Kansas transfer Rylan Griffen schedules visit to Kentucky

Has Mark Pope found his shot-making guard in the transfer portal? Kentucky is hosting a big-time visitor next week to find out if there is a fit there.

Kansas transfer Rylan Griffen, a 6-6 rising senior out of Dallas, TX, will make his way to Lexington for an official on Tuesday, On3’s Joe Tipton has learned.

Griffen averaged 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game this past season for the Jayhawks while shooting 37.2 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from three and 67.5 percent at the line. He started 20 games in Lawrence this past year and played in 33 total.

He started his career playing for Nate Oats at Alabama, averaging 8.5 points on 41.8 percent shooting, 35.4 percent from three and 78.2 percent at the line in two seasons in Tuscaloosa. The former four-star, top-50 recruit out of high school had his best season as a sophomore playing for the Crimson Tide, averaging 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game on 45/39/81 shooting splits

Starting for a Final Four team at Alabama, Griffen scored 19 points on 5-8 from three in the Sweet 16 vs. UNC, followed by 13 points, eight assists and four rebounds vs. Clemson to advance to the national semifinal.

As you may recall, the 6-6 guard also went for 21 points against Kentucky in the Wildcats’ 117-95 win over the Tide in Lexington back on Feb. 24, 2024. He had 19 games scoring in double figures as a sophomore under Oats.

He played at Richardson High School in Texas alongside former UK standout Cason Wallace.

It wasn’t a fit in Lawrence playing for Bill Self. Could Griffen find his way back to the SEC in a high-powered offense that fits his skillset infinitely more than it did for the Jayhawks? His visit to Lexington will help decide if it’ll be in blue and white as a Wildcat, hoping to pick back up where he left off in the best conference in college basketball.