The Kansas State basketball program removed former Memphis forward Tyreek Smith from the transfer portal before the 2024 season started. Because he transferred mid-year in January, he planned to redshirt and play in 2025. However, he needed a waiver to play for a fifth year in college, which would have been in 2025. That waiver was denied, limiting what Kansas State can do now in the forward position.
Tyreek Smith has much potential as a prospect, but he has also jumped around as a player, which did not help his overall production much. College Basketball Reporter Jon Rothstein was the first to report that the waiver was denied. The denial limits what the Kansas State program can do with its depth and might have more issues.
Jon Rothstein posted to X: “Kansas State’s Tyreek Smith has had his eligibility waiver denied by the NCAA, per release. Smith joined the Wildcats as a mid-season transfer in January and had petitioned the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility.”
The situation that led Smith to transfer from Memphis was over NIL. Smith’s representative at his sports agency, Young Money Sports, accused Memphis of not paying him his NIL money and other “broken promises” via Hitmen Hoops.
However, Memphis supposedly paid Smith $175,000, one-third of what the two parties had initially agreed to, via CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish. This immediately contradicts what the agent said, and Memphis was on time.
Kansas State basketball head coach Jerome Tang has used the transfer portal well during his time in Manhattan. The big highlights from last season’s team were former Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins and former Kentucky big man Ugonna Onyenso. Despite the team’s struggles, Hawkins still performed, while Onyenso was more of a disappointment. The next big pickup was another former Memphis player, PJ Haggerty, who could have a dynamic 2025 season.
This news is a big blow for Jerome Tang and the potential for the 2025 season, even though Smith has had a revolving door career at the college basketball level.
Smith has seemingly been all over the place. He started his career at Texas Tech, playing one season and spending another as a medical redshirt. Then, he transferred to Oklahoma State, where he played two seasons before attending SMU in 2023. Next, he went to Memphis but didn’t play a game due to the dispute. He wound up at Kansas State, but his college career is over thanks to this waiver being denied.
Jake Faigus graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 and has had stops at Catena Media, Playmaker, DraftKings, USA Today, Spike Up, and Spotlight Sports Group. He also writes for Sporting News and works at iHeartMedia in Phoenix.
