Ronnie Harrison arrives at Washington State with something few Cougars can claim: real, proven D-I production as a featured scorer.
The East Texas A&M transfer is 6-8 and 210 pounds, and last season he put up 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from three. He also carried a heavy workload, playing 70.9 percent of the Lions’ minutes and taking 27.3 percent of their shots. For comparison, only Ace Glass played more and took more shots at Washington State this past season.
That kind of responsibility matters here. Harrison has already been the guy teams game-plan around, and that’s not something anyone else on the Cougs’ roster can really say at the D-I level, aside from redshirting Casey Jones. Even Jones, with more experience overall, spent much of his Eastern Washington run as a secondary option behind Steele Venters, Cedric Coward and Dane Erikstrup.
Harrison’s path has been a little winding. A native of Forney, Texas, he was listed as a junior this year, though he played only seven games at Tarleton State in 2024-25, which almost certainly leaves him with another year to reclaim. He began at Navarro College in 2023-24 and averaged 14.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists over 24 games, including 14 starts.
Then came Tarleton State, where he averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in eight games before an injury ended his season. Even in that short stretch, he had some eye-catching performances: 23 points and six rebounds against Texas A&M, 15 points against national runner-up UConn and 18 points with seven boards against New Mexico.
His biggest night came at New Orleans, where he posted 29 points and 12 rebounds. He finished with two double-doubles and nearly pulled off a triple-double against Stephen F.
Austin, putting up 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He also had a 27-point game against Hofstra and scored 15 against Michigan during his brief Tarleton stint.
The one area that stands out as less polished is efficiency. Harrison posted a 96.0 offensive rating last season, and while East Texas A&M leaned heavily on the three, that wasn’t really his calling card before.
He had taken just 31 triples prior to last season, then fired up 102 a year ago. The result was a 28 percent mark from deep - not ideal, but not disastrous either.
Washington State seems to believe there’s more there than the raw numbers suggest. David Riley said Harrison may be best used as a back-to-the-basket option who can also step out and make a shot. He likely fits as a small forward, though his game gives him the ability to work as a hybrid small/power forward.
“Ronnie is a guy that's super talented,” says Riley. “I can't remember exactly what he averaged last year, but 15, 16 points a game.
Bigger than he looks on film. He came up on his visit and just a big body, strong, really just a confident player that can do a little bit of everything.
And we tried to dive into the analytics with these guys as much as we can and see where they're at their best.
“And his shooting ability on open catch-and-shoot threes is really high. And so I think our system's going to create a lot of those for him and he's going to be a real threat from the inside and the out.
He can play in transition. He'll be a mismatch nightmare.
Someone that I think is going to be really good.”
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