Utah State’s Steven Ashworth is in the Transfer Portal — What are BYU’s Chances?

One of the top shooters in college basketball entered the transfer portal as Utah State guard Steven Ashworth put his name in the portal Thursday afternoon.

After two solid seasons at Utah State where he averaged 6.1 and 8.7 points, respectively, Ashworth took a huge leap as a junior. Ashworth was First Team All-MWC, averaging 16.2 ppg and 4.5 assists on 43.4% shooting from three. Doug Gottlieb recently called him one of the best shooters in college hoops. Ashworth has two years of eligibility remaining.

Ashworth is the third starter to transfer from Utah State after Ryan Odom took the VCU job.

The BYU connections to Ashworth are obvious. Steven went to nearby Lone Peak HS where he grew up in a BYU family. His wife is a former BYU cheerleader and a recent BYU graduate. A member of the 2018 recruiting class, Ashworth was not offered by the prior BYU staff; 247 Sports didn’t give him a star rating out of high school. Ashworth had a late scholarship offer from Duke, but he turned it down since it would have required him turning down his mission call.

Ashworth will get a TON of interest in the transfer portal. The three schools I am keeping an eye on early are BYU, Utah and Duke. BYU has the connections I mentioned it before — I also think Ashworth would get competitive NIL offers from BYU boosters who want one of the best LDS players in the country that is a local kid. Additionally, BYU coaches can put on endless tape of Alex Barcello and how they used him. Ashworth is a very similar player to Barcello. Ashworth also has the chance to be the face of the program as they head into the Big 12.

Utah figures to be in the mix because of Craig Smith. Smith coached Ashworth his first year at Utah State and honored his scholarship post mission.

For Duke, head coach Jon Scheyer was an assistant at Duke when they offered Ashworth. If they offer him again, they would undoubtedly vault towards the top of the list. VCU also figures to be in the mix with Ryan Odom, but I have a little bit of a hard time seeing Ashworth go across to the country to play in the A-10.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the coming weeks. BYU is one of the favorites to land Ashworth, but it is not a slam dunk. Tons of schools will be in the mix, and BYU will need to be persistent to land Ashworth. If BYU does land Ashworth, he would instantly be the top player on the roster and huge piece as BYU heads into the Big 12.