Creighton lands sharpshooter Steven Ashworth, transfer from Utah State

Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth has committed to Creighton, he told On3.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound combo guard averaged 16.2 points this season while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from three. He also added 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Ashworth, a native of Alpine, Utah, discussed his commitment to the Bluejays with On3.

“Creighton basketball has an opportunity for me unlike any other program,” he said. “The skilled teammates that I will have surrounding me will make me a more dynamic player and I believe I will also be able to elevate their potential as well, and I believe we will win a lot of games together. The fan base is very similar to the fan base here in Logan. They care about basketball and they show up every single night and being supported like that for me was one of the biggest factors in my decision. I wanted to play where the fan base was elite! Lastly the coaching staff has painted a clear picture for what I can expect and how I can be a valuable asset for their program and the relationships we have built in a very short time have made me very comfortable with this decision that is going to be life-changing.”

The Creighton Bluejays, led by Greg McDermott, finished the 2022-23 season third in the Big East with an overall record of 24-13.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Steven Ashworth is headed to Omaha, transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.