After hopping coast-to-coast the last few years, junior guard Colby Rogers transferred to the Shockers men’s basketball program to further his basketball career.

Rogers started his collegiate career at California Polytechnic State University before transferring to Siena College. The Covington, Georgia, native led his team in points scored at Siena, an average of 14.1 points per game.

Because this is his second transfer in the NCAA Transfer portal, Roger’s eligibility to play this year remains unknown as the season begins. 

“We welcomed Colby to Siena last year through the NCAA transfer portal process. Since it was his first transfer, Colby was able to play immediately, and he had a great year at Siena,” Siena said in a statement sent to The Sunflower. 

Now, Roger’s eligibility to play will be determined by what the NCAA decides.

“Should the NCAA determine that Colby could play right away, that would be wonderful for him and Siena would not take issue with that outcome, but that part of the process is Colby, Wichita State, and the NCAA’s responsibility, and not Siena’s,” Siena said.  

Many disagree on whether Siena is to blame or not. Following the men’s team exhibition game, Craig Porter Jr. commented on the subject.

“I feel like as an institution [Siena] shouldn’t hold a player back like that,” Porter said. “He’s just doing what’s best for him and his future. I feel like they shouldn’t be able to make that decision for him. He’s moving up in life, and I feel like they’re trying to take him down because he’s making that better step for himself.”

Head coach Isaac Brown said that following any Wichita State player’s transfer, they are granted a run-off waiver to continue playing at another institution.

“I’m hoping those guys can get the waiver. Every guy that’s ever left Wichita, we give them the runoff waiver. I don’t control the other coach,” Brown said.

Regardless of his ability to play, the Covington, Georgia, native is ready to up his game and be more vocal.

“This year is a year to… still contribute and help my team in any way possible, but also kind of be that voice on the sideline,” Rogers said.

With 11 other new faces on the team, Rogers wants to step up as a leader.

“I’m one of the older guys on the team …  I feel like [with] my expertise and my experiences, I can help guys on the team and help us come closer as a unit,” Rogers said.

Rogers said the team’s athletic abilities are strong, but they still have work to do with chemistry.

“We have a whole bunch of people with different skill sets that complement each other, so I think that for us is good,” Rogers said. “I think our only weakness I would say right now is just building that chemistry, at times, you can still tell we’re a fairly new team.”

Rogers hopes to know the status of his eligibility to play in the next few weeks.