WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State men's basketball landed its first signee from the transfer portal Monday with the signing of Karon Boyd to a financial aid agreement.

A 6-foot-5 forward, Boyd will play his final season of collegiate basketball for the Shockers. 

"Karon is exactly what we were looking for when we thought about beginning this transfer class," said Wichita State head men's basketball coach Paul Mills. "He's proven himself as the top defender in a difficult conference, possesses competitive integrity to influence a locker room in the right direction and has an extremely high motor on both sides of the ball. I'm excited about his potential and confident in his ability to add value the second he steps on campus this summer. Karon is a wonderful addition to our team."

The 2024-25 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year averaged 8.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game to go with 28 blocks and 28 steals this past season for East Tennessee State. He played in 31 games, making 27 starts for the Bucs, scoring 10 or more points 12 times. He scored a season-high 20 points on Nov. 24 vs. Queens and had a career-high 20 rebounds on Feb. 5 at VMI. Boyd posted 16 points and 5 rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting in a visit to the Roundhouse on Dec. 7. As a sophomore at ETSU, Boyd started 29 of the team's 30 games, averaging 6.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game. Boyd began his college career at USC Aiken. In his one season at USC Aiken, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game. Boyd started in all 33 games where he shot 48 percent from the field and was a 72 percent free throw shooter. He helped guide the Pacers to a 24-win season and trip to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16, marking the program's best finish in nearly 10 years.

He was born in Queens, N.Y., and moved to Concord, N.C., at nine years old. He played at Cannon High School where he averaged 14.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists his senior season, leading Cannon to the Class 4-A state title. Boyd was named all-state following his senior campaign and was a North Carolina Private School all-star selection.

Boyd is the son of Thomas and Tiesha Boyd, and has four siblings, Jaren, Kyair, Ramal and Mekhi.