West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

According to On3’s Joe Tipton, West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Hansberry spent one season with the program and is going through the portal process for a second time. His career began in the Big Ten with the Illinois Fighting Illini.

This past season saw Hansberry play big minutes for a West Virginia team on the footsteps of making the NCAA Tournament. Hansberry played in 31 games and came off the bench in just seven of them. The big man averaged 9.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game – a massive jump for the true sophomore.

Hansberry is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining at his next spot. One year was spent at Illinois followed by a brief stint with West Virginia. A coaching change in Morgantown has caused for some roster turnover.

Darian DeVries left West Virginia in favor of the Indiana job. The Hoosiers have already snagged one former player, but it is DeVries’s son, Tucker. To this point, nobody else from West Virginia has announced their intentions to follow the head coach to Bloomington.

Given the pre-existing relationship between DeVries and Hansberry, there could be something there. Especially since Hansberry already has experience in the Big Ten from his true freshman campaign.

West Virginia assistant Chester Frazier appears to be the key. Frazier was Hansberry’s lead recruiter at Illinois before he was hired by DeVries at West Virginia. As of posting, nothing official has been said about Frazier’s future with WVU.

Either way, Hansberry is going to keep his options open and enter the transfer portal. The possibility of playing for three schools in as many years is there for him. He will be hoping to continue his development in a positive direction after a great 2024-2025 season.

Hansberry played high school basketball at Silver Spring (MD) Mount Saint Joseph, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 62 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

As mentioned, Illinois wound up being the selection coming out of high school. But four other schools were in contention before a commitment was made. Hansberry announced Auburn, Miami, Penn State, and Virginia Tech as part of a top-five to go along with the Illini. If any of those want another chance at signing Hansberry, their window of opportunity will soon open up.