Kentucky announces signing of Drexel transfer Amari Williams

Kentucky men’s basketball has made it official: Amari Williams is a Wildcat.

UK announced the news on Tuesday afternoon, two days after reports of Williams’ commitment to Kentucky broke.

The former Drexel transfer comes to Lexington as the three-time Defensive Player of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association. Williams averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game for Drexel in 2023-24 while starting all 32 games he appeared in. He was also tabbed First Team All-CAA.

“At times, Amari Williams looks like a man among boys on the court,” Head coach Mark Pope said, according to UK’s press release. “He is a three-time conference defensive player of the year, which is incredibly hard to do. He is bringing a big presence to the game and is going to serve as a rim-protector and rebounder. Amari is a gifted defensive player who can switch onto any position, one through five, which will add security to how everybody else feels on the court.

“Offensively, he is dangerous at the rim and he’s one of the special passers in college basketball. Amari can make all of the reads, all of the passes, all of the plays and he fits into exactly what we want to do on either end of the court.”

Williams will transfer to Kentucky with one year of eligibility remaining.

Welcome to #BBN, Amari Williams!

📰🔗 https://t.co/VKQVlDK4CB pic.twitter.com/1XQGSEQaOf

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) April 23, 2024

Williams is considered the 18th-best overall player in the transfer portal, per On3, and joins a Kentucky roster going into 2024-25 that also includes former BYU signee Collin Chandler and four-star guard Travis Perry.

Originally from Nottingham, England, Williams played at Myerscough College before coming over to the United States and landing at Drexel. Of note, while at Myerscough, he played alongside Utah State transfer forward Great Osobor, who is ranked No. 9 in the portal and is also heavily considering Kentucky. Williams and Osobor, who will visit UK next weekend, share the same agent.

Williams was an end-of-the-bench piece as a freshman at Drexel in 2020-21 before quickly developing into an impactful defender as a sophomore. He won his first of three conference Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2021-22 after averaging 9.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and two blocks in 20.6 minutes per contest. Williams would repeat as DPOY as a junior in 2022-23 with per-game averages of 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.2 blocks in 27.4 minutes.

To learn more about Williams’ game and how it will translate to the SEC, click here. KSR’s Brandon Ramsey also has an in-depth Film Room breakdown that you can find here.

Welcome to the Big Blue Nation, Amari.