Kentucky has two remaining scholarships for 2024 and while much of the focus has been on transfers Chaz Lanier (North Florida) and Jaxson Robinson (BYU), the Wildcats are also in the hunt for a 5-star reclass candidate.
Malvern (Pa.) Phelps School 5-star forward Will Riley will visit UK and Alabama in June, he told Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.
Riley (6-8, 180), who named a top five of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, and the NBL (Australia) last month, is currently ranked No. 16 overall in the 2025 class according to the industry average 247Sports Composite but is still considering reclassifying to 2024.
Originally from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Riley was named the Most Valuable Player of the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in February at NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.
Last weekend, Riley averaged 25.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 69.1% overall and making 9 of 15 three-pointers (60%) for UPLAY Canada at the Nike EYBL stop in Indianapolis, including a 42-point performance on 15 of 16 shooting, including a perfect 5 of 5 from 3-point range in a 100-60 win over Team Durant.
Over 10 games this travel season, Riley is averaging 21.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in leading UPLAY to a 6-4 record.
Riley included Kentucky in his top 10 in March and included the Wildcats in his top five last month despite the departure of head coach John Calipari for Arkansas. New UK coach Mark Pope, along with assistants Alvin Brooks III, Jason Hart, and Cody Fueger had eyes on Riley in Indianapolis.
“I’ve been talking to the head coach. A little bit of the assistant,” Riley said. “I’m trying to set up a visit with them. We’ve [Pope and I] talked briefly, but he’s been talking to my manager a lot.”
Riley described what he’s looking for at his next stop.
“I don’t want to be put in positions I’m like not used to. I could always adjust to that, but it would just be better to get put in the right spots, the right scenarios. Also a coach that sees my potential and knows where I want to get to. I have goals in mind. I talk to them about my goals and hopefully they can help me get there,” Riley said.
“I’m positionless and I can shoot, pass,” Riley said. “People underlook my passing a lot but I feel like I’ve worked on it enough to show I’m a pretty good passer. Often high-rated prospects can only just score. But I feel like I can make my team better.”
Kentucky also recently hosted 3-star 6-foot-11 Texas center and former Vanderbilt commit Jamie Vinson for an official visit. In addition to UK, Vinson also visited South Carolina and Rutgers.
“The 13th scholarship is a floating piece,” Pope said recently. “It could be a place for a young player. It could be a place for a senior player who is going to take a redshirt year. It could be a place for a project. It could be a place for a high-risk guy.”
In recognition of their outstanding performances during the 2023-24 NBA season, Kentucky men’s basketball products Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker were selected to the All-NBA teams, it was announced Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander was a unanimous pick to the First Team, while Davis was named to the Second Team and Booker tabbed a Third Team pick.
Since 2015, Kentucky has had eight players earn 17 All-NBA honors. The number of individual players and the number of total selections lead all other programs during that time period.
All three of Kentucky’s 2023-24 All-NBA honorees are past awardees. Gilgeous-Alexander and Booker were each recognized for the second time in their professional careers, while Davis was selected for a remarkable fifth season, the most ever for a Kentucky men’s basketball alum. All three players were also voted as NBA All-Stars this season.
The runner-up for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Gilgeous-Alexander was one of just two unanimous First Teamhonorees this season alongside Nikola Jokic. He resides on the All-NBA First Team for a second-consecutive season after also being selected to his second NBA All-Star game in 2024 and earning his first career start in the game’s premier event. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the regular season as the league’s third leading scorer, averaging 30.1 points per game. The Hamilton, Ontario, native had a league-best 51 30-point outings, marking the second straight year he has paced the league in that category.
The rangy lead guard was also a nemesis on defense, tying for the league lead in steals per game at 2.0 per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander also contributed 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game for the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder, who earned the No. 1 seed in the rugged Western Conference. OKC finished 57-25 overall, the most wins for the team since winning 59 games in 2013-14. In the Thunder’s opening series’ sweep over New Orleans, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 27.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. It marked the first playoff series win for the franchise since 2016.
Now in his 12th NBA season, Davis enjoyed a tremendous 2023-24 campaign which saw the Los Angeles Lakers’ center average 24.7 points on 55.6% shooting. He ranked third in the league in rebounds per game with 12.6 and fourth in both total blocks (178) and blocks per game (2.3). Davis was also named to the NBA All-Defense Second Team yesterday.
During his outstanding NBA career, Davis is a nine-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA First Team selection (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020), a 2020 NBA Champion and the 2017 NBA All-Star Game MVP.
Rounding out the UK contingent of All-NBA honorees is Booker on the Third Team. During the 2023-24 regular season, the Phoenix Suns star guard averaged 27.1 points per game, a career-high 6.9 assists per contest and 4.5 rebounds. Booker’s scoring average was tied with teammate Kevin Durant for the fifth highest in the NBA this season and helped the Suns to a 49-33 record and the sixth seed in the Western Conference. It was the second most points per game for Booker in a single season during his nine-year NBA career.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan native continued his torrid scoring pace in the Phoenix’s four postseason games, averaging 27.5 points in the series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves. Booker adds this year’s All-NBA Third Team recognition to his first team selection in 2022. He is also a four-time NBA All-Star and was a member of the NBA All-Rookie First Team back in 2016.
Other former Kentucky men’s basketball players to receive All-NBA votes were Tyrese Maxey, De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo.
Kentucky men’s basketball alumni continue to make a major impact on the NBA scene. UK led the country for the 12th straight season with 26 former student-athletes on NBA opening day rosters in 2023-24, while also pacing the nation with 22 representatives in the NBA Playoffs. At the 2024 NBA All-Star game, the Wildcats made history with a record-breaking seven players earning All-Star nods.
The 2023-24 NBA award season has already been a successful one for the Wildcats. In addition to today’s All-NBA nods, Adebayo and Davis were named to the NBA All-Defensive Teams, Karl-Anthony Towns earned the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, Maxey was named both the KIA NBA Most Improved Player, and the recipient of the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award and Cason Wallace was tabbed to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
College baseball bracketology: NC State surges, Wake Forest slides ahead of Selection Monday, per D1Baseball
There was a big shakeup in the projected field ahead of conference tournament action.
Carter Bahns
College baseball conference tournaments are underway and already delivered chaos in their early rounds. While the results of these final contests make up only a small fraction of teams’ complete résumés, they will go a long way in helping the NCAA Tournament selection committee determine which squads punch their tickets to the postseason and where those teams land in the race for national seeds.
The staff at D1Baseball released its weekly projections for the NCAA tournament’s 68-team field and kept Kentucky atop the bracket, but movement at the top of the ladder could be in order ahead of Selection Monday. Tennessee remains the chief contender for the No. 1 overall seed while Oregon State, NC State and UC Santa Barbara are on sharp upward trajectories.
The top 16 teams in the college baseball bracket earn hosting rights for the regional round, while the top eight national seeds are guaranteed home games through the super regionals so long as they remain in the tournament.
Here are the NCAA tournament projections, courtesy of D1Baseball, during conference tournament week:
LEXINGTON REGIONAL / STILLWATER REGIONAL
1. (1) Kentucky Wildcats
2. Illinois Fighting Illini
3. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
4. Sacred Heart Pioneers
Kentucky had the inside track to the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament but slipped in the regular-season finale to land the No. 3 seed. In turn, the Wildcats fell in run-rule fashion to LSU in their first postseason contest. Their form of late could be questionable enough for the committee to hold them out of the top overall spot.
Lane Forsythe
1. (16) Oklahoma State Cowboys
2. Dallas Baptist Patriots
3. LSU Tigers
4. Lamar Cardinals
While Oklahoma State fell short of a regular-season Big 12 title, its offense was one of the very best in the conference. The Cowboys smacked a whopping 104 home runs this year, including seven in one game during their penultimate series. Each of Nolan Schubart, Carson Benge, Colin Brueggemann and Zach Ehrhard have double-digit round-trippers this year.
KNOXVILLE REGIONAL / GREENVILLE REGIONAL
1. (2) Tennessee Volunteers
2. UConn Huskies
3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
4. Fairfield Stags
Tennessee swept South Carolina to earn the top seed in the SEC Tournament but immediately delivered a dud with a 13-4 loss to Vanderbilt in the postseason opener. The Vols still have the ideal balance of elite offense and pitching, though, and this is the consensus No. 1 team in the polls. The selection committee may very well agree.
Trey Yesavage
1. (15) East Carolina Pirates
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Charleston Cougars
4. Presbyterian Blue Hose
East Carolina ranks in the top 20 nationally in both batting average and ERA, and it is the latter in which the Pirates truly shine with their No. 3-ranked mark of 3.73. Staff ace Trey Yesavage will be one of the top college arms taken in the MLB Draft with his nasty four-pitch mix, but his availability moving forward is uncertain after he landed in the hospital with a partially collapsed lung.
COLLEGE STATION REGIONAL / TERRE HAUTE REGIONAL
Braden Montgomery
1. (3) Texas A&M Aggies
2. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
3. TCU Horned Frogs
4. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
The Aggies will go as far in the tournament as their pitching staff takes them. With a 3.94 ERA and 583 strikeouts, they rank sixth nationally in two of the most important categories. The offense is no slouch either and features one of the top MLB Draft prospects in star outfielder Braden Montgomery, who has 26 home runs and 80 RBI to his name.
1. (14) Indiana State Sycamores
2. Mississippi State Bulldogs
3. Kansas State Wildcats
4. Bowling Green Falcons
Despite the return of top pitcher Nate Dohm, Mississippi State lost its grip on a national seed with a regular-season finale home loss to Missouri. Chris Lemonis’ squad is in the middle of a nice SEC Tournament run, though, and continues to outperform expectations as the conference’s preseason No. 13 team.
CHAPEL HILL REGIONAL / SANTA BARBARA REGIONAL
1. (4) North Carolina Tar Heels
2. Oregon Ducks
3. UNC Greensboro Spartans
4. Cornell Big Red
UNC is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Tar Heels enter ACC Tournament play as winners of 12 of their last 14 games, and they are fresh off a road series win against rival Duke — which projects comfortably as a tournament team.
Tyler Bremner
1. (13) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
2. Arizona Wildcats
3. Northeastern Huskies
4. Air Force Falcons
The West Coast could have two regional hosts thanks to a torrid stretch from UCSB. The Gauchos ride an 11-game winning streak into their final series, and the emergence of Sunday starter Tyler Bremner is one of the catalysts behind that explosion. The midseason breakout pitcher has gone at least seven innings in all but one of his last six starts and tossed a 12-strikeout complete game two weeks ago.
FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL / CHARLOTTESVILLE REGIONAL
Hagen Smith (Photo: Getty)
1. (5) Arkansas Razorbacks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Troy Trojans
4. Saint Louis Billikens
Arkansas is in the middle of a poorly timed slump. Following two series losses in the final three weeks of the regular season, the Razorbacks dropped each of their first two SEC Tournament games to fall out of conference title contention. Program strikeout leader Hagen Smith is college baseball’s most electric pitcher with his national-best 1.52 ERA but needs the rest of this loaded roster to turn things around.
Evan Blanco
1. (12) Virginia Cavaliers
2. West Virginia Mountaineers
3. James Madison Dukes
4. Bryant Bulldogs
Pitching has been an adventure for Virginia as Evan Blanco is the only hurler with more than seven starts on the year. The Cavaliers’ bats, which rank fourth nationally in runs and second in batting average, cannot afford to go cold.
CLEMSON REGIONAL / RALEIGH REGIONAL
1. (6) Clemson Tigers
2. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
3. South Carolina Gamecocks
4. Army Black Knights
Clemson bounced back from its ugly sweep at the hands of Wake Forest with a three-game winning streak of its own and maintained the projected No. 6 national seed as a result. The Tigers were one of the first teams to reach 40 wins this season despite playing a very difficult schedule.
Alex Sosa celebrates HR vs Virginia Tech ACC Tournament
1. (11) NC State Wolfpack
2. UC Irvine Anteaters
3. UNC Wilmington Seahawks
4. Grand Canyon Antelopes
There may be no bigger stock-up team in college baseball right now than NC State, which went from outside the national seed picture to a borderline top-eight projection in the span of one week. The Wolfpack completed a convincing sweep of powerhouse Wake Forest before run-ruling Virginia Tech in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
NORMAN REGIONAL / CORVALLIS REGIONAL
1. (7) Oklahoma Sooners
2. Nebraska Cornhuskers
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Little Rock Trojans
RPI (No. 14) suggests Oklahoma is closer to the hosting bubble than to the top-eight seed bubble, but it would be difficult for the selection committee to hold the Big 12 champion too far down the pecking order.
Travis Bazzana
1. (10) Oregon State Beavers
2. San Diego Toreros
3. Vanderbilt Commodores
4. Wright State Raiders
The bats cooled down in the Pac-12 Tournament, but Oregon State smoked Arizona last weekend in a series win to lock up a regional hosting bid. Pitching depth and uncharacteristic defense are still concerns for Oregon State, but the Beavers have the offensive firepower and elite top-of-the-rotation talent necessary to beat anyone. Australia native Travis Bazzana is now the program’s all-time hits and home runs leader and will be one of the biggest stars of the NCAA Tournament.
ATHENS REGIONAL / TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL
Charlie Condon
1. (8) Georgia Bulldogs
2. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
3. UCF Knights
4. Austin Peay Governors
Anyone unfamiliar with Charlie Condon will know his name by the end of the NCAA tournament. The potential No. 1 overall draft pick has been sensational for Georgia during an awe-inspiring year in which he leads college baseball in batting average (.443), OPS (1.601) and home runs (35).
1. (9) Florida State Seminoles
2. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
3. Florida Gators
4. Florida A&M Rattlers
Florida State seeks its first trip to Omaha since the late, legendary Mike Martin guided the Seminoles to the CWS in his final year at the helm. That is well within reach, as is a top-eight national seed, after a 39-win regular season.
