Oklahoma State Lands Syracuse Transfer Forward Woody Newton

STILLWATER, Ok. – Oklahoma State has landed its first commitment of the 2021 class and it’s out of the transfer portal. Syracuse transfer forward Woody Newton took to Twitter Friday morning to make the announcement.

Mike Boynton sent out one of his trademark commitment tweets earlier in the morning, so Oklahoma State Twitter knew some kind of news was coming down the pipe.

Newton is a 6-8, 200-pound forward out of District Heights, MD and Mt. Zion Prep. This past season as a freshman, Newton averaged 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game is 11 games for the Orange. He shot 46.4% from the field, including 38.9% from 3-point range.

A top-150 four-star prospect out of high school, Newton started the season well scoring 33 points and hauling in 18 rebounds in the first four games of the season, but seemingly fell out of the rotation after Syracuse’s second COVID-19 pause and struggled the remainder of the season.

While his numbers don’t exactly jump off the stat sheet at you, his shooting percentage is certainly promising and he’s a player who adds depth down low, an area the Cowboys needed some help at. Also, with the NCAA’s free year this past year, his freshman season at Syracuse was basically a redshirt year. It’ll be fun to watch him develop under Mike Boynton and the strength staff.

While this is the first commitment of the class, Newton could potentially be the first of three spots filled as Cade Cunningham, Ferron Flavors Jr. and Dee Mitchell’s scholarships will be available next year. However, it will all depend on the NCAA’s decision as a reduction of three scholarships over the next three seasons is a part of the punishment being appealed.

Out of high school, Newton held offers from Syracuse, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Kansas State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Xavier among others.