By Ryan Gilbert
MANHATTAN, Kan. (GoPowercat.com) – After entering the transfer portal, CJ Jones has decided to return to Kansas State for the 2025-26 season, GoPowercat confirms.
Jones first entered the portal on April 21 but was never able to find the right home. Now, two months later, he’s officially sticking with the Wildcats for another season.
The 6-foot-5 athlete averaged 5.7 points, 1.5 assists and 18.9 minutes per game in 2024-25. Jones started in nine games.
Jones spent his first two collegiate seasons at UIC. He has one season of eligibility remaining. Scoring 12 points at UCF and vs. Mississippi Valley State, along with 10-point outings against Arizona State, Arizona and West Virginia, Jones cracked double figures in five games for the Wildcats. Jones logged a season-high 28 minutes at Wichita State.
Jones joins David Castillo, Mobi Ikegwuruka and Taj Manning as returning players from last year’s squad.
In his two seasons in Chicago, Jones averaged 9.0 points on 39.4 percent shooting (216-of-548), including 36 percent (54-of-150) from 3-point range, to go with 3.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 30.2 minutes per game while playing in 62 of a possible 65 games with 50 starts for head coach Luke Yaklich.
Jones played two seasons at East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Ill., where he led the Flyers to a 27-6 record and a berth in the Class 3A Super Sectionals in 2021-22. As a senior, he averaged 15.5 points on 38.9 percent shooting with 7.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. He scored a season-high 31 points against Rockford East in his second game of the season.
