LA Tech adds former Pitt forward William Jeffress

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech men’s basketball head coach Talvin Hester added his third transfer for the 2024-25 season with the signing of William Jeffress.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward spent the last four seasons at Pitt where he saw action in 78 career games with the Panthers, including 22 starts.

“We are really excited to have William join our program,” said Hester. “He adds basketball IQ, athletic ability, toughness, and experience that we believe will allow him to make an immediate impact here at Louisiana Tech and in Conference USA. We can’t wait for his arrival here in Ruston.”

The Erie, Pennsylvania native was part of back-to-back 20-win seasons for Pitt. This past season, Jeffress saw action in 31 of the 33 games while making two starts during non-conference. He played 10.8 minutes per contest, averaging 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game to go along with 17 steals.

Jeffress posted a season-high seven points in the season opener against North Carolina A&T and a season-high 10 rebounds in the ACC opener at Syracuse.

His best season at Pitt came during the 2021-22 campaign when he made 16 starts for the Panthers while averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 boards per contest with 21 steals, 20 assists, and 12 blocks. He had 11 games of 5+ rebounds and a total of 30 offensive boards, third most on the team.

As a freshman, Jeffress saw action in 16 games with four starts that all came during ACC play. For the season, he averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Off the court, Jeffress was recently named to the 2023-24 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Having graduated in 3.5 years with two degrees in Psychology and Communications from Pitt, he has also been recognized as a member of the All-ACC Academic Team three times.

In high school, Jeffress played three seasons of varsity basketball at McDowell where he was a three-time Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ all-state selection. He finished his career as the Trojans’ all-time scoring (1,673 points) and rebounding (578 boards) and was a member of Team USA in 2019 that won gold at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship.

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