WSU men’s basketball forward Jeff Pollard will return to the Cougars for his senior season after testing the waters by putting his name in the NCAA transfer portal.

Pollard made the announcement in a post on Twitter Tuesday. In the tweet, Pollard explained his reasoning for putting his name in the portal.

“I started this process as a contingency plan when [Head] Coach [Ernie] Kent and his staff were let go … With their departure I needed to be prepared to make a decision that would be best for me on an athletic, personal educational level, no matter how hard that decision would be,” Pollard wrote.

During his introductory press conference on April 1, new men’s basketball Head Coach Kyle Smith made a pitch to Pollard in front of the media and Cougar fans.

“You are a Coug, so we want you back,” Smith said. “I’ll go biblical and the story of the prodigal son, man, in open arms you come back. We’re all hugs, we’re all love.”

In 80 career games at WSU, Pollard is averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest.

Pollard wrote that he is looking forward to leaving a legacy at WSU and celebrating his senior night in Beasley Coliseum next year.

“I’m too much of a Coug to be anywhere else,” he wrote.