Wichita State basketball hosts recruiting visit for transfer portal target
A host of power-conference programs are in hot pursuit of Jaret Valencia in the transfer portal.
But the first official visit for the 6-foot-9 forward belongs to Wichita State, as Valencia arrived in Wichita on late Friday to begin his recruiting visit this past weekend.
Valencia averaged 6.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks this past season at Monmouth, but those modest statistics don’t capture the upside of a former top-100 high school recruit. That’s why schools like Vanderbilt, SMU, Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and Miami are reportedly lining up for his services, according to recruiting analyst Jake Lieberman.
Few players with a 6-foot-9 frame can move and jump like Valencia, who has shown flashes in two seasons playing at Monmouth of being a complete lock-down defender — equally capable of swallowing up perimeter players with his length and providing elite rim protection. He was named to the Colonial Athletic Association all-defensive team as a redshirt freshman when he averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for Monmouth.
He’s also displayed some offensive pop from the perimeter, knocking down 33 of 87 career 3-pointers for an intriguing 37.9% rate. With so many minutes at WSU up for grabs next season, particularly in the frontcourt, Valencia could have plenty of opportunity to showcase his potential for the Shockers.
No one knows the upside of Valencia better than former Shocker P.J. Couisnard, who coached him for three years at Legacy the School of Sport Sciences in Texas.
“He is a big-time defensive player,” Couisnard said. “He gives you everything he’s got every time he touches the floor. You can watch any of his highlights and you’re going to see he’s a high-flying kid. He can rim protect and he can guard. And he’s just a great kid and a great teammate. He’s always been about the team.”
Valencia was once rated as a top-100 recruit with offers from Houston, Connecticut, Creighton, Mississippi State and Kansas State, among others, but eligibility issues — he came to Couisnard from Quibdo, Colombia — ultimately affected his recruiting. After redshirting the 2022-23 season, Valencia has played two seasons at Monmouth and should have two years of eligibility remaining.
Upon his arrival at Eisenhower National Airport on Friday evening, Valencia tagged a former Shocker and fellow Colombian, Jaime Echenique, born in Barranquilla, in a social media post on Instagram.
Also working in WSU’s favor is the clear link between the Shockers and Couisnard’s Legacy program: WSU’s 2025-26 roster already features three Legacy products in sophomore Zion Pipkin and incoming freshmen Tyrus Rathan-Mayes and Pierre Couisnard Jr.
This story was originally published April 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
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