Two former West Virginia basketball players commit to Big 12 rival program

West Virginia v Brigham Young
West Virginia v Brigham Young | Chris Gardner/GettyImages

A pair of former West Virginia men's basketball players will play together for the first time next season for a conference rival of the Mountaineers.

Cincinnati men's basketball has received commitments from two former WVU hoopers in the transfer portal. One Bearcat commit was on the WVU roster a fixture in the starting lineup last season, while the other is a memorable name from a season the fanbase would rather forget

Joe Tipton of On3 Sports broke the news on both fronts: first, he reported on Sunday that Kerr Kriisa would be joining Cincinnati. But within the hour, he also had the name of another former Mountaineer headed to the program, as he reported that Sincere Harris would be making the jump as well.

The Bearcats get two former Mountaineers on Sunday from the transfer portal

Harris played for WVU this past season and started all 32 games. He was a major part of the defensive game plan for the Mountaineers and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Harris had an unmatched level of energy and attention to detail on the defensive side of the ball. On the offensive side of the ball, Harris averaged 5.9 points per game, 1.9 assists per game, and 1.6 steals per game.

After the news broke about his commitment to Cincinnati, Harris posted to X to express his appreciation for WVU and the WVU fans. Harris was beloved by Mountaineer fans for his focus on defense and his 110% effort on defense.

Kriisa spent time in Morgantown under interim head coach Josh Eilert, but was initially recruited by Bob Huggins before his resignation following a 2023 DUI. After his one season at WVU, Kriisa will now find himself back in the Big 12 after spending one season at Kentucky.

This will be Kriisa’s fourth team in four years -- he has played for Arizona, West Virginia, Kentucky, and now Cincinnati. During his lone season playing for WVU, Kriisa averaged 11.1 points per game and 4.7 assists per game.

New head coach Ross Hodge will be coaching against a couple of former WVU players who know the WVU basketball program. Hodge will bring a defensive edge that will try to stifle Big 12 opponents. If the Mountaineers and Bearcats square off in the 2025-2026 season, Hodge will be tasked with coming up with a game plan to contain Kriisa as well as an offensive plan to avoid Harris taking over defensively.


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