Report: Washington State forward Jaz Kunc enters transfer portal

Despite posting career-high scoring and rebounding numbers this season at Washington State, forward Jaz Kunc may be finishing his college basketball career somewhere other than Pullman.

Kunc, a junior from Slovenia, has entered the transfer portal according to a report from Verbal Commits. Kunc has two years of eligibility remaining.

The third-year forward is the last remaining holdover from the Ernie Kent era at WSU and signed with the Cougars in 2018 after playing at Elevation Preparation Academy in Sarasota, Florida.

As a freshman, Kunc made just one start for the Cougars but still played in 31 of the team’s 32 games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures once, posting 14 points in a 93-84 loss to USC.

Kunc’s numbers improved as a sophomore and under first-year coach Kyle Smith, the forward was able to average 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, starting the first 17 games of the season while playing in 29 total.

This past season, Kunc helped the Cougars record the program’s first winning season since 2011-12, averaging a career-best 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Kunc had five double-digit scoring games his first two seasons at WSU, but managed to do it six times during his junior season alone.

Though Kunc had four double-digit scoring efforts in his final eight games, the player’s junior season – and perhaps WSU career – finished with a disappointing performance in the Pac-12 Tournament. Kunc grabbed nine rebounds in a loss to Arizona State, but went 0 for 8 from the field with zero points before fouling out.

Despite steady improvements from Kunc as a junior, and especially late in the season, it would’ve been difficult to nab a full-time starting spot with the Cougars in 2021-22. The 6-8, 212-pound forward faced stiff competition at his position from Andrej Jakimovski and DJ Rodman, who both project to make jumps entering their second and third years with the program.