WSU star wing Cedric Coward enters the transfer portal

PULLMAN – Cedric Coward’s potential return to Washington State is looking less and less likely.

Coward is entering the transfer portal, a source confirmed to The Spokesman-Review on Wednesday, amounting to a bit of a surprise around the program. After missing all but six games of the season with a season-ending shoulder injury, Coward said he has his sights set on the NBA draft.

Coward can still do so, as potential draftees have until June 15 to decide whether to return to college or forgo their eligibility and enter the draft. Coward’s decision to enter the portal, similar to former WSU wing Jaylen Wells’ decision last year, gives him more flexibility.

247 High School Sports was the first to report the news of Coward’s move.

Coward, who suffered his injury during a Nov. 22 practice in Pullman, averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in his one season at WSU. After spending his freshman season at Division III Willamette, Coward transferred to Eastern Washington for his sophomore and junior seasons, following coach David Riley to WSU last spring.

Coward is the fifth Cougar to enter the portal this offseason, joining guards Nate Calmese, Isaiah Watts and Marcus Wilson, plus wing LeJuan Watts. Forwards Ethan Price and Dane Erikstrup are also set to exhaust their eligibility, forcing the Cougars to replace their entire starting lineup, which has happened to WSU two seasons in a row.

In a college basketball ecosystem largely dictated by NIL dollars, Coward’s decision to enter the portal might make the most sense for him financially. A player of Coward’s caliber is likely to fetch seven figures in NIL, whereas players selected late in the second round of the NBA draft – where many projections have him slotted – earned around $1-2 million per year in last year’s draft.

Assuming Coward does play elsewhere next season, he leaves behind a WSU team that has yet to find any reinforcements for the 2025-26 season after this recent string of portal exits. At the moment, the Cougars’ only class of 2025 commitment comes from high school pledge Dio Blakely, while they have yet to earn any commitments out of the transfer portal.

WSU did have a visit set up for Wofford transfer Jeremy Lorenz, which was supposed to be this weekend, but Lorenz committed to DePaul and canceled his trip to Pullman.

The Cougars’ only other commitment is from class of 2026 wing Brayden Kyman out of Rancho Santa Margarita High School in California.