Hoops Recruiting: Who Oklahoma State is targeting in the transfer portal

The transfer portal is a major part of roster building in college athletics these days, and one that can be easily used to help fill holes and land talented players that didn’t work out at other spots.

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton is wisely active in the transfer portal, handing out offers and at least reaching out to a number of prospects that could make a big impact at OSU.

We will keep an updated list here of players who OSU has reached out to that are so far uncommitted and will update their statuses as they change.

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Joel Soriano, Sophomore, F, Fordam

The 6-foot-11 forward from Yonkers, New York has heard from 10 different programs since entering the portal, but according to Dushawn London of 247, has had in-depth conversations with OSU, Oklahoma, St. Johns, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Creighton. Soriano averaged 10.4 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 54.5% from the field this past season.

*Update: According to Adam Zagoria, Soriano is set to Zoom with OSU coaches on Tuesday.

Jawaun Daniels, Junior, G, Prairie View A&M

Speaking of kids from New York, the 6-foot-7 guard has heard from a dozen or so schools including OSU, that other orange OSU school, and Creighton. Daniels was Prairie View’s leading scorer this past season — and a SWAC second teamer — averaging 15.2 ppg on 54% shooting. He also shot 43% from beyond the arc and pulled down 6.1 rebounds a game.

Cam’Ron Fletcher, Freshman, F, Kentucky

The former four-star, 6-foot-6 freshman from St. Louis has a full list of suitors, including OSU, Florida State, Marquete, Memphis, Tennessee, UCLA, and USC. His time at Kentucky wasn’t great. The talented wing was asked to step away from the Wildcats for a period in December after an emotional outburst on the bench. He only appeared in nine games for Kentucky, averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds, albeit on 54% shooting.

Bayron Matos, Freshman, C, New Mexico

OSU is one of at least 14 schools to reach out to the 6-foot-9 center, who averaged 6.2 points per game on 52.6% shooting. He also pulled 4.1 rebounds per game in the 20 games he played in this last season.



Damari Monsanto, Freshman, F, East Tennessee State

The 6-foot-6 Freshman of the Year in the Southern Conference announced a Top-6 on Sunday night that included Oklahoma State, as well as Arkansas, Virginia, Wake Forest, Butler, and Iowa State. Monsanto was the second on the team in scoring at 11.8 ppg on 41% shooting. He was also the leading rebounder with 7.3 rpg. Monsanto played in all 25 games for the Bucs this past season, including starting 20.

Update: Damari Monsanto has committed to Wake Forest.

Noah Locke, Junior, G, Florida

The 6-foot-2 former four-star recruit Maryland has heard from a long list of schools since entered the transfer portal, including North Carolina, Kansas, Louisville, Illinois, Inidana, Arkansas, Tennessee, UConn, Maryland, and UCLA, among many others. Locke played in 25 games this season, averaging 10.6 ppg on 42.5% shooting, including 41% from beyond the arch. He also grabbed an average of 2.4 rebounds per game.

*Update: Locke announced his commitment to Louisville on Twitter.

Xavier Cork, Sophomore, F, Western Carolina

Oklahoma State is in the final 10 for the 6-foot-9 forward from Sulphur Springs, Texas. According to Brandon Jenkins of 247, OSU is joined by Abilene Christian, Boston College, Colorado State, North Texas, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M, UCF, and Virginia Tech. Cork averaged 12.7 PPG and 6.1 RPG on 64% shooting from the field.

*Update: Cork released a Top 7 on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon that included OSU, Texas A&M, North Texas, UCF, Virginia Tech, Stephen F. Austin, and TCU.

*Update: Cork announced on Twitter that he has committed to TCU.

Jalen Cone, Sophomore, G, Virginia Tech

Oklahoma State is in the running for the 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard and former four-star prospect from North Carolina. According to Jake Weingarten, Cone has narrowed his list of schools down to OSU, Indiana, Penn State, Northern Arizona, Nebraska, Buffalo, and Iowa State. As a freshman, Cone shot 45.7% from three in 32 games. He battled through injuries this past season, appearing in just 15 games off the bench He averaged 9.2 points per game but shot just 34.7% from beyond the arc.

*Update: Cone has committed to Northern Arizona.

Jaylen Gardner, Junior, F, East Carolina

One of the hottest prospects in the portal, the 6-foot-7 forward has heard from at least 17 schools, including Oklahoma State. In fact, OSU is one of the schools set to have a virtual visit with him, with Mike Boynton expected to do so on Monday. Other schools to get virtuals include NC State, Virginia, Arkansas, Miami, and LSU.. Gardner spoke about Mike Boynton with Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers.

“Another Great coach who has fire and compassion and loves his players and works hard and I’d be in a situation where the Big 12 is gonna be a war every night.”

Gardner has started in 79 of his 81 career games with East Carolina. This past season he saw his numbers dip a bit across the board, but still averaged 18.3 points on 47.9% shooting, and 8.3 rebounds per game.

*Update: Gardner released a Final Five on Twitter that does not include Oklahoma State.

Kadary Richmond, Freshman, F, Syracuse

The 6-foot-5, former four-star prospect from New York is one of a number of highly sought-after freshmen that Oklahoma State is in on. Richmond has an incredibly high ceiling and is one of the top names in the portal. As a freshman, he played in 28 games, averaging 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. According to Tipton Edits, Oklahoma State joins Florida State and Seton Hall as the leaders for Richmond. That said, Florida State looks like the team to watch.

*Update: Richmond has committed to Seton Hall.