Wichita State’s Stevenson transferring to Washington
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 25, 2020
By Lauren Kirschman / The News Tribune
Former Timberline High School star Erik Stevenson is transferring to Washington from Wichita State.
The news was first reported by The Seattle Times. Stevenson, a Lacey native, confirmed his decision with a tweet on Wednesday afternoon saying he was “coming home.” Stevenson announced his decision to transfer earlier this month and had recently narrowed his list of transfer options to UW, Oregon, Gonzaga, Maryland and San Diego State.
Originally a three-star recruit in the Class of 2018, Stevenson was considered the No. 31 shooting guard and the No. 193 player in the country. He chose Wichita State in June 2017 over offers from Washington, Washington State, Utah and LSU, among others.
As a sophomore at Wichita State last season, Stevenson averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 24.7 minutes. He shot 37.7% from the field and 30.4% from the 3-point line. He averaged 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 21.9 minutes as a freshman.
As a senior at Timberline, Stevenson averaged 24.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.7 blocks as a senior. He earned All-Class 3A honors from The News Tribune, the Associated Press and The Seattle Times. Stevenson, who set Timberline records for single-game (45), season (717) and career (1,861) scoring, was also The Olympian’s 2018 Area Player of the Year.
Under current NCAA rules, transfers must sit out a year unless they receive a hardship waiver. But there is a chance Stevenson could play next season if — as expected — the NCAA approves a change allowing first-time transfers to be eligible immediately.
Sam Timmins was the lone contributing senior for a UW team that finished the season 15-17 overall and 5-13 in Pac-12 play. But the Huskies are also expected to lose freshmen Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, as both are expected to be first-round picks in the 2020 NBA draft.
Point guard Quade Green, who transferred from Kentucky and was ruled academically ineligible in January, should be back on the floor for UW next season. The addition of Stevenson would give the Huskies some added experience in the backcourt.
