Former Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel will no longer play for the Kansas Jayhawks next season and is already being recruited by other programs, according to a report from Matt Norlander at CBS.
Kansas head coach Bill Self indicated Kugel’s future with the Jayhawks was up in the air on Monday during a conversation with NCAA reporter Andy Katz, and indeed it looks like the rising junior guard will look elsewhere for the 2024-25 season.
Kugel was the first marquee transfer portal addition made by Self this offseason, committing to Lawrence after two solid seasons with the Gators in the SEC.
A promising freshman campaign (9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 37.6% from three) led many to believe Kugel was due for a massive breakout as a sophomore in 2023-24, but instead his performance regressed slightly. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds, but his three point percentage dropped to 31.2% and his two point percentage went from 50.3% as a freshman to 44.7% last year.
Portal update: Riley Kugel won't play at Kansas, per sources. Bill Self told @TheAndyKatz Monday Kugel's future w/ KU was "up in the air." Kugel (9.2 ppg @ Florida) is on CBS Sports' list of notable 2024 transfers. He's being recruited again by high-majors.https://t.co/A5mEEs1RYI
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) May 8, 2024
After landing Kugel, Kansas subsequently secured commitments from South Dakota State wing Zeke Mayo, Wisconsin forward AJ Storr, and Alabama guard Rylan Griffen, and those additions meant Kugel wouldn’t get the amount of playing time he initially expected.
Now he’ll once again look for another opportunity on the open market, and should receive plenty of interest from programs looking to add to their guard rotation for next season.