Verbal Commitment: KC area players find new homes in the transfer portal
Kevin Flaherty and Ryan Wallace discuss the latest transfer portal updates for the local schools and potential new homes for former local players.
The transfer portal opening up this week has been crazy, even mass chaos around the country, and it has been no different for the collegiate athletes coming from the Kansas City metro area.
Coffeyville native and offensive lineman Keiton Jones and former Lee’s Summit wide receiver Joshua Manning both transferred from Missouri to Kansas State, ultimately staying local.
Former Wichita East and K-State edge rusher, Tobi Osunsanmi, is joining the current number one team in the country, the Indiana Hoosiers.
There have been several developments surrounding local products and the Iowa State program following the news that head coach Matt Campbell is leaving to become Penn State’s Head Coach. At least four of our locals have left the program, with Raytown South’s Marcus Neal following Campbell to the Nittony Lions to play defense for him.
Jimmy Rogers, who spent the last year as Washington State’s head coach, took over for Campbell, and he has brought Eisenhower High School’s Carter Pabst and Liberty’s Trevor Bindel with him to the Cyclones. Rogers also added locals such as Lansing’s Caden Crawford, who is making the jump from FCS’s South Dakota State, and Blue Springs’ Dalesean Staley, who is coming east from San Diego State.
Crawford is not the only local making the jump from FCS to the Power 4 or Group of 5. Larenzo Fenner, out of Fort Osage, is joining Cincinnati, while Eli Ozick, from Liberty, will be sitting up for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Pembroke Hill’s Darin Conley is moving from Ball State to Washington, and Olathe North’s Devan Lowe is climbing from Georgia Southern to Memphis as well.
Two of the local schools saw Mill Valley’s Tuman Griffith leave Kansas State for North Dakota State and Eudora’s Jaden Hamm leave Kansas for Arkansas State.
Other highlights include Lawrence’s Banks Bowen going from Oklahoma State to North Alabama, Bishop Carroll’s Hank Purvis from Purdue to South Carolina, Park Hill South’s James Williams from Florida State to Oklahoma State, and Highland Park’s Tre Richardson from Vanderbilt to Louisville.
There are still a plethora of KC Metro athletes hanging in the balance of the portal, though, so be sure to follow KCSN Varsity’s Verball Committments for more updates.