PJ Haggerty could lead the nation in scoring during his fifth year of college basketball.
Haggerty almost did that this past season, occasionally sitting on top of the the leaderboard before finishing the season averaging 23.4 points per game for Kansas State. That somehow was not enough to lead the Big 12 in scoring, however, as freshman phenom AJ Dybansta scored 25.5 points per game to pace not just the conference but the nation. Haggerty came in at fourth in Division I behind Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and East Carolina’s Jordan Riley in addition to Dybantsa, but ahead of the likes of the 2026 Naismith Player of the Year, Duke’s Cameron Boozer – fourth isn’t first, but it’s still quite the accomplishment. Haggerty got there because he can score at all three levels, and do so efficiently, too, as he shot 48.9% from the field this past season.
He has transferred after every season of his college career and will play out his final year of eligibility no differently, now with a fifth program.
PJ Haggerty led the American Athletic Conference in scoring in 2024-25, and was second in the Big 12 this past season. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Kentucky
The Wildcats lost guards Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler after the season ended, so finding new scorers is paramount. Haggerty will command an expensive paycheck, but Kentucky has the money to meet whatever it is the 6-foot-3 guard is asking for. He has experience playing in this part of the country, having already played for Memphis. But after a season basing his offense around high-volume on-ball guards, head coach Mark Pope might want to go in a different direction considering how 2025-2026 went for the Wildcats, too.
LSU
The Tigers are starting anew after re-hiring coach Will Wade following one season at NC State. Wade is a defensive-oriented coach, but landing a scorer like Haggerty could give him an offensive baseline to build around – and being around a defense-first coach could be good for Haggerty, as well, given his individual Defensive Rating has declined every year he has played, all the way to last season’ 114.3 mark.
LSU has also been a reported potential destination for Haggerty, so there’s mutual interest between the two sides. He is also from Crosby, Texas, just west of the Louisiana border, and has a history playing in the south, with stints at Tulsa, Memphis and TCU.
Texas
The Longhorns were the highest seed to make the Sweet 16 this past season as a No. 11 team, but will lose guards Tramon Mark, Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver to graduation, and Dailyn Swain to the NBA Draft. Haggerty would help replace some of that scoring and bring a similar punch to that of Mark and Swain, two offense-first guards. Haggerty is from Texas and this would be his second time playing at a school in his home state after starting his college career at TCU. One imagines things would be different for him this time around, given that version of Haggerty played just six games and averaged nine minutes per.
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