Memphis picked up its first commitment out of the transfer portal Tuesday afternoon with the addition of forward Rihards Vavers. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward spent the 2025 season at Washington State, where he averaged 11.5 points and four rebounds during his junior season with the Cougars.
Vavers, who was born in Latvia, attended Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C, before spending an additional season at The Skill Factory. He signed with Quinnipiac in the class of 2023, and he averaged 7.9 points and 2.8 rebounds during his freshman season.
Vavers entered the transfer portal after one year with Quinnipiac and landed at Washington State as a part of David Riley’s first transfer portal class. The forward appeared in only 16 games during his first season with the Cougars, mainly due to injuries, and he averaged 5.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per contest, while shooting 47.9 percent from deep.
As a junior, Vavers played in 29 games, making 16 starts, and he averaged 11.5 points and four rebounds, while shooting 41.2 percent from three-point range on 6.1 attempts per game. The forward became a consistent scoring option for Washington State, especially late in the season, and he scored double-figures in 11 of the team’s last 12 games, including a 24-point outing against Seattle.
Vavers made four or more three pointers in eight games this season, and his most impressive stretch came in three conference games against Pepperdine, Seattle and Portland. Over those three games, the forward averaged 19.4 points and shot 61.9 percent from deep.
It’s clear that Vavers makes his money with the three-point shot, ranking inside the top 30 three-point shooters in college basketball last season, but he is also a threat to get out and run in transition.
It’ll be interesting to see what he brings on the defensive end of the court. Last season, he posted a minus-0.4 defensive box plus/minus and a minus-1.8 defensive RAPM, but he has the length and size to be a factor, especially guarding the perimeter.
Vavers becomes the first player to commit to Hardaway out of the transfer portal, and the Tigers now have five players committed to the 2026-27 roster. Julius Thedford and William Whorton are both set to return, while Cello Jackson and Fred Jackson Jr. will join the roster as true freshmen.
With only five players committed for next season, Memphis still has a lot of holes to fill, but the current group boasts a ton of size. All five players are listed as 6-foot-3 or taller, and it’s likely that Hardaway values length again this offseason.