Center Railey confirms transfer to WSU

Men’s basketball: Former Iowa State center Jordan Railey (pictured), a native of Beaverton, Ore., confirmed to The Spokesman- Review on Tuesday that he will transfer to Washington State.

News of Railey’s decision was first reported by Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. There has been no official confirmation from WSU, because Railey has not signed a national letter of intent, although he plans to in the coming weeks. He’s finishing finals this week at ISU.

Railey, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound center who averaged 3.5 minutes per game last season as a sophomore, will redshirt the 2012-13 season, then will have two seasons of eligibility left. He said he gave his commitment to coach Ken Bone on Sunday.

Railey said he developed a relationship with Bone as a ninth-grader, when Bone was coaching at Portland State and Railey was playing at Beaverton High School. This time around, he chose the Cougars over offers from San Francisco, Boise State and Idaho.

“I felt like it was going to be the best fit for me,” Railey said. “I felt like we could have a really good matchup together.”

Christian Caple

Forbes ranks Johnson No. 1

Auto racing: NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, for the second straight year, is ranked by Forbes as America’s Most Influential Athlete.

This year, six of the 10 featured on the list are NFL quarterbacks, including Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as Tim Tebow, who debuted last year at No. 10, but is now ranked second.

The rankings, released Tuesday, are done by public opinion polling.

Forbes surveyed more than 1,100 adults about dozens of well-known athletes to measure their likeability and whether they are considered influential to marketers.

Associated Press