Wichita State basketball star center Quincy Ballard enters the NCAA transfer portal
The Wichita State men’s basketball team will need to look for a new man in the middle.
After three seasons with the Shockers, Quincy Ballard will explore the possibility of finishing his college career elsewhere. He entered the NCAA transfer portal on Tuesday, the day after it officially opened. It was first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Ballard, a 6-foot-11 center from Syracuse, N.Y., averaged a career-best 10.0 points and 9.2 rebounds this season while making 75.1% of his shots and blocking 1.9 shots per game.
It was revealed toward the end of this past season that he had received a retroactive redshirt for an injury-plagued 2022-23 season at WSU, giving him an additional year of eligibility to play in the 2025-26 season.
Teammate Yanis Bamba, a redshirt sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining, also entered the portal later Tuesday. After redshirting his first year at WSU, the 6-foot-6 Quebec native played just 13 minutes in four appearances this past season for the Shockers.
What it means for Quincy Ballard in the portal
Entering the transfer portal does not necessarily guarantee Ballard’s exit from the program, but sources close to the situation told The Eagle that the big man is committed to finding a new home.
The services of a near 7-footer who is an elite rim protector and can be a vertical lob threat in the pick-and-roll game should make the Syracuse, N.Y. native wildly popular in the transfer portal.
Ballard could be on the move looking to cash in for a major payday for his final year of college or he could be in search of a team where his usage rate would increase more than the limited 13.6% rate he received at WSU this past season.
After beginning his career with two seasons at Florida State, Ballard will likely be courted by high-major teams this time around in the transfer portal.
What potentially losing Ballard could mean for the Shockers
The likely loss of Ballard in the portal means the Shockers lose one of two key players eligible to return from this past season, the other being senior forward Corey Washington.
WSU head coach Paul Mills said the school is applying for an additional year of eligibility for Croatian native Matej Bosnjak, who averaged 3.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game this past season.
Even if Bosnjak is granted another year in Wichita, the Shockers should be in business to bring in at least one more center, if not two.
Mills hasn’t had much luck recruiting centers from the transfer portal, as Jacob Germany played a minimal role in the 2023-24 season and Zane Meeks suffered a season-ending injury before ever playing a game for the Shockers. Finding a dependable big man in the portal this season will be vital for WSU.
Of WSU’s four committed players currently in the 2025 recruiting class, incoming freshman Noah Hill, a Sunrise Christian product, is a center, but is a likely redshirt candidate his first year on a college campus.
Ballard and Bamba entering the portal means Mills will have either six or seven spots to fill for the 2025-26 season, depending on how the staff handles the expanded 15-scholarship rosters.
Quincy Ballard’s place in Wichita State basketball history
After two years of sitting on the bench at Florida State, Ballard came to WSU in 2022 to play for head coach Isaac Brown. Following a coaching transition, he remained loyal to the program and ultimately flourished in his two seasons under Mills.
In just 78 games spanning three seasons, Ballard finished second all-time in career blocks (154) and topped Antoine Carr (1.87 per game) with his average of 1.97 blocks per game in a career. He also led the American Athletic Conference in blocks per game (1.94) this season.
He was the first player in AAC tournament history to record 10-plus rebounds with 5-plus blocks, as he logged 12 rebounds and five blocks in a second-round win over South Florida.
Ballard also shattered the program record for field goal percentage this season at 75.1%, which broke his own record set last season at 71.9%. His last two seasons for the Shockers have produced by far the most efficient shooting seasons in program history, while his 75.1% effective field goal percentage this season led the country.
He also finished with 10 double-doubles this season, which were the most by a Shocker since Garrett Stutz logged 11 during the 2011-12 season.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 4:05 PM.
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