Former WSU wing Jaylen Wells staying in NBA draft pool

PULLMAN – Former Washington State wing Jaylen Wells has played his final game as a Cougar.

He revealed the news Wednesday morning on Instagram, announcing he’s staying in the NBA draft pool and forgoing the remainder of his college eligibility. Wells is doing so on deadline day for players to decide to stay in the draft or return to school.

Wells, who averaged 12.6 points and shot 42% on 3-pointers in one season at WSU, also entered the transfer portal last month to keep his options open. An NBA draft combine invitee, Wells makes it clear he won’t be returning to Pullman.

“The NBA is a dream that many players have, and I’m blessed to be a part of that small percentage with an opportunity to achieve it,” Wells told League Him on Instagram. “What I value about my journey is that I walked my own path.”

Wells, who helped engineer the Cougars’ first NCAA Tournament season in 16 years, started his career at Division II Sonoma (California) State, where he averaged 19.5 points and six rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Former WSU coach Kyle Smith brought him to WSU, where he played a meaningful role in helping WSU finish second in the Pac-12.

After the season, Wells was one of 12 Cougars to depart the program, including guard Myles Rice (Indiana); wing Andrej Jakimovski (Colorado); centers Oscar Cluff (South Dakota State), Rueben Chinyelu (Florida) and walk-on AJ LaBeau (Cornell); guards Jabe Mullins (Montana State), Dylan Darling (Idaho State) and Joseph Yesufu (West Virginia); and wing Kymany Houinsou (Loyola Chicago).

The only returners from last season’s WSU team will be guards Isaiah Watts and Parker Gerrits, the latter of whom took a redshirt year.

Watts figures to feature prominently on next season’s team, which will include a host of newcomers, including former Washington guard Nate Calmese; Iceland guard Tomas Thrastaron; Eastern Washington transfers LeJuan Watts, Ethan Price and Dane Erikstrup; Cal transfer ND Okafor; Quinnipiac transfer Rihard Vavers; and Lapwai (Idaho) High guard Kase Wynott, who flipped from Utah State.