Will Jeffress may have left Pitt with his bachelor’s degree, graduating from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences last month, but his basketball career is not over yet.
Jeffress — a 6-foot-7 redshirt junior from Erie, Pa. — entered the transfer portal in March and committed to Louisiana Tech Wednesday afternoon to continue his basketball career.
“Next Stop,” Jeffress wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Excited to be a Bulldog! Let’s get it.”
Jeffress arrived at Pitt in the class of 2020, reclassifying to join the Panthers after just three seasons at Erie McDowell. He was a consensus four-star coming out of high school, one of the top recruits in the state.
He appeared in 16 games as a true freshman in 2020-21, one of the youngest players in the NCAA, and he took a step forward during his sophomore season — starting 16 games. A foot injury heading into his junior season forced him to undergo surgery and miss the entire season.
Jeffress returned for his fourth season last season, playing in 31 games (two starts) and providing valuable defense in 10.8 minutes off the bench per game. He scored 49 points and grabbed 60 rebounds last season.
Jeffress finished his Pitt career averaging 2.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game over the course of three seasons. And while he never reached the peaks many expected prior to his arrival, he embodied what it meant to be a Pitt Panther under Jeff Capel and his coaching staff.
He penned a farewell to Pitt after entering the portal.
“I want to start by saying I am grateful for everyone’s support over the past four years,” Jeffress said in a statement released to his Twitter profile. “When I got to campus, I had two important goals: help the Pitt Men’s Basketball program grow and graduate with my degrees in hand.”
Jeffress continued, expressing his and his teammates’ perseverance through tough times in the program and talking about his achievements. He finished his statement thanking Jeff Capel, his staff, the Oakland Zoo, his family, and the medical, media and support staff members around the Pitt program.
Read Jeffress’ full statement here.
Best Wishes Will ….
Go get em Will. H2P.
Best of luck at LA Tech!
Hope you can reach the massive potential you had coming out of Erie & getting your degree @ Pitt!!!
Take Care!!! Class Act!!!