Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ex-gorman standout to join Rebels

- By Andy Yamashita Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@ reviewjour­nal.com. Follow @ Anyamashit­a on Twitter.

A local talent is coming back to Las Vegas.

Former Bishop Gorman star Isaiah Cottrell will transfer to UNLV after spending two seasons at West Virginia, he announced via his social media accounts Friday. He has three years of eligibilit­y remaining.

A 6-foot-10-inch forward, Cottrell played most of his prep career at Bishop Gorman before transferri­ng to Huntington Prep in Huntington, West Virginia, for his senior season of high school.

However, he’d earned a scholarshi­p to UNLV before he even debuted for the Gaels, as former Rebels coach Marvin Menzies offered Cottrell the ride after eighth grade.

At Bishop Gorman, Cottrell blossomed into a national prospect. A consensus fourstar recruit with more than 25 Division I scholarshi­p offers, he led the Gaels to a

Class 4A state championsh­ip in 2018-19 while averaging 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks. He committed to West Virginia after the season.

Cottrell left Nevada shortly thereafter, heading to Huntington Prep, where he averaged

18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He arrived at West Virginia ahead of the 202021 season, but his first year didn’t go as planned.

Just 10 games into his Mountainee­rs career, Cottrell tore his Achilles tendon, prematurel­y ending his first season. He averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes.

In his second year at West Virginia, Cottrell started 28 games, averaging 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds.

While Cottrell prepares to return to Las Vegas, another UNLV player has entered the transfer portal. Forward Reece Brown, who appeared in 19 games and made one start for the Rebels during the 2021-22 season, is leaving the program, a source close to the team confirmed to the Review-journal. Brown averaged 0.7 points and 0.7 rebounds during his sophomore season.

 ?? ?? Isaiah Cottrell
Isaiah Cottrell

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