Wichita State basketball senior Trey Wade announces plans to transfer for last season
The Wichita State men’s basketball team found closure for one of its two seniors with decisions to make this spring, as starting power forward Trey Wade announced he will play for another team next season.
While it’s not a surprise that Wade, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound senior, will not be playing for the Shockers next season, it was a surprise to learn in a tweet on Tuesday that he intends to stay in college basketball and transfer from WSU for a final season.
WSU extended the opportunity for Wade, who has been the team’s starting power forward for most of the last two seasons, to return to the team for the 2021-22 season. But after returning home to Marietta, Georgia, Wade ultimately made the same decision as his younger brother, Trevin, who also opted to transfer and has since committed to Eastern Kentucky.
“One thing I do want to say is thank you to Shocker nation as you guys supported me through the ups and downs!” Wade wrote in his tweet. “You guys are unbelievable! Thank you once again!”
It is the first significant loss of statistical production from last season’s WSU roster, as Wade averaged 6.3 points and led the team in rebounding at 5.3 per game. He started 19 of 21 games played and averaged 25.3 minutes.
The other three players who are currently in the NCAA transfer portal — Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, Trevin Wade and Jaden Seymour — combined to make up just 8% of the minutes played last season. Trey Wade alone accounted for 12% of the minutes played.
While his outside shooting was never as consistent as he would have liked, Wade always brought a high level of defense and rebounding that made him a valuable contributor to WSU’s success the past two seasons.
Being a sixth-year college player, Wade will likely have his choice of options in the transfer portal. He could slot in as a veteran presence and role player on a high-caliber team with deep NCAA Tournament aspirations, or he could move down a level to a program that might feature him more offensively.
With Wade’s departure seemingly set, WSU now awaits a final answer from senior point guard Alterique Gilbert, although sources tell The Eagle that it is unlikely Gilbert plays a second season with the Shockers.
As it currently stands, WSU has up to five scholarships to hand out this spring in its 2021 recruiting class. The Shockers currently have no commitments, but WSU coach Isaac Brown said Monday on his radio show that he suspects WSU will have commitments as soon as next week.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 11:57 AM.
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