MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Junior-college prospect Ethan Richardson will not be enrolling at West Virginia, leaving the Mountaineers with one open scholarship heading into this season.
The Office of the University Registrar at West Virginia University confirmed Tuesday — the final day to enroll for the 2019 fall semester — that Richardson was not enrolled.
A source from the WVU athletics department said that likely wouldn’t change.
Richardson, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward, played last season at Fresno (Calif.) City College, where he averaged 16.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and helped the school to a 28-4 record.
WVU head coach Bob Huggins said he had no information that he could disclose about Richardson when asked about the forward earlier this month.
He told The Dominion Post last week through a text message there were no updates to the situation.
Richardson signed a grant-in-aid with the school on June 10 and was expected to add depth at power forward behind Derek Culver, Oscar Tshiebwe and Logan Routt.
“We are fortunate to be able to sign a player of this caliber this late in the recruiting process,” Huggins said in June. “Ethan has great mobility as a big man and will give us tremendous depth on the inside. He should fit perfectly in the up-tempo style of play we plan on going back to playing.”
The Mountaineers, looking to bounce back after a 15-21 season, will enter the 2019-20 season with 12 scholarship players. The NCAA limit for men’s basketball is 13.
Arkansas transfer Gabe Osabuohien is one of the 12, but must sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.
West Virginia begins preseason practice in late Sept. and will host Akron, on Nov. 8, to begin the season.