LSU Basketball Roster: Tracking the moving pieces

LSU head coach Matt McMahon and his staff are rebuilding the roster in Baton Rouge following a 14-19 finish overall and a 2-16 record in Southeastern Conference play.

The Tigers were 10-8 in home games and 4-2 on a neutral court, but LSU was 0-9 in games played on the opposing team’s court.

So far this offseason, LSU has seen seven players from the roster enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Meanwhile, McMahon and the Tigers have added four commitments from the portal.

With five players still on roster from this past season, and two high school signees already in the boat, here’s a look at the current LSU basketball roster for the 2023-24 season.

Returning Players

G Tyrell Ward
G Trae Hannibal
G/F Mwani Wilkinson
F Jalen Reed
F Derek Fountain

The Bengal Tiger’s Matthew Brune weighed in with his thoughts on the returning group, which consists of five players from McMahon’s first roster in Baton Rouge.

“Ultimately, this is a solid core group of players for LSU to build around … it seems like the Tigers have had two waves of portal departures and this group is still together. Keeping Ward and Fountain as two starters is significant. Reed and Hannibal also played their roles throughout the year, while Wilkinson got hurt and missed significant time.”

Fountain had the biggest season of the aforementioned, starting in 23 of 31 games played and averaging 24 minutes, 8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

LSU players transferring out

F Corneilous Williams → Western Carolina
G Adam Miller → Arizona State
G Justice Hill → Loyola Marymount
G Justice Williams → Robert Morris
G Cam Hayes → East Carolina
C Kendal Coleman → Cal Baptist
C Shawn Phillips → Arizona State

The Tigers had seven players enter the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason, and all seven are now committed to another college program.

Miller is one of the biggest hits when looking at the production from the 2022-23 roster. He averaged more than 30 minutes per game and finished second on the team with an average of 11.5 points per game.

Hayes, who transferred in to LSU from North Carolina State, spent just one season in Baton Rouge before moving closer to home with his commitment to East Carolina. Hayes averaged 23 minutes and 8 points per game.

Hill averaged 23 minutes and 5.6 points per game after transferring in from Murray State, while Williams – who remained on roster from the Will Wade era – averaged 16 minutes and 3.3 points per game.

Coleman averaged 8 minutes and 2.3 points per game, while Phillips – a true freshman and 7-footer – saw limited action in his lone season at LSU. He averaged 7.4 minutes, 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Transferring in to LSU

G Jalen Cook: Tulane → LSU
G Carlos Stewart: Santa Clara → LSU
G/F Jordan Wright: Vanderbilt → LSU
C Will Baker: Nevada → LSU

Cook, who was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection in the last two seasons with Tulane, played for the Tigers as a freshman in the 2020-21 basketball season.

Cook averaged 19.9 points and 4.9 assists during the 2022-23 season, ranking second in the AAC in scoring and fourth in the league in assists average. The season included eight straight consecutive games with 20 or more points, including 30-point efforts against Wichita State and South Florida.

This past year, he made 57 three-pointers and shot 84.5 percent from the free throw line (93-of-110).

In his first year with the Green Wave (2021-22), Cook averaged 18.0 points and 3.5 assists, also finishing second in the AAC in scoring and scoring in double figures in 22 games.

“We are excited to welcome Jalen Cook back to LSU,” McMahon said. “Jalen is an electric guard who brings proven scoring and playmaking ability to Baton Rouge. I love his passion for LSU and his desire to represent our program. I look forward to the opportunity to coach him in the purple and gold.”

As a freshman at LSU, Cook played in 20 games playing behind All-SEC guards Cam Thomas and Javonte Smart. He averaged 3.1 points a game.

In his three years of college basketball, he has scored 1,011 points with 228 assists with 116 three-pointers in 70 career games between LSU and Tulane.

Wright played four years of high school basketball at The Dunham School in Baton Rouge.

Wright, 6-6, the 2022 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was third on the Commodores last year in scoring at 10.6 points per game, second in rebounding at 5.1 boards a game and second in assists with 71, averaging 24.7 minutes per game. He also led the team in steals with 39.

This past season he posted 20 double figure scoring games and became the 51st member of Vanderbilt’s 1,000 career point club on Jan. 21, 2023 at Georgia.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jordan Wright back to Louisiana for his final college season,” McMahon said. “We love his skill level, IQ, and versatility on the court. Jordan will bring leadership, a strong work ethic and toughness to our program. I look forward to coaching him in Baton Rouge.”

Stewart, a 6-1 guard, has played the last two seasons at Santa Clara University. He was named first-team All-West Coast Conference this past year after averaging 15.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while starting all 33 games as the Broncos advanced to post-season in the NIT.

Stewart averaged 31.7 minutes a game and made 44.1 percent of his field goal attempts and 40.3 percent from distance with 58 three-point field goals. He also made 94-of-113 free throws for 83.2 percent.

“This is a great day to welcome Carlos Stewart home to Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” McMahon said. “We love his explosive scoring ability at the guard position, his competitive spirit, and his passion for LSU. With his 6-7 wingspan and his motor, he will also impact our team on the defensive end of the court. I am looking forward to coaching Carlos at LSU.”

This past season, Stewart had 24 games in double figures with 11 over 20 points, including 29 against UC Irvine and 25 against both Boise State and on the road at San Francisco and 24 versus Portland State.

Baker averaged 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds this past season, shooting 56.0 percent from the floor (159-of-284) 35.5 percent from distance and 86.2 percent from the free throw line (96-of-114).

His overall field goal percentage was the eighth best in Nevada basketball history. In Mountain West Conference play, he made 58.5 percent from the field (100-of-171). He posted 22 double figure games this past season.

“We are excited to welcome Will Baker to LSU,” McMahon said. “Coming off his all-conference season in the Mountain West, we are looking forward to him making an immediate impact on our program. At 7-0, we love his skill level and his feel for the game in the post. We were also impressed with his three-point shooting over the last two years (38.1 percent) and his impact on winning. I can’t wait to coach him in Baton Rouge.”

Editor’s note: Quotes from McMahon were issued in a press release from the school

LSU High School Signees

PF Corey Chest (New Orleans, La): 4-star, No. 19 PF, No. 108 overall
SG Mike Williams (Baltimore, Md.): 3-star, No. 37 SG, No. 167 overall

“The two freshmen both provide something new for this team,” said Brune. “Chest is a hard-nosed rebounder with great athleticism to fight on defense and an infectious drive to win. Williams is a high-level scoring guard with potential to really help this offense in the coming years.”