The Deacs have their 3rd addition of the portal with Kansas Jayhawk guard Jamari McDowell.
McDowell is a 6-5 redshirt sophomore who averaged 3.3 points and 1.1 assists in 17 minutes per game for the
Jayhawks this season. After redshirting in the 2024-25 season due to injury, McDowell was the 6th man for Kansas this season, playing in all 35 games. While he didn’t score much, he showed an ability to shoot the 3, hitting on 35% of his shots from beyond the arc (30-86). His best game of the season came against #1 Arizona, where he finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals to help Kansas hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
Back in 2022, McDowell was a 4-star recruit and the 77th ranked prospect of the 2023 recruiting class when he committed to Kansas over Wake Forest, Texas A&M, and Xavier—his familiarity with the Wake coaching staff from back then likely played a part in his decision to transfer to Wake Forest. From what I have read about McDowell, he makes up for his limited offense with his work on the defensive end and his unrelenting hustle.
Hopefully McDowell will give Wake a lockdown defender that can keep the other teams’ best players from having career games repeatedly against the Deacs. If he does that and continues to shoot 35%+ from beyond the arc, he should be able to have a big impact for Wake next season.
Go Deacs!
