Pitt guard Jahsyni Knight enters NCAA transfer portal

The Pitt women’s basketball program was dealt a tough blow this week, as former blue-chip recruit Jahsyni Knight announced she would be entering the NCAA transfer portal and transferring from Pitt. The New Jersey, native broke the news on Instagram, and currently, her next destination is unknown.

The 5’8” guard came to Pitt from Rutgers Preparatory School in Franklin Township, New Jersey, where she led her high school team to two straight state titles and earned a four-star rating from ESPN. In 2018, ESPN ranked her as the No. 96 recruit in the nation.

At Pitt, Knight appeared in a total of 57 games and posted career averages of 1.8 points, 1.2 assists and 1.6 rebounds over 13.5 minutes per game. As those statistics suggest, Knight struggled to carve out a niche for herself in the Pitt backcourt amid the emergence of Dayshanette Harris and the final season of Aysia Bugg. And as a result, she never quite reached her full potential in Pittsburgh.

Those struggles to get on the court figured to continue for Knight had she chosen to stay at Pitt. Amber Brown, Gabbie Green and Harris, all of whom scored at least 9.0 points per game and started at least 24 games, are all returning. In addition, Panthers head coach Lance White added New Mexico transfer Jayla Everett and Marquette transfer Destiny Strother, and both will be vying for playing time.

Knight is the fourth player to transfer out of Pitt since 2019. The other three include Alayna Gribble, who ended up at St. Joseph's after a medical disqualification; Kyla Nelson, who went to Florida International; and Jasmine Whitney, who transferred to George Washington.