- Cougs just landed TCU guard RJ Jones. Welcome back to the Big 12
PULLMAN – More reinforcements are on their way to Washington State.
TCU transfer guard RJ Jones has committed to the Cougars, a source confirmed to The Spokesman-Review on Tuesday, giving his new team a dynamic scorer and experienced college basketball player.
Jones started his career at Kansas State before spending each of the last two seasons at TCU, a short drive from his hometown of Denton, Texas. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 189 pounds, Jones played in nine games last season for the Horned Frogs, averaging 2.6 points on 35% shooting from beyond the arc.
The Athletic was the first to report the news.
After taking his official visit to WSU last weekend, Jones gives WSU coach David Riley and his crew its third addition of the offseason, which includes Central Missouri transfer guard Lazerek Houston and Manhattan transfer forward Fraser Roxburgh.
The highlight of Jones’ TCU career came last November, when he scored 14 points in 16 minutes against Florida A&M. Outside of a one-minute stint against Duke in the NCAA Tournament, Jones played in only six other games, including a six-point outing against Saint Francis and a two-point, four-assist performance against Jacksonville State.
Jones redshirted the 2024-25 season, his first of two at TCU.
Jones was a four-star prospect in the class of 2023, fielding offers from USC, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Cal, Illinois, Notre Dame, TCU, Georgetown and others. He took his talents to K-State, where he averaged nine minutes in 28 games, scoring 2.4 points a game.
Jones’ addition will help WSU offset the departures of 12 players, including 10 to the transfer portal: Key players Ace Glass, Tomas Thrastarson, Eemeli Yalaho, ND Okafor, Jerone Morton and Ri Vavers, reserve guards Parker Gerrits, Brunel Madzou and Kase Wynott and forward Emmanuel Ugbo, the last of whom was suspended for the final nine games of the season because of a protection order against him.
The Cougars are also losing point guard Adria Rodriguez, who is headed back to his home country of Spain on a professional contract, as well as Simon Hildebrandt, who exhausted his college eligibility. In all, that’s 12 departures for the Cougars, who are set to return only two players from last season’s team: Forward Dominik Robinson, who redshirted his true freshman season, and walk-on guard Dio Blakely.
- Cougs add a 6-8 forward who likes to score
PULLMAN – Washington State is adding another scoring punch via the transfer portal.
The Cougars have earned a commitment from East Texas A&M forward Ronnie Harrison, a source confirmed to The Spokesman-Review on Wednesday, good for the program’s fourth announced addition of the offseason.
Listed at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, Harrison started his career at Tarleton State before spending last season at East Texas A&M, where he averaged 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds in 30 minutes per game, starting 28 of 30 games. He also shot an efficient 53% inside the arc.
247 Sports was the first to report the news.
A native of the Dallas area, Harrison is the fourth player WSU coach David Riley and assistants have added this spring, including Manhattan transfer Fraser Roxburgh, TCU transfer RJ Jones and Central Missouri (D-II) transfer guard Lazerek Houston, the latter of whom averaged more than 20 points per game as a true freshman last season.
Last season, Harrison played mostly the power forward and center spots for the Lions, becoming their top scorer in short order. He wasn’t their best shooter – Harrison sank just 30% of his 3-point tries – but he is a natural scorer from all over the court. He figures to fit in nicely with Jones and Houston, both of whom are also capable scorers.
But Harrison also uses his athleticism to make plays on the other side of the ball. Last season, he averaged 0.7 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, rotating over to swat shots and using his long wingspan to poke away balls in passing lanes. It’s possible WSU coaches liked his two-way acumen.
With Harrison joining the Cougars, their 2026-27 team now includes seven players: Houston, Roxburgh, Jones, Eastern Washington transfer Casey Jones (who spent the last two years on a church mission), incoming freshman Brayden Kyman and returners Dominik Robinson and walk-on guard Dio Blakely.
Harrison’s addition will help WSU offset the departures of 12 players, including 10 to the transfer portal: key players Ace Glass, Tomas Thrastarson, Eemeli Yalaho, ND Okafor, Jerone Morton and Ri Vavers (signed with Memphis), reserve guards Parker Gerrits (signed with Wyoming), Brunel Madzou and Kase Wynott, and forward Emmanuel Ugbo, the last of whom was suspended for the final nine games of the season because of a protection order against him.
The Cougars are also losing point guard Adria Rodriguez, who is headed back to his home country of Spain on a professional contract, as well as Simon Hildebrandt, who exhausted his college eligibility. In all, that’s 12 departures for the Cougars, who are set to return only two players from last season’s team: Robinson, who redshirted his true freshman season, and Blakely.
- WSU dips back into Australia for a 6-7 wing named Stathis
PULLMAN – To earn their latest signing, Washington State coaches returned to the international pipeline.
The Cougars are signing Australian wing Roman Stathis, the program announced Friday, their 10th addition this spring. Listed at 6-foot-7, Stathis hails from Sydney, Australia.
Stathis spent last year at Golden State Prep in Napa, California, a postgraduate academy for players to hone their skills. Beyond that, there is little public information available about Stathis, whose best attributes seem to center around hitting catch-and-shoot 3s and attacking closeouts on offense.
Because of the depth the Cougs have established with recent signings, it’s possible that Stathis takes a redshirt year in his first season at WSU, whose 2026-27 roster nearly complete. In a Zoom news conference earlier this week, coach David Riley indicated that the team has only one more new addition to announce, which is expected to come next week.
With Stathis joining the Cougars, their 2026-27 team now includes 12 players: Stathis, 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, Eastern Washington transfer Casey Jones. They also have signed incoming freshman Brayden Kyman and returners Dominik Robinson and walk-on guard Dio Blakely.
Phillips will help WSU offset the departures of 12 players, including 10 to the transfer portal: Ace Glass (signed with Vanderbilt), Tomas Thrastarson, Eemeli Yalaho (committed to NC State), ND Okafor (committed to Ole Miss), Jerone Morton and Ri Vavers (signed with Memphis); reserve guards Parker Gerrits (signed with Wyoming), Brunel Madzoum and Kase Wynott (signed with Idaho); and forward Emmanuel Ugbo. Ugbo was suspended for the final nine games of the season because of a protection order against him.
The Cougars also lost point guard Adria Rodriguez, who headed back to his home country of Spain on a professional contract, as well as Simon Hildebrandt, who exhausted his college eligibility. In all, that’s 12 departures for the Cougars, who are set to return only two players from last season’s team: Robinson, who redshirted his true freshman season, and Blakely.
