NCAA Basketball: Analyzing 6 teams in play for CMU transfer Jesse Zarzuela

While the NCAA Basketball transfer portal is starting to empty out in terms of top-tier talent, there are still some players that power conference transfers are reportedly targeting. One whose recruitments have been rising is Jesse Zarzuela, a 6’3 guard from Houston, Texas that has been in college since 2018.

Zarzuela started his career at UTEP where he ultimately didn’t play. He ended up spending two years at JUCO Colleges (Navarro and Missouri State West Plains) before coming back to the D-I level. The guard went to Coppin State and averaged 14.7 ppg and 3.3 apg on 37% shooting from the field.

This past season, Zarzuela was at Central Michigan, where he took over on offense once Kevin Miller went down with an injury. He averaged a career-high 16.3 ppg and 2.7 apg while shooting 40% from the field and 36% from three-point range on seven attempts a game. He’s a good scorer that creates his own shot but sometimes can be inefficient as the percentages suggest.

Still, the senior guard will be an asset on whichever team he lands on, and this past week, several programs have looked to recruit Zarzuela. And reportedly, several are big names, including Notre Dame, Arizona, Oregon, Oklahoma State, and Pittsburgh. And having already visited George Mason, they’re also still in the mix.

Here’s a closer look at how Zarzuela fits with each of the reported contenders. Which of them makes the most sense?