On Wednesday morning, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein provided an update regarding an elite forward and his cutdown list.
Virginia transfer Elijah Saunders has narrowed his focus to five schools, including Kansas State, Texas Tech, Purdue, Grand Canyon, and a possible return to Virginia.
In 2024-25, Saunders posted career highs in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage, with 10.4 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 42% from the field. The 6-foot-8 junior also connected on 34.7% from three-point range and 83.3% from the free throw line.
Coming out of Sunnyslope High School in the Class of 2022, Saunders was listed as a three-star prospect by the 247Sports index and the nation’s 191st-ranked player. He also checked in as the 31st-ranked player at his position and the 12th-ranked player in the state of Arizona.
The transfer portal officially opened on Monday, March 24, 2025. According to NCAA data, 1,296 FBS basketball players entered the transfer portal in the 2023-24 school year, with 864 (66.7%) undergraduates and 432 (33.3%) graduate transfers. Of the entrants, 70% reported that they enrolled in another school, 6% withdrew their names from the portal, and 23% are still active, transferred to a non-NCAA school, or left their sport.
The Heartland College Sports Twitter account is an excellent resource for keeping up with the latest Big 12 news and announcements. Make sure to check out our HCS member forum to connect with other Big 12 sports fans.
