Transferring Iowa State guard Tyrese Hunter considering Kansas Jayhawks, five others
Big 12 men’s basketball freshman of the year Tyrese Hunter of Iowa State, who announced plans to enter the transfer portal last Wednesday, has included Kansas on his list of six possible destinations.
Hunter, a 6-foot, 178-pound point guard from Racine, Wisconsin, reported on Twitter a list of KU, Texas, Tennessee, Louisville, Purdue and Gonzaga. According to On3.com, he visited Purdue last weekend and has set dates for visits to Gonzaga and Tennessee.
Ranked No. 35 in the recruiting Class of 2021 by Rivals.com and No. 39 by ESPN.com, Hunter averaged 11.0 points a game on 39.1% shooting for 22-13 Iowa State, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Hunter hit 37 of 135 three-point shots for 27.4%. He hit 68.7% of his free throws and dished 172 assists (4.9 per game) to 113 turnovers with 71 steals in 35 games. He also averaged 3.5 rebounds per contest.
Hunter hit seven three-pointers and scored 23 points in Iowa State’s 59-54 win over LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Also, he had 13 points, seven assists and three steals in a Sweet 16 loss to Miami.
He had 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting (1-of-4 threes) with five assists, five turnovers, five steals and one rebound in KU’s 62-61 victory over ISU on Jan. 11 at Allen Fieldhouse. He had eight points on 3-of-8 shooting with two assists, three turnovers, two steals and two rebounds in KU’s 70-61 win over ISU on Feb. 1 in Ames, Iowa.
Hunter orally committed to Iowa State in August 2020, when Steve Prohm was Cyclones’ head coach. Hunter chose ISU over Florida, Marquette, Louisville, Minnesota, Creighton, Miami, Texas Tech, UConn, Georgia and others. He averaged 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a senior at Racine’s St. Catherine’s High School and was a two-time Associated Press all-state selection.
In entering the transfer portal, Hunter said: “First of all, I’d like to thank the Good Lord for blessing me with the ability and talent to play this game that I love so much. Secondly, to Cyclone Nation I want to thank you all for the support and undying enthusiasm that you give Cyclone basketball every game at Hilton Coliseum or on the road. I’ll always appreciate it. Thanks to my coaches and staff as well as all the players for embracing me as I started my collegiate career here at Iowa State.
“After praying, speaking with my family, and giving myself time to carefully consider my next steps on this journey, I’ve decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal.”
Schools are allowed 13 scholarship players in accordance with NCAA rules.
The Jayhawks currently have 11 scholarship players on the 2022-23 roster in senior-to-be Cam Martin, juniors-to-be Dajuan Harris and Joseph Yesufu, sophomores-to-be KJ Adams, Zach Clemence and Bobby Pettiford, plus redshirt freshman-to-be Kyle Cuffe and true incoming freshmen Gradey Dick, Zuby Ejiofor, MJ Rice and Ernest Udeh.
It’s also possible Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson, who have entered their names in the NBA Draft, could return. They have until June 1 to decide.
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 6:15 PM.
