Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves commits to Kentucky

Kentucky has received its first portal addition of the offseason, with Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves announcing his commitment to the Wildcats.

Reeves, a 6-foot-6 wing out of Chicago, visited Lexington last weekend. A little over one week later, he’s a Cat.

BBN stand up!🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/CSpXaGQ5hz

— Antonio Reeves (@ToniooReeves) April 27, 2022

“Coach Cal loves his players, he loves the game, has developed pros and won a national championship,” Reeves told ESPN’s Paul Biancardi. “That’s what attracted me to Kentucky.”

The standout guard entered the transfer portal on March 21 before hearing from the likes of Alabama, BYU, LSU, Memphis, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Xavier. He visited Nebraska in early April, his only other visit.

With commitment whispers growing louder, Reeves cut his final list to DePaul, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon and Xavier on Tuesday.

Reeves led Illinois State in scoring as a junior, averaging 20.1 points on 46.9% from the field, 39.0% from three and 81.8% from the line to go with 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest. The newest Wildcat led the Missouri Valley Conference and finished top 20 in all of Division I. It was his best year in college, averaging 7.2 points per game as a freshman and then 12.4 per game as a sophomore.

The dynamic scorer’s connection to Kentucky comes from Chin Coleman, who has deep ties to Chicago as the head coach of the Mac Irvin Fire (Nike EYBL) from 2005-11. Reeves played at Chicago’s Simeon High School as a three-star recruit before spending his first three college seasons with the Redbirds.

The Athletic ranks Reeves at No. 24 among the available transfers, with ESPN listing him at No. 30 overall.

Reeves joins five-star signees Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston as new additions to the Kentucky roster, with Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, Daimion Collins and CJ Fredrick confirmed as returnees. Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware are also expected to return for the Wildcats next season.

TyTy Washington declared for the NBA Draft, with Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz both out of eligibility.

Check out Reeves’ season highlights below:

Welcome to the family.