Numerous former WVU basketball players land NBA opportunities following the draft

A pair of members from the 2023-2024 WVU basketball roster, as well as a pair of former Mountaineer players who transferred out of the program before finishing their collegiate career.

From last season's edition of the Mountaineers, center Jesse Edwards signed a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves -- meaning he can play for both the organization's G-League club as well as the Timberwolves themselves.

Edwards averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds per game with WVU during his lone season in the gold-and-blue, seeing action in 23 games after missing part of the season with a wrist injury. Before his time in Morgantown he spent a four-year stint with Syracuse, where he averaged a double-double as a junior.

He tallied a career-high 36 points in WVU's home finale against TCU, and earned a spot in the Reese's All-Star Game where he finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 16 minutes of play.

Fellow teammate RaeQuan Battle looks to join Edwards in the NBA after signing an NBA Summer League contract with the Charlotte Hornets, where he'll look to prove he deserves a shot on the big stage.

Battle was embroiled in an eligibility controversy that ended in a court case that overturned a portion of NCAA transfer eligibility rules, and then appeared in 22 games for WVU this season. He averaged 16.4 points per game -- which would have been fourth in the Big 12 amongst all scorers had the league counted Battle as eligible for statistical leadership. He managed 20+ point performances in 9-of-22 games.

One former Mountaineer who finished his career elsewhere will join Battle in the Summer League. Tre Mitchell spent the 2022-2023 season at WVU following stops at UMass and Texas. He then transferred one final time after the departure of Bob Huggins from the program at WVU, opting to spend his final collegiate season at Kentucky. Mitchell averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as a Mountaineer and 10.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game at Kentucky last year. His Summer League contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced this weekend.

The most controversial former WVU player among fans to earn an opportunity was Jalen Bridges -- Bridges is a Fairmont, W.Va-native who played under Bob Huggins from 2020-2022 then left the program for Baylor. He later publicly spoke that he was "misused" by Huggins and that Baylor could develop him better for the NBA.

That NBA Development did not result in being a draft pick, but Bridges has earned a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns. He is viewed as a potential elite shooter with a low floor and an average ceiling, and the Suns hope he will replicate his two seasons -- one with WVU and one with Baylor -- that saw him shoot above 40%.