NKU men’s basketball forward Keeyan Itejere entered his name into the transfer portal, according to a statement on his Instagram.
Itejere came to Highland Heights after two years at Marquette University where his team won the Big East Conference Championship.
In his Instagram post, he stated how his NKU career was instrumental in his success.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the privilege of pursuing my passion. The past two seasons at NKU have been invaluable, allowing me to learn and grow both on and off the court. I want to express my sincere thanks to Coach Horn and all the assistant coaches for their dedication in helping me reach this point,” Itejere wrote. “I’m excited and eager for the next chapter of my basketball journey.”
Itejere was ranked as a three-star prospect coming out of high school. He committed to Marquette, redshirting his first season in the Golden Eagles program. In the 2022-23 season, his true freshman year, he appeared in 13 games combining for 29 minutes of play.
The junior forward came to NKU in the 2023-24 season and made contributions right away, scoring six points and blocking two shots in his first game. At the end of the 2023-24 season, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
This past season, Itejere was more of a focal point in Head Coach Darrin Horn’s offense, starring in 32 out of 33 games for the Norse. He started the season off slow, but as time went on, he grew into his role. In the biggest game of the NKU season, he showed out and put up 13 points, eight rebounds and a block versus Cleveland State in the second round of the Horizon League tournament. He ended this past season averaging 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
Whichever team picks him up in the transfer portal will get a six-foot-nine forward who holds the Marquette program record for standing vertical leap at 36.5 inches. Itejere has a knack for the ball, as he can rack up blocks, dunks and find rebounds on both ends of the floor.
He leaves the NKU program entering the portal as a 22 year old grad transfer