Tre Mitchell joins John Calipari in Kentucky.
The Wildcats officially landed Mitchell on Monday, less than a week after he entered the transfer portal from West Virginia following the resignation of longtime coach Bob Huggins.
“Tre is from Pittsburgh and I’ve known him for years,” Calipari tweeted about Mitchell. “It was a unique situation, but as soon as he put his name on the portal he was a player I knew we had to pursue. He brings leadership, experience, size and versatility and is a perfect fit for what we want to do. I know it’s a win for us and I believe it will be a win for him too. We’re thrilled to have him in our program.”
Kentucky marks the fourth school Mitchell will play for. He spent two seasons at UMass before transferring to Texas. He then moved to West Virginia, where he averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season.
Mitchell was one of three Mountaineers players to enter the transfer portal in recent days following Huggins’ resignation earlier this month. Huggins was arrested for DUI in Pittsburgh on June 16 after police said they found his car blocking a road with the driver’s side door open and one of the tires shredded. He reportedly blew a .210 on a breathalyzer and failed a field sobriety test. This marked Huggins’ second DUI.
The incident came about a month after Huggins was fined and suspended by West Virginia for using an anti-gay slur during an appearance on a Cincinnati radio station.
Huggins later resigned and said he planned to retire. He was the winningest active head coach in college basketball with 935 career wins before stepping down after coaching at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia. He reached the Final Four twice and won 10 conference tournament titles.
West Virginia has since named assistant Josh Eilert as Huggins’ interim replacement. Kerr Kriisa, who also entered the transfer portal, opted to return to West Virginia after Eilert’s promotion. Joe Toussaint is still in the transfer portal.
Kentucky went 22-12 last season and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Calipari, who will enter his 15th season with the Wildcats this fall, did not lead any team in the first weekend of the tournament since 2019.