The former West Virginia pipeline to the next level is starting to move. Treysen Eaglestaff has found his first NBA opportunity, Jevon Carter is staying put on a new deal, and Miles McBride is another name worth watching as the trade chatter keeps swirling.
Eaglestaff, who went undrafted in last month's NBA Draft, will join the New York Knicks' Summer League team, according to Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress. A long-term fit in New York is far from guaranteed, but the Summer League run gives him a chance to compete for more than just a handful of games. A two-way contract or an Exhibit 10 deal are both possible outcomes, with the latter serving as an invitation to training camp in the fall.
For Eaglestaff, the point is less about locking down the Knicks than it is about getting in front of the right eyes. He’ll be on the floor with other first- and second-year players, trying to show enough that another team might want to take a chance on him through one of those contract paths.
His path to this point has been uneven. After three productive seasons at North Dakota, Eaglestaff hit some bumps in his lone year at West Virginia.
Finding his place alongside Brenen Lorient, Honor Huff, and others proved difficult, and his scoring aggression never quite matched the expectations around him. Still, he did flash in other areas, defending better than many expected and rebounding at a stronger clip.
He closed the season averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 39% from the field and 34% from three-point range.
The Knicks open Summer League play on July 10th at 6 p.m. ET against the San Antonio Spurs.
Carter, meanwhile, is getting rewarded after a strong finish with the Orlando Magic. The Chicago Bulls waived the veteran guard around the trade deadline to create room for a player they acquired, and Orlando scooped him up. That move ended up paying off for Carter, who carved out a bench role and now has agreed to a one-year, $3.5M deal with the Magic, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
In 30 games with Orlando, Carter averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 40% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc. If the Magic don’t make any more changes in the backcourt this offseason, he’d enter the year as their third point guard behind Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black.
In Other News...
WVUs 2027 Class Still Has One Problem Fans Know Too Well
West Virginias 2027 recruiting class is in the part of the calendar where optimism meets silence. The coaching staff has finished its official visits and has now entered a dead period with limited communication, which means the work done in June has to carry the class for a while. Eleven of the 23 commitments came in that month alone, and the staff is still sorting out where the next additions might come from as it evaluates needs across quarterback, running back, tight end, defensive line, edge rusher, cornerback and safety.
The bigger issue, as always, is keeping the class together long enough to see it through. Even with a strong early haul, some committed prospects are still going to draw attention from other schools, and West Virginia is also weighing whether the transfer portal can fill a few of the thinner spots. If the Mountaineers can hang onto the core and add at the right positions, this class still has a chance to look far better than the quiet stretch around it suggests. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Athletics Finally Has Fans Feeling Something They Havent In Years
West Virginia fans have spent plenty of recent seasons waiting for something to point to across the athletic department, and this one offered a little bit of everything. CBS Sports overall-sports ranking put WVU 32nd among 68 Power Four schools, a sign that the Mountaineers were competitive in more than one corner of the schedule. Mens and womens basketball, baseball and volleyball all gave the program some visible momentum, with athletic director Wren Baker and several coaches helping push the department into a more optimistic place.
The most encouraging part for the fan base is how broad the progress felt. Volleyball reached .500 for the first time in a few years, baseball made a deep postseason run, and the womens basketball team paired its Big 12 tournament title with a strong spring that had the program hosting an NCAA Tournament game. Even with football still trying to find steadier footing after Rich Rodriguezs first season back ended 4-8, the bigger picture around WVU athletics looks different than it has in years, and that alone has changed the mood around Morgantown. [Read more 🡒]