NCAA Basketball: 5 players to watch if West Virginia has a mass roster exodus

RaeQuan Battle

2022-23 season stats: 17.7 ppg and 2.9 apg

Battle is a former top-100 prospect in the 2019 recruiting class that played two years at Washington, with not much production. The state of Washington native transferred to Montana State, where after coming off the bench as a junior (was Big Sky 6th Man of the Year), the 6’5 wing finally broke out as a senior.

Battle led the Bobcats with 17.7 ppg, shooting 47% from the field and 35% from three-point range. The wing had 12 games of at least 20 points, including a 32-point effort against Sacramento State. The big moment that put him on the national map was the 27 points Battle scored against Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He and Montana State may have lost that game but it proved that the senior wing could produce against power conference competition.

It looked as if Battle was going to get a chance to get revenge against the Wildcats by facing them in Big 12 play next year. But if he decides to enter the portal, look for there to be plenty of interest. He’s from the west coast and could always go back, with programs such as Oregon, Arizona State, and BYU still needing a high-volume scorer on the wings.

There aren’t many wings that can score like Battle out there on the portal so he’ll get national attention. And at the right spot, he can be a true difference-maker.