Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor, high priority for Saints, planned to visit Wildcats Tuesday
Ansley Almonor, a transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson, was poised to seal the deal for Siena men’s basketball. He was a significant addition to head coach Gerry McNamara’s first recruiting class.
Then Kentucky’s blue-blooded suitor made an unexpected move.
The 6-foot-7 big Almonor announced on Kentucky Sports Radio that he will be in the state on Tuesday. On Saturday, he met via Zoom with the coaching staff, which included Mark Pope, the recently hired head coach of the Wildcats.
Almonor is expected to earn far more with the Wildcats in terms of name, image, and likeness compensation in addition to the apparent prestige of representing a Kentucky team that has won eight NCAA titles. Trevor Harris of the DeVore Sports Group is Almonor’s NIL agent.
“We were (in) the lead vs other mid majors and did everything to help offer him a great NIL package, but obviously weren’t expecting to compete with a P5 (power-five program),” texted Frank Ambrose, co-founder of the NIL collective Saints March On, which is backed by Siena. “It happens and we are ready to help coach close those remaining spots.”
Almonor also visited MAAC rival Iona and Pepperdine.
If Siena loses Almonor as expected, McNamara would have two scholarships remaining for next season, if he chooses to use both.
Almonor visited Siena on April 16 and 17, one of nine recruits to come to the campus. The other eight have committed. Almonor, who has one year of eligibility left, could have made it 9-for-9 and become an immediate Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year candidate.
During the previous season at FDU, Almonor averaged 16.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 39.4 percent from three. He was a member of the 16th-seeded Knights in 2022–23, who upset top-seeded Purdue in the NCAA Tournament opening round.
However, in the brand-new world of college basketball, where players can switch schools every year without having to sit out a year, and where NIL is a strong allure, nothing is definite.
“Also this is why we need to move to collective bargaining and a pro model,” Ambrose continued. “The unrestricted free agency model with no guardrails is unsustainable and bad for the players in the long term.”
