Keion Brooks is transferring to Washington

Keion Brooks is taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest. The former Kentucky forward just announced on Instagram he is committed to Washington. Brooks entered the transfer portal on April 29 after three seasons at Kentucky and withdrew his name from the NBA Draft on May 23. According to previous reports, he was also considering Arizona and Notre Dame.

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A post shared by Keion Brooks Jr. (@keionb)

Over three years as a Wildcat, Brooks averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. A former five-star recruit, the Ft. Wayne, In. native was a Top 25 player in America when he committed to the Cats in 2019. He played sparingly as a freshman and his sophomore debut was delayed by a lengthy injury. In 2021-22, Brooks started in 33 of Kentucky’s 34 games, scoring in double figures 17 times. He averaged a career-best 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field.

This isn’t the first time a Cat has traded Kentucky Blue for Husky Purple. In 2019, Quade Green transferred from Kentucky to Washington after a season and a half. In recent years, recruits like Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels have chosen the Huskies over the Cats. Conversely, Terrence Jones famously committed to Washington then flipped to Kentucky in 2010.

Brooks says farewell to Kentucky

Brooks didn’t announce he was transferring until late April — and even then, didn’t fully close the door on a return to Lexington for a while longer — but his comments following Kentucky’s loss to Saint Peter’s read like a farewell.

“The ending doesn’t change how I look at these guys at all. I love every single one of them,” he said. “I love the progress and the progression that we made throughout the whole year, how we came together, how we got better as a team, how guys got better individually.”

“I love and enjoy being around the staff, having really good and great times,” he added. “My tenure here has been a little funky and difficult, a little different, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Coming here, I’ve learned a lot beyond being a basketball player, but Coach Cal has done a great job of shaping me into a better man and that being said, I don’t regret anything that I’ve been through as long as I’ve been here.”

Best of luck to Keion in Seattle.