Portal season is here: Wichita State point guard Dre Kindell plans to transfer
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kindell announced plans to enter the transfer portal; move not yet official.
- Kindell averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 assists, adding pace and defense.
- WSU will likely prioritize the point guard spot in the transfer portal recruiting.
Dre Kindell became the first Wichita State men’s basketball player this offseason to announce plans to enter the transfer portal on Friday afternoon.
The Athletic’s Tobias Bass reported Friday that the 5-foot-11 point guard intends to leave the program, and the news was confirmed by The Eagle. Because the NCAA transfer portal does not officially open until April 7, Kindell’s move cannot become official until then.
His departure came two days after Wichita State players wrapped up individual meetings with head coach Paul Mills following a breakthrough 24-win season. The Shockers finished tied for second in the American, advanced to the conference tournament championship game and then pushed to the NIT quarterfinals before their season ended Tuesday with an 83-79 loss at Tulsa.
With Kindell, a senior-to-be, planning to depart, WSU now has three open spots on its 15-man roster for the 2026-27 season to address in recruiting. In the portal era, of course, roster math can change quickly — sometimes by the day, sometimes by the hour.
His first season at WSU was uneven, but it also flashed real upside.
Kindell averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 assists in 17.3 minutes per game while shooting 44.7% from the field, 34.3% from 3-point range and 80% from the free-throw line. He tied for the team lead with 84 assists despite playing far fewer minutes than other primary guards, posted a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio and recorded a 22.4% assist rate that ranked among the best in the American.
His impact often went beyond the box score.
At his best, Kindell changed games with pace, ball pressure and downhill energy. He had a knack for speeding up the action when WSU needed a jolt and his defensive activity helped swing momentum in some of the Shockers’ biggest wins late in conference play.
But after averaging 22.5 minutes during nonconference play, Kindell’s minutes gradually dipped as the season wore on. Over WSU’s final 12 games, he played just 11.9 minutes per game. That made him one of the more fascinating cases on the roster: a guard with clear tools, but a role that never felt fully locked in.
That is why this decision makes sense from Kindell’s side.
He defended, took care of the ball, created for others, got to the free-throw line at an impressive rate for his size and brought an edge to the floor that the Shockers needed. While he didn’t show it as much with WSU, Kindell also has another gear offensively that was apparent at Barton Community College, where he helped the Cougars win a national championship as a freshman and later developed into an All-American as a sophomore.
For a veteran guard entering his last year, that profile is likely to draw interest from programs that can offer a clearer path to consistent minutes. At WSU, Kindell spent this season as the backup point guard behind Mike Gray Jr., and with Gray eligible to return, his path to a larger role next season appeared uncertain.
Now the question shifts from what Kindell might have become in Wichita to how the Shockers plan to attack the point guard position for next season’s roster. With Kindell’s departure, the position figures to become a priority position for Mills in the transfer portal.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 3:23 PM.
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