WVU picked up some quality players in the transfer portal – including Honor Huff, Harlan Obioha, and Brenen Lorient, just to name a few strong performers from the team's recent exhibition game – but the youngest player on the team could be one of the biggest signees for head coach Ross Hodge in his first season at WVU.
True freshman Amir Jenkins, a four-star recruit according to 247Sports, reclassified to join the Mountaineers a year early, reclassifying from the class of 2026 to 2025. Jenkins was the 85th-ranked recruit in the class of 2025 and the 12th-ranked point guard in the 2025 class according to 247Sports.
Hailing from Worcester, Massachusetts, Jenkins is a 6’2”, 170-pound point guard who is a ball distributor with an ability to find open teammates at a high level. Along with his flashy passes, Jenkins is also not afraid to attack the rim. The Worcester native’s willingness to attack the rim creates a two-fold increase in positive outcomes: he creates contact and draws fouls on opposing players, and draws attention to the rim, creating additional open looks for his teammates on the perimeter.
What could Jenkins' role be on this 2025-26 WVU team?
Jenkins was one of two bench players (the other being true freshman DJ Thomas) who played the most minutes in WVU's exhibition against Wheeling on Sunday, racking up 17 minutes of action. He only scored one point and went 0-of-3 shooting from the field, but chipped in four rebounds and three assists. He unfortunately also had two turnovers. Of course, when forward Jackson Fields returns from injury don't be surprised if he (or whoever he might replace in the starting lineup) eats up some of those minutes Jenkins and Thomas played.
Predicting the former four-star recruit's role on this team is a bit challenging, given that we have yet to see him play much at the college level. However, one thing to be fairly confident in regarding Jenkins’ role is that he will be a backup primary ball-handling option behind experienced veteran Jasper Floyd.
Jenkins should carve a role of playing somewhere in the ballpark of 8-12 minutes a night on average as the backup to Floyd as the primary ball-handler on the court, who will be tasked with organizing the offense. Some fans may not like to hear that a young guard, one who reclassified to graduate high school a year early, will oversee the offense when Floyd is not on the court. Especially after some multiple turnovers in the exhibition. But let me remind you of last year’s K.J. Tenner, who did a serviceable job last year as a true freshman tasked with running the offense at times when Javon Small was on the bench getting rest.
It is easy to understand why some would be concerned with the lack of experience for Jenkins to be the primary ball-handler on the court when Floyd is on the bench; however, before the transfer portal era, many teams across college basketball relied on true freshmen to lead their offenses.
Some notable freshmen around the country in the 2024-25 season include names such as Rutgers’ Dylan Harper (second overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft), Baylor’s VJ Edgecomb (third overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft), Michigan State’s Jase Richardson, Ohio State’s John Mobley Jr., and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears. Even WVU relied multiple times on big games from freshman Jonathan Powell last year.
Given time, Jenkins should develop into a mainstay in this WVU rotation. The ability to find open teammates, get to the rim, and handle the ball should earn Jenkins some playing time off the bench as a true freshman. And who knows what his ceiling could be in a couple of years.