Apr. 11—PULLMAN — Former Washington State guard Isaiah Watts is taking his talents to the East Coast.
Watts is transferring to Maryland, he announced on Instagram Friday afternoon, joining a Big Ten club that made this year's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Watts, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons at WSU, announced he was entering the transfer portal on March 18.
A West Seattle native, Watts averaged 11 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season, shooting 35% from beyond the arc. Out for 10 games with a hand injury, Watts was one of only two Cougars to return after their NCAA Tournament run in 2023-24, WSU's first tournament appearance in 16 years.
Watts will be reuniting with former WSU guard Myles Rice, who announced last weekend he's transferring from Indiana to Maryland. Hailing from the Atlanta area, Rice was the lead ball handler and shot-creator on the 2023-24 Cougars team, which got some key shot-making late in the season from Watts, leading to his emergence last season.
Watts is one of five Cougars to enter the transfer portal this offseason, becoming the first to find a new home. In the portal, Watts joined wing LeJuan Watts and guards Nate Calmese, Marcus Wilson and Cedric Coward, the last of whom is weighing whether to return to college or enter the NBA draft, a longtime goal of his.
Watts and Calmese both sat out WSU's season-ending loss to Georgetown in the College Basketball Crown tournament on March 31. Wilson and Coward were out with injuries.
LeJuan Watts, who averaged 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his first season at WSU, is reportedly taking a visit this weekend to the Big 12's Texas Tech, which made this year's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
The Cougars, who are set to lose their entire starting lineup for the second straight season, have yet to land any reinforcements this offseason. WSU does have one class of 2025 commit, prep pledge guard Dio Blakely, but coach David Riley and staff will need to plug holes via the transfer portal this spring/summer.
The Cougs had a visit set up for this weekend with Wofford transfer Jeremy Lorenz, but he committed to DePaul and canceled his trip to Pullman. Other portal players WSU is reportedly interested in include Eastern Illinois senior forward Blake Goodman (3.7 points, 14.7 minutes), New Hampshire junior guard Sami Pissis (15.8 points, 35% 3-point shooting) and Boise State sophomore wing Emmanuel Ugbo (3.1 points, 10 minutes).
The Terrapins, who have made seven of the past 10 NCAA Tournaments, are facing a major overhaul this offseason. On top of losing head coach Kevin Willard to the same job at Villanova on April 3, they have also lost every member of their 2025 NCAA Tournament team, including six players who entered the transfer portal.
Maryland's new head coach is former Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams, who gets an opportunity to coach Watts, a 6-foot-3 guard who has two more years of eligibility. Last season, Watts scored in double figures 13 times, including a career-high 20 points on two occasions. Watts went scoreless in his final game at WSU, a loss to San Francisco in the West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 9.
The spring transfer portal window closes on April 22. There's no deadline for them to sign with new programs.