NCAAB · 1 year ago

CBB Transfer Portal: 5 Landing Spots for Jaylen Wells

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

NBA: Draft Lottery
According to recruiting analysts, the most likely scenario is that Jaylen Wells decides to keep his name in the NBA Draft and take his chances in a weak draft class. Wells is not a good creator or driver, and he does not finish well around the rim, but he is an elite catch-and-shoot three-point specialist. This draft class is particularly weak, and Wells could take advantage of that to get selected in the second round and try to earn his way onto a roster with a strong summer.
1. Arkansas Razorbacks
Jaylen Wells was the Player of the Year in the California Collegiate Athletic Association at Division II Sonoma State before transferring to Washington State and spending a year in Pullman. Wells averaged 12.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds as he helped the Cougars make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 seasons. The program has been gutted since the end of the season, and Wells joined the exodus when he entered the NBA Draft and the transfer portal. The sharpshooting guard shot 42% on 131 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in his one season at Washington State. He is one-dimensional as a player, but that one-dimension is very important, and the Arkansas Razorbacks are an option for the California native. John Calipari has had to rebuild the Hogs’ roster since taking the job in Fayetteville and could use a knockdown wing shooter with experience to add to his amassed young talent. Arkansas is considered a favorite if Wells returns to school.

Arkansas 2025 NCAA Title Odds: +3500
2. USC
Eric Musselman was looking for a way out of Arkansas as his seat was warming up, and the USC Trojans poached him. The Trojans are headed to the Big Ten, and the roster has been completely flipped, with six transfers leaving and nine players coming in. That is a high quantity, but there are questions about the difference-making quality in this class. Desmond Claude and Chibuzo Agbo are the two best incoming players, but the Trojans could use an elite perimeter shooter, and Jaylen Wells fits the bill. Wells is a California native who could return to his home state and finish his collegiate career in a system that would get him a lot of shots.

USC 2025 NCAA Title Odds: +8000
3. California
Mark Madsen enters his second season as the head coach for the Cal Golden Bears. The former Stanford player was impressed with his work in his first season, and the roster entering his second season has undergone a significant shift as Cal moves to the ACC. Thus far, Cal has added eight transfers, including a pair of former Big Ten interior players and small forward Andrej Stojakovic from Stanford. Stojakovic was known as a knockdown shooter in high school but struggled from the perimeter in his freshman season in Palo Alto. Pairing Stojakovic with Jaylen Wells as a wing duo would be dangerous for opponents to deal with. The defense and rebounding of newcomers Mady Sissoko and Josh Ola-Joseph could help overcome their defensive shortcomings on the perimeter. Wells is from California, and a move “back home” could be appealing.

Cal 2025 NCAA Title Odds: +30000
4. Gonzaga
Few, if any, West Coast programs have put more players into the NBA recently than the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Jaylen Wells could be interested in staying in the state of Washington and moving to Spokane to play for Mark Few. Gonzaga should be excellent next season with a mainly established roster, but there is always room for an elite perimeter shooter, and Wells could join a program that knows exactly how to get him to the next level. The Bulldogs have not registered interest in Wells, but that could change if he pulls his name from the NBA Draft.

Gonzaga 2025 NCAA Title Odds: +1800
NBA: Draft Lottery
According to recruiting analysts, the most likely scenario is that Jaylen Wells decides to keep his name in the NBA Draft and take his chances in a weak draft class. Wells is not a good creator or driver, and he does not finish well around the rim, but he is an elite catch-and-shoot three-point specialist. This draft class is particularly weak, and Wells could take advantage of that to get selected in the second round and try to earn his way onto a roster with a strong summer.
1. Arkansas Razorbacks
Jaylen Wells was the Player of the Year in the California Collegiate Athletic Association at Division II Sonoma State before transferring to Washington State and spending a year in Pullman. Wells averaged 12.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds as he helped the Cougars make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 seasons. The program has been gutted since the end of the season, and Wells joined the exodus when he entered the NBA Draft and the transfer portal. The sharpshooting guard shot 42% on 131 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in his one season at Washington State. He is one-dimensional as a player, but that one-dimension is very important, and the Arkansas Razorbacks are an option for the California native. John Calipari has had to rebuild the Hogs’ roster since taking the job in Fayetteville and could use a knockdown wing shooter with experience to add to his amassed young talent. Arkansas is considered a favorite if Wells returns to school.

Arkansas 2025 NCAA Title Odds: +3500