West Virginia lands prized transfer wing Battle

The West Virginia basketball program has landed another critical piece out of the transfer portal with a commitment from a key position from Montana State guard RaeQuon Battle.

Battle, 6-foot-5, 190-pounds, is a target that has quickly risen up the board for the Mountaineers with the program turning up the heat this past week which led to securing an official visit to campus.

That trip to Morgantown which occurred from April 22-24 was enough to effectively close the deal for the Washington native.

West Virginia was among a long list of options for Battle that made contact for the guard along with Kansas, Arizona, UCLA, Alabama, Texas, Oregon, Kansas State, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Clemson and a host of other schools.

A first-team all-Big Sky selection this past season, Battle averaged 17.7 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 47-percent from the floor and 35-percent from three. It was a breakout campaign for Battle after he spent his first two years at Washington.

Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting Jay Kuntz initiated the contact on behalf of the Mountaineers and things only continued to pick up from there. Battle also had previous connections with former West Virginia players and Washington natives guard Erik Stevenson and forward Emmitt Matthews.

After making his way to Morgantown for the visit, Battle was able to get a complete view of the basketball program which matched what he had heard and allowed him to close the book on his competitive recruitment.

Battle is an athletic guard with good size and can finish at all three levels and is a good fit for what the Mountaineers wanted to land out of the transfer portal with their remaining scholarships. A strong shooting wing, Battle also has the ability to serve as a slasher and can get the ball to the rim.

The transfer wing will have one year of eligibility remaining after spending his first two seasons at Washington and is just the latest in a series of major transfer additions for the program this off-season.

Overall, Battle becomes the fourth transfer addition for West Virginia this off-season joining Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa, Syracuse big Jesse Edwards and Manhattan guard Omar Silverio. The program also has been able to secure commitments from several key players to return next year such as guard Jose Perez, forward Tre Mitchell and guard Joe Toussaint.

Kriisa averaged 9.9 points and led the Pac-12 in assists per game at 5.1 and has two years of eligibility remaining. Edwards has one year left in his career and is coming off a season where he averaged 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds while also blocking 2.7 shots per game.

Silverio didn’t play this past year due to transferring but averaged 10.9 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 37-percent from the field the year prior at Hofstra. He also shot 36-percent from three and would have one year left in his career this fall.

West Virginia is now technically one over the scholarship limit with the addition of Battle although that will clear up in the coming weeks with roster decisions still ongoing.

WVSports.com will have more with Battle in the near future.

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