Former Murray State forward KJ Williams announces transfer to LSU

Murray State transfer KJ Williams will reunite with his former head coach Matt McMahon at LSU, he tells On3.

“I chose LSU because I have great relationships with the coaches and it’s on a bigger stage where I know I could play,” Williams said to On3. “Me being in the position I’m in, I know I can play in the SEC against top players in the country.”

LSU has now landed a total of nine commitments this offseason so far; three from the high school ranks, and six from the transfer portal. To view the Tigers 2022 recruiting class, click here.

The 6-foot-10, 245-pound big man led the Racers in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 18 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Williams also shot 53.8% from the floor. His impressive performance on the court also earned him the title of Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.

Stay up to date on the latest news with On3’s Transfer Portal Wire.

Williams averaged double-digit scoring numbers in three of his four seasons at Murray State. He will have one year of eligibility remaining, as the NCAA granted student-athletes an additional year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Murray State made it to the NCAA Tournament this year as a No. 7 seed. The Racers defeated 10th-seeded San Francisco in the opening round, where he posted 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. In the second round, Murray State lost to Saint Peter’s, and Hill had 19 points in the loss.

In March, KJ Williams announced that he would be declaring for the 2022 NBA draft without signing with an agent to maintain his remaining collegiate eligibility. The early-entry withdrawal deadline for underclassmen is June 1.

See the top available prospects with On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings.

More on the Transfer Portal

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.

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.