There has been a lot of attention as to what roster moves are being made by Ross Hodge as he enters the offseason following his first season at the helm of the West Virginia Mountaineers. But while people are talking about the numerous impressive additions, on Thursday, it was confirmed the Mountaineers will retain an important piece of their rotation from last season.
WVU men's basketball shared a clip of Jenkins on their account on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the guard's personal account also tagged. The caption on the post stated that Jenkins was "staying put."
Staying put 😏
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) April 23, 2026
🤝 @amirjenkins0 pic.twitter.com/kRhJAqL59b
Amir Jenkins confirmed to be returning to WVU basketball
Jenkins reclassified from the Class of 2026 to the Class of 2025 to commit to Hodge's team last offseason, making the move to the collegiate level a season early. But despite that, the former four-star prospect played a significant role in West Virginia's line-up last season, playing in 32 games and averaging 16.1 minutes per game.
Jenkins provided a stellar performance for the Mountaineers in his role, too – he averaged 3.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He also committed less than one turnover per game.
Despite significant roster turnover becoming quite common during the portal era, statistics have shown that teams that still make Final Four runs tend to return one-fourth to one-third of their minutes from the previous year. And with so many players graduating and most other players who did see action entering the portal, retaining Jenkins is a bigger deal than it seems.
Though with details emerging regarding Jenkins' injuries, which he played through during the season and required surgery after the regular season ended, it's hard how soon he'll be available to play. But it signals a potential start to an important trend that could make or break future postseason success for the Mountaineers.
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