Ansley Almonor made history in lone season at Kentucky: 'Just being able to end up here is a privilege.'

There might not have been a more grateful person to put on the Kentucky Wildcats uniform in 2024-25 than Ansley Almonor.

A late addition to Mark Pope‘s first roster as head coach, Almonor was a diamond in the rough after three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson. Had Kentucky not come calling, he’s likely finishing his college career at one of Siena or Pepperdine. But when it was Pope on the other end of the phone, there was no hesitation as to where he wanted to spend his senior year. Even if he didn’t play more than a minute per game, the experience of being at a Blue Blood would have been good enough for him.

But Almonor did much more than sit on the end of the bench — he won games for Kentucky as the ultimate role player. Playing in all 36 games for the ‘Cats (seven as a starter), the 6-foot-7 stretch forward averaged 5.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per outing. That’s a far cry from the 16.4 points in 32 minutes per game he averaged as a junior at Fairleigh Dickinson, but he wouldn’t change anything about how his senior season panned out.

“My freshman year, I was on literally the worst team in college basketball,” Almonor said in an emotional locker room after Kentucky’s season-ending loss to Tennessee. “And after that year ended, if you would have told me that, ‘Hey, your senior year, you’ll be on the University of Kentucky’, I probably would have looked at you a little crazy. Look at my whole journey, even before college, how I got to college, living my whole dream, just being able to end up here is a privilege and a blessing.

Almonor made history in his lone season at UK, too. By shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from deep, and 90.6 percent from the free throw line, he became the first player in school history to post shooting splits of 50/40/90 with minimum attempts of 100 FG/50 3PT/25 FT, according to Corey Price.

.@ansleyalmonor is the first @KentuckyMBB player to shoot at least 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and 90% at the free-throw line in a single season (min. 100 FGA, 50 3PFGA, 25 FTA)

— Corey Price (@coreyp08) March 29, 2025

Almonor was instrumental in a handful of Kentucky wins this season. He combined to score 25 points on 6-10 shooting from deep in the Wildcats’ two regular season wins over Tennessee. His 11-point outing on the road against Mississippi State was key in UK winning the game. His play this season might not translate into an NBA roster spot, but he became a better person off the hardwood.

“I’ve expressed more gratitude this year. I’ve become more grateful for a lot of things I’ve been given in this life,” Almonor said. “For this opportunity I’ve been given, to be able to put on this jersey and to be able to represent BBN and the state of Kentucky.”

Almonor was always one of the first players off the bench to celebrate with his teammates following a big play. Look at the sideline after a ferocious dunk or momentum-shifting three, and there was Almonor jumping up and down with a smile on his face. In every interview opportunity throughout the season, he couldn’t help but bring up how special it was for him to be a Wildcat.

Pope’s goal at Kentucky has been to bring in guys who are proud to wear the name on the front of the jersey — Almonor set the bar incredibly high for everyone who comes after him.

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