Morgantown, West Virginia – Losing Jalen Bridges to Big 12 Conference rival Baylor was extremely difficult for the West Virginia basketball program, but a former player for Baylor recently entered the transfer portal that Bob Huggins and his coaching staff could potentially convince to finish his career with the Mountaineers.
Matthew Mayer, a 6’9 senior guard/forward who averaged 9.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game last season for the Bears, is still undecided whether he will enter the NBA Draft or return to college for one last season.
However, if he remains in college, he is in the transfer portal and will be searching for a new home.
Mayer, an Austin, Texas native, shot 40.9% from the field and 32.4% from three point range last season for Baylor, is currently working out in Chicago and has already heard from Texas Tech, North Carolina, USC, Memphis, Alabama, Arkansas and Illinois, among several other schools, according to Jeff Goodman.
West Virginia, who currently doesn’t have any available scholarships, is reportedly interested in adding another scoring guard and a big man. It’s unclear how Bob Huggins intends to make that happen with no scholarships remaining, but if a player with the talent of Matthew Mayer is interested in joining the Mountaineers, Huggins will certainly find room for him.
It’s believed that either incoming freshman guard Josiah Davis could attend prep school for one year or JUCO transfer Pat Suemnick could potentially redshirt to make room for players more ready to play at a high level immediately.
Mayer would be an excellent trade-off for Bridges if Huggins is able to convince him to play for the Mountaineers. Huggins has been very active in the transfer portal since the end of last season and has already landed former Iowa guard Joe Toussaint, South Carolina guard Erik Stevenson and former Mountaineers forward Emmitt Matthews, who returned to West Virginia after one season at Washington.
Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer has heard from Texas Tech, UNC, USC, Memphis, Alabama, Arkansas and Illinois, among others, he told me.
Mayer is currently working out in Chicago. Still undecided whether to stay in NBA Draft or return to college.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 5, 2022
