WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State has been in the market looking to fill its final roster spot, and the Shockers did just that before traveling to Greece.

Wichita State head coach Paul Mills announced the signing of grad transfer Dalen Ridgnal to the roster for the 2023-24 season. Ridgnal received his undergraduate degree from Missouri State earlier this summer. The Kansas City, Mo., native spent one season in Springfield after transferring from Georgia in 2021-22.

"We are excited to welcome Dalen to Wichita State," Mills said. "He shot 42 percent from behind the arc last season in Missouri Valley Conference play and does phenomenal work playing in space. He is a force on the glass too as one of the best rebounding forwards in the country. We are confident that his abilities will translate well to help us this upcoming season."

Ridgnal played in 31 games with 11 starts in his lone season with the Bears. He scored in double figures five times, and posted three games of 10 or more rebounds. He grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in an overtime win over Valpo (2/1/23). Ridgnal was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week on 1/2/23 after averaging a team-best 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds with seven 3-pointers and a .579 (11-of-19) field goal percentage in a 2-0 week. On Dec. 28, 2022, he tallied game-highs and career-highs with 24 points, 11 rebounds and five 3-pointers on 8-of-13 shooting in a win at Northern Iowa. In his first start at Missouri State, he had a breakout effort in home win over Central Michigan (12/18/22) with 16 points and eight rebounds. In the classroom he earned a spot on the MVC Honor Roll, while also being named to the Missouri State Athletic Director's Honor Roll for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 semesters. 

Prior to Missouri State, Ridgnal made the trek to Georgia for a season. He played in 28 games in 2021-22, his only season in Athens, averaging 10.3 minutes, 2.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game overall and 3.3 points per game in SEC play. Following a prep career at Lincoln Academy (Ga.) and Rockhurst High School (Kansas City), Ridgnal spent two years at Cowley College. He was a two-time All-American, All-Region VI and All-Jayhawk Conference selection at Cowley for coach Tommy DeSalme where he led the Tigers to a 50-11 record in two years with a pair of conference titles and a 2021 national runner-up finish. He scored 1,118 points (18.6 ppg) and snagged 699 rebounds (11.7) in 60 career games. Ridgnal was a First-Team All-America pick in 2020-21 after posting 21.1 points and a national-best 12.8 rebounds with 23 double-doubles. As a freshman, he recorded 20 double-doubles and averaged 16.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a Third-Team All-America honoree.