Drexel transfer Amari Williams down to Kentucky, Mississippi State, St. John's

Drexel transfer Amari Williams has cut his list to three: Kentucky, Mississippi State and St. John’s, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.

He has already visited Mississippi State and St. John’s, and is set to visit Kentucky on Saturday. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope reportedly visited Williams at home on Thursday.

A Nottingham, England, native, Williams averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game as a senior for Drexel this past season. He will have one season of eligibility remaining for the next team he plays for.

According to the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings, Williams is the 18th-ranked transfer in the nation as of this report. The three-time reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year, he can provide an instant impact to whichever team he eventually chooses. The only question remains — which of these three programs will he choose?

While the 6-foot-10, 265-pound Williams visited St. John’s and Mississippi State earlier this week, he was scheduled to take visits to Indiana (April 19-20) and Creighton (April 20-21) this coming week. Neither team has made his reported top-three, so whether those visits are still on the table remains to be seen. 

Before college, Williams was unranked in the 2020 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. 

However, Williams’ was a member of Great Britain’s U20, U18 and U16 teams before playing college basketball in the States.. He is a graduate of Myerscough College in Preston, England. After that, he headed to the United States before finding a home at Drexel.

He saw minimal playing time as a true freshman but proved his worth during his second season with the program. He finished the year averaging 9.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-high 2.0 blocks per game, which earned him his first of three defensive player of the year honors in his conference. 

That was followed up by an even stronger junior season that saw him put up 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game on average. This time around, he was given First Team All-CAA honors for his efforts.

The English big man had only gotten better this past season and is now poised to be one of the most impactful transfers during this year’s portal cycle. 

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.