Arrow-right Camera
Go to e-Edition Sign up for newsletters Customer service
Subscribe now
Sports >  WSU basketball

Report: Washington State forward Jaz Kunc enters transfer portal

March 16, 2021 Updated Tue., March 16, 2021 at 11:25 p.m.

Washington State forward Aljaz Kunc (4) celebrates with teammates during a timeout after he forced a Stanford turnover during the third overtime of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Pullman, Wash.   (Associated Press)
Washington State forward Aljaz Kunc (4) celebrates with teammates during a timeout after he forced a Stanford turnover during the third overtime of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Pullman, Wash.  (Associated Press)

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.

The Spokesman-Review Newspaper

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds.

Active Person

Subscribe to the sports newsletter

Get the day’s top sports headlines and breaking news delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.