Wichita State basketball lands commitment from Seton Hall transfer center
Another big man from the transfer portal is headed to Wichita State.
The Shockers fortified their depth at the center position on Tuesday when they landed a commitment from former Seton Hall center Emmanuel Okorafor, a 6-foot-9 senior from Nigeria.
Okorafor started nine games this past season for Seton Hall and averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.8 minutes. He played last season for the Pirates in the Big East after spending the two previous years in the ACC at Louisville, where he averaged 2.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.5 minutes in 25 total appearance from 2022-24.
WSU head coach Paul Mills appears to have his center rotation locked down for the upcoming season with Okorafor pairing with 7-foot-2 Purdue transfer Will Berg. The Shockers are betting that the pair of transfers will find success in expanded roles after spending the last few seasons with marginal playing time for power-conference teams.
While Berg will provide a massive presence on the court with his 7-2 frame, Okorafor appears to offer a little more mobile defensive big who can affect the game on offense as a roller in the pick-and-roll game and also as an effective cutter. Neither player has made a 3-pointer in college, although Berg was shooting 3-pointers in his native country of Sweden before coming to the United States to play college basketball.
Okorafor will also be the second player on WSU’s roster who is a product of NBA Academy Africa, joining fellow Nigerian and current Shocker Joy Ighovodja.
Mills is nearing a full roster, as the Shockers have two, maybe three, scholarship spots remaining to fill out their 2025-26 roster.
Wichita State basketball 2025-26 roster
Dillon Battie, so., 6-8, F (Temple)
Will Berg, jr,. 7-2, C (Purdue)
Karon Boyd, sr., 6-5, F (East Tennessee State)
Pierre Couisnard Jr., fr., 6-3, G
Kenyon Giles, sr., 5-9, G (UNC Greensboro)
Noah Hill, fr., 6-8, F-C
Joy Ighovodja, jr., 6-4, G-F
Keandre Kindell, jr., 6-0, G (Barton Community College)
Emmanuel Okorafor, sr., 6-9, C (Seton Hall)
Tyrus Rathan-Mayes, fr., 6-6, G-F
Henry Thengvall, jr., 6-6, G
Jaret Valencia, jr., 6-9, F (Monmouth)
T.J. Williams, fr., 6-5, G-F
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM.
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