJ Jones, guard, TCU/Kansas State

"Someone that we followed when he was at Wasatch Academy in Utah. Another guy who was super talented, played some at Kansas State before he was at TCU. Can play and off the ball, can shoot it. And was really most impressed with his IQ. Talking basketball with him has been really fun. And I think he's going to be able to come in and impact a lot of different areas. His ability to think the game and think for others is gonna be really, really fun to have in our system."

Jamari Phillips, guard, Oregon

"I went down to Modesto a few times when I was the head coach at Eastern, and I remember watching him when he was a freshman and sophomore in Modesto. I always loved his attitude, loved his mindset. He was really good. By the time he got to a sophomore, I wasn't allowed to look at him anymore, because he was a top-50 guy, and at Eastern, we're not allowed to even think about those guys. So he's just someone I enjoyed talking to for a while, and I think he needs a setting where he's got a coach that can let him operate in a little more freedom. And I think he can have a ton of success here, and he can really, really, really shoot it."

Jaylen Harrell, guard/forward, Providence

"Jaylen from Providence is a bigger guard. He can play the 2, 3, 4. He can really post up smaller guys. Can shoot the hell out of it. And I just love his mindset. He's got a really tough, mature mindset, and he's gonna come in with a lot of confidence. He's gonna do really good in the system with his versatility, and he's got some of those tools LeJuan had, where he can play inside and out, and his post footwork is great when they put a smaller guy on him."

Ronnie Harrison, wing/forward, East Texas A&M/Tarleton State

"Ronnie is a guy that's super talented. Bigger than he looks on film. He came up on his visit, and just big body, strong, really just a confident player that can do a little bit of everything. We tried to dive into the analytics with these guys as much as we can and see where they're at their best. And his shooting ability on open catch-and-shoot 3s is really, really high. And so I think our system is going to create a lot of those for him. He's gonna be a real threat from the inside and the out. He can play in transition. He'll be a mismatch nightmare, someone that I think is gonna be really good."

Tyler Kropp, foward, Northwestern

"He started the five a lot of games for Northwestern, and he's more of a four. He's someone that Pedro (Garcia-Rosado, assistant coach) went down in Mexico, I think when he was 16, and saw him. I was down in Argentina when he was 17 and saw him, and really liked him. Just kinda followed his career for a long time. He's someone that I love his mindset, love his attitude. I think he was the leading scorer in the U-19 teams last year. When you go watch his film with that stuff, his footwork and scoring ability is really high-level. He was just used a little differently at Northwestern - and was still really effective. But I think playing him at the four is gonna be something that's really exciting for him."

Fraser Roxburgh, forward, Manhattan

"Another guy kinda similar to Kropp. He's been playing the five the last two years. I remember looking at him a couple years ago. I think when I was still at Eastern, we were looking at him more as a three-four. He's another guy just brings a ton of versatility to the game. Can pass, can think the game. He shot like 45% from 3 his freshman year."

Ladji Dembele, forward, UNLV/Iowa

"He started a lot of games at Iowa at the five, especially when their big guy went out. So he started the four when we played Iowa (in 2024), started at the five when he went out. And so another guy that can play inside and out, really smart, really good outside shooter .... He was injured this year, and he's gonna be healthy here, and excited for him to kinda work his way back into shape. He's heavier than anyone we had on the team last year. He's got a 7-2 wingspan. He plays really, really big."

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