Cedric De'Von Coward (born September 11, 2003) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He previously played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

Eastern Washington Eagles The Eastern Washington Eagles are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Eastern Washington University, located in Cheney, southwest of Spokane. A member of the Big Sky Conference, EWU's athletic program comprises five men's ...

, and

Willamette Bearcats The Willamette Bearcats are the athletic teams of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. Competing at the non-scholarship National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III level, the school fields twe ...

Early life and education

Coward grew up in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

and attended Central High School.

College career

Coward began his college career at Division III

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

. In his only season with the Bearcats, averaged 19.4 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and was named the

Northwest Conference The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 t ...

Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Northwest. After his freshman season, Coward transferred to

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

. In his first season with the

, he averaged 7.3 points per game with 5.6 rebounds per game Coward was named first-team All-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

as a junior after averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. After the season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal. Coward committed to transfer to

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury six games into his first season with the team. At the time of his injury, Coward was the Cougars' leading scorer at 17.7 points per game and was averaging seven rebounds per game. Following his senior season, Coward entered the transfer portal along with declaring for the

NBA Draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. On April 28, 2025, he committed to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, but kept his name in the draft. After the NBA Combine, Coward announced on May 24 that he would forgo playing at Duke and remain in the draft pool. He was drafted 11th by the Portland Trail Blazers and subsequently traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

References

External links

Willamette Bearcats bioEastern Washington Eagles bioWashington State Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coward, Cedric 2002 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Fresno, California Eastern Washington Eagles men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Shooting guards Washington State Cougars men's basketball players Willamette Bearcats athletes