Kentucky lands West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Kentucky has beefed up its frontcourt with the addition of 6-foot-9 West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell following his weekend visit.

“The opportunity to play for Coach [John] Calipari and ALL of his outstanding staff was what was the deciding factor,” he said in a statement provided to ZAGSBLOG.

“Tre is from Pittsburgh and I’ve known him for years,” Calipari said on Twitter. “This was a unique situation, but as soon as he put his name in the portal, he was a player I knew we needed to pursue. He brings leadership, experience, size and versatility and is a great fit for what we want to do. I know this is a win for us and I believe this will be a win for him too. We are excited to have him as a part of our program.”

Tre is from Pittsburgh and I’ve known him for years. This was a unique situation, but as soon as he put his name in the portal, he was a player I knew we needed to pursue.

He brings leadership, experience, size and versatility and is a great fit for what we want to do. I know… https://t.co/SXCUiCeB2J

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 26, 2023

Mitchell entered the portal after coach Bob Huggins resigned a week ago following a DUI arrest in Pittsburgh. On Saturday, when Mitchell was visiting Kentucky, West Virginia elevated Josh Eilert to interim head coach.

Mitchell, who averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds last season at West Virginia, should beef up a frontcourt that lost Oscar Tshiebwe to the NBA Draft. Freshman Aaron Bradshaw is also dealing with a fractured foot and it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss.

Kentucky is Mitchell’s fourth school after two years at UMass, one at Texas and one at West Virginia. He averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds as a freshman at UMass and 18.8 and 7.7 as a sophomore.

At West Virginia, Eilert was able to keep point guard Kerr Kriisa in the fold, while guard Joe Toussaint will visit Kansas State and Texas Tech this week. He’s also considering a return to West Virginia.

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