WVU basketball had to reload their roster in a big way this offseason, as they graduated most of their on-court experience and lost one major freshman contributor, DJ Thomas, to the transfer portal. But there is one returning piece of the lineup that saw significant in-game action last season, and that is Amir Jenkins.
Jenkins was a true freshman last year, but should have been playing his senior high school season. He reclassified to join head coach Ross Hodge and the West Virginia Mountaineers, and ended up seeing plenty of action as a role player off the bench.
But when the team traveled the College Basketball Crown in the postseason, Jenkins wasn't with the team, and Hodge disclosed Jenkins needed two shoulder surgeries in the offseason. On Thursday, Hodge met with the media ahead of the team's full return to campus and preseason activities this fall, and shared an update on Jenkins.
Ross Hodge updates recovery timeline for injured Amir Jenkins
According to Hodge, Jenkins had surgery on his left shoulder after the season concluded, and then followed that up with a surgery on his right shoulder at the beginning of July. That update might not sound positive at first, but Hodge did not seem to be too upset with the timeline, and indicated recovery is going well.
"He's recovering from that one, and making good progress in both of those. He's kind of just checking the boxes – range of motion, then you got to get the strength, then you can get back out there with some non-contact, and then you can eventually make your way back up to full contact with it."
WVU Ross Hodge said Amir Jenkins had surgery on his left shoulder after the season. Then he had surgery on his right one on July 1st.
— Spencer Ripchik (@RipchikSpencer) July 30, 2026
“So he's recovering from that one, making good progress in both of those.”
While no official timetable was offered on when exactly he'll be back to full contact, it might be worth noting that Jenkins was seen in footage online practicing with the team without a brace on either shoulder in June.
While there was likely no contact involved and we now know that he had not yet had his second surgery, it indicates that his recovery from his first surgery was going smoothly enough for him to workout with the team.
Hopefully, it's a similar process with the second surgery, and with three months to go before the start of the season, that gives plenty of time for the other shoulder to heal and Jenkins to get back to action before the Mountaineers tip-off their upcoming campaign in early November.
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