Mark Pope and Kentucky have landed its eighth transfer portal addition of the offseason as Farleigh Dickinson After committing on Thursday, power forward Ansley Almonor signed with the Wildcats on Friday.
According to a press release from Pope, “Ansley is one of the best shooting mid-major bigs available and he is an incredible mover without the basketball.” “He’s a fearless competitor with strong leadership qualities. Ansley, a finance major, hails from a remarkable Haitian family. He brings a wealth of experience and a ton of collegiate basketball experience to our team, making him an excellent acquisition.”
Almoner, a native of Spring Valley, New York, will be beginning his final year of eligibility. He participated in athletics at Fairleigh Dickinson during his first three years of college.
The native of Empire State is rated as a three-star transfer prospect on the portal, ranking as the 317th best player and the 52nd best power forward.
In 24 games with four stars as a rookie in 2021–22, he averaged 3.5 points per game.
As a sophomore in 2022–23, he participated in 36 games and started 34 of them, scoring 13.6 points, pulling down 4.8 rebounds, and dishing out 1.4 assists per contest.He averaged 13.3 points per game in FDU’s three conference tournament victories, which helped the Knights win the Northeast Conference championship. He also scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the team against Texas Southern in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.
In the Round of 64, Almonor and No. 16-seeded FDU upset No. 1-seeded Purdue. He scored one point, grabbed two rebounds and picked up two steals in the historic win over the Boilermakers. He then scored seven points He pulled down eight rebounds in the Knights’ Round of 32 defeat to N0. 9-seeded FAU.
He assembled a First Team All-NEC campaign this past season.
He averaged 16.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 32 games, including 31 starts. He also shot 43.6 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from three on 236 attempts, and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.He was twice named the NEC Player of the Week. He scored a season-high 30 points in a win over Le Moyne, 27 in a loss to Columbia, and 26 in a loss to Jacksonville.
Almonor fills a need for the Wildcats in the front court as he becomes the second power forward added to UK’s 2024-25 roster joining Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr.
With the addition of Almonor UK has now filled 11 of its 13 scholarships with transfers Amari Williams (Drexel), Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Carr, Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Koby Brea (Dayton) and Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia) as well as incoming freshman Collin Chandler, Travis Perry and Trent Noah all on board.
The Cats are still in pursuit of an all-around scorer, with BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson, North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier, and Miami transfer Wooga Poplar all on its radar. All three players are currently going through the NBA Draft process and must remove their names from the draft by the end of May to return to college.
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Kentucky notches school-record 21st SEC win
The Cats (38-11, 21-7) saw their magic number dwindle to one, meaning one victory in their final two games seals at least a share of the title.
Vanderbilt made the 4,384 fans hold their breath with a home run on the first pitch of the game but UK struck for three runs of its own in the first in a quintessential Wildcats inning that featured extra base hit, bunts, sacrifices, walks and the offensive pressure it has become known for in recent years.
After two innings, Waldschmidt blew the game open and chased the Commodores starter with a two-out, three-run home run off the TV tower beyond centerfield. Later in the evening, Nick Lopez added a home run, while birthday boy Mitchell Daly recorded his 200th collegiate hit. It was a busy night on both sides of the ball.
Prior to the game on Friday, UK will have Senior Night rituals and celebrate its graduates.
On Senior Night, Kentucky hopes to secure at least a share of the SEC championship by hosting Vanderbilt on Friday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, and both the UK Sports Network and SECN+ will stream the game live.
