Gators In Final Five Schools For Washington State’s Cedric Coward

Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden during the second half as the Florida Gators mens basketball team hosts the Loyola Greyhounds at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida. November 6th, 2023. Gator Country Photo by David Bowie.Florida’s top priority in the transfer portal has been to find a guard that can absorb the minutes and shots taken by Walter Clayton, but they have also been looking at getting a true wing that can add size to the perimeter. Enter Cedric Coward, a 6’6”, 190 pound wing who enters the portal from Washington State. Coward has had an interesting path in his college career. Hailing from Fresno, California, Coward started his career at the D-III level where he scored 19.4 points per game as a freshman. This earned him the opportunity to transfer to Eastern Washington where he was for two seasons. After a strong start to his division one career with a productive role off the bench, Coward took off in 2023-24 where he averaged 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for an Eastern Washington team that won the Big Sky regular season title. Following that season, Eastern Washington’s head coach David Riley got the Washington State head job. Coward, among his other talented teammates, were thought by many to be poached by some of the top teams in the country. Surprisingly, Coward, along with some of his productive teammates, chose to follow Riley to Washington State. Coward started the 2024-25 season just like he left off the year prior, averaging 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Then, sadly, Coward suffered a brutal shoulder injury and was hit with a four to six month recovery window–ending his season that was off to such a strong start.

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