By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Just when AppNation thought the future looked bright for the Mountaineers’ men’s basketball program after an historic 2023-24 season and regular season Sun Belt Conference championship, we learned today via X (formerly Twitter) that App State big men Tre’Von Spillers and Justin Abson are entering the transfer portal, along with freshman guards Jordan Marsh and Etienne Strothers.
Both Abson and Spillers contributed to App State being ranked No. 1 in the nation in NCAA Division 1 blocked shots per game. Young Marsh most often provided a spark in coming off the bench. Strothers didn’t see much, if any, action this past season but came to the Mountaineers with a strong pedigree.
QUESTION: Who else might be jumping ship? Is it all for NIL money? Higher exposure playing with a Big 10, SEC, Big East, ACC, or Big 12 team? What is head coach Dustin Kerns’ status?
The answer to that first question is Christopher Mantis, Terence Harcum and Xavion Brown as well as 6-9 freshman forward Josh Hayes, according to our sources close to the program.
When you subtract graduating players that include Donovan Gregory, C J Huntley and Bryant Greene, that leaves only junior guard Myles Tate as the only athlete from this season’s 9-man rotation, plus 6-9 freshman center Luke Wilson, freshman guard Luke Ledford, and sophomore guard Dawson Fennema on the roster.
Assuming head coach Dustin Kerns and staff are staying, they will be busy in the coming weeks trying to pluck replacements from the transfer portal and even more aggressively recruiting from among the graduating high school seniors.
