TAMPA, Fla., (Apr. 1, 2023) – Kasen Jennings became the second Kennesaw State player to exit the NCAA transfer portal on Saturday when he announced his commitment to South Florida via Instagram.
He joins teammate Chris Youngblood and former Owls head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim in Tampa.
Jennings spoke about his relationship with Abdur-Rahim.
"Coach Amir, that's family right there," said Jennings. "I can't really, you know, get too deep with that, but me and Coach, we've been locked in since I was young. So, it was kind of a no brainer for me to go there. He's helped me grow throughout my career at Kennesaw as a man so, him taking a job, there, it was a no brainer that I was gonna go with him."
Jennings appeared in 85 games over three seasons with 29 starts. He averaged 5.9 points, 1.7 assists and 1.7 rebounds while making 41.6 percent of his shots, including 35.6 percent of his threes during his time with the Owls.
Did Jennings consider transferring to a program with a more robust NIL Collective?
"You know, with my talks with with Coach, I was with him wherever he was," Jennings said. "So, I really wasn't thinking too deep into going to a high-major or NIL. I felt like I was with him. So, wherever he was, I was, and I was gonna commit there."
Jennings doesn't have an official visit to USF scheduled just yet but he expects to trip to the Bay Area in the near future.
"Not yet," he said. "We're supposed to talk about it soon. I think he's going to call me either tonight or tomorrow, but we're supposed to talk about taking one soon. I'm excited, most definitely. I've heard Tampa is nice. So, I'm most definitely excited to get down there."
Don't be surprised if Jennings, Youngblood and Brandon Stroud visit USF together.
"I can definitely see that happening," Jennings said. "Kind of how it was when we visited Kennesaw. We all went together."
Jennings has two seasons of eligibility remaining.