Tyrone Riley IV opens up on Kentucky portal interest, returning to San Francisco

Remember the name Tyrone Riley IV? The San Francisco transfer guard made the WCC All-Freshman Team in 2024-25 after averaging 9.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 assist in 28.2 minutes per contest, starting in all 34 games for the Dons. He seemed like college basketball’s next breakout star, jumping to the high-major ranks before a potential move to the NBA this time next year.

His interest list aligned with that possibility, too, Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Texas A&M, USC, UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, Mississippi State, Texas, St. John’s, Baylor and Washington among the first to reach out after entering the portal on March 27. Then a second wave came with in-person and virtual meetings, Kentucky front and center in that group with USC, Arizona, Texas and Arkansas doing the same. That report came April 3.

At the time, Tulane’s Kam Williams was the only commitment for the Wildcats with the USF transfer seen as a potential starting option at the two. Mark Pope made contact, then UK assistant Jason Hart flew out to California to meet with Riley’s father.

Then, out of the blue, Riley withdrew from the portal to return to San Francisco on April 6 — a 10-day process from start to finish.

Over two months later, KSR caught up with Riley at 2025 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team Training Camp in Colorado Springs about entering the transfer portal — and just how close he was to signing with Kentucky.

“It was a very long process for me and my family,” he said of the 10-day ride from entering the portal to withdrawing. “It took a lot of talks at night, a lot of seeing the good and bad of programs, seeing what would be the best spot for me. What I eventually did was stay at USF.”

As for the Wildcats specifically, he said the staff jumped in later than most and their conversations only lasted a couple of days. They had known each other from Pope’s time recruiting him at BYU as a high schooler, so there was already a foundation there, but they could’ve used more time together this go-round to help determine if there was a fit.

He liked Kentucky, but didn’t feel the trust — at least not yet.

“We talked for maybe two days. It was a little late from when they realized I jumped into the process, but it was nice talking to Coach Pope,” Riley told KSR. “I talked to him in high school when he was at BYU, so me and him already have a pretty good connection. I just didn’t have enough time to build relationships and get a feel of what the program would look like, the trust to be there and trust my next year of college there.”

The former four-star recruit out of high school saw the system fit, Pope and the Kentucky staff selling that well and Riley liking the pitch. They had big dreams for how they’d use the 6-6 guard, who was a top-50 player in the portal, according to The Athletic.

The timing just wasn’t right, unfortunately.

“Obviously, he likes how I play and my play style fits theirs — it’s pretty fast. So he said with my athleticism and my three-point shooting ability, I’ll fit in perfectly,” he said. “It would be a good fit for me, it just wasn’t the best fit for me at the time.”

That’s what made his time out in Colorado Springs so interesting, their paths crossing again with Riley one of 32 players invited to compete and Pope serving as a court coach to open training camp. After plenty of calls and FaceTimes during the recruiting process, they actually got extended in-person interaction time — and that meant a lot to the USF standout.

“It’s fun to get to know a lot of coaches here that talked to me through the transfer portal process,” he told KSR. “It was nice to get to see them face-to-face — because the most time we got was through a phone call. He’s just a fun guy, a good personality. He’s just a fun person to be around.”

What was it like to be coached by Pope, watching his recruiting pitch and vision for his game come to life in this USA Basketball setting?

“He knows what he’s talking about,” Riley continued. “He’s very smart, and he knows how to nitpick ways to get his players into the right position to be successful.”

It didn’t work out for Kentucky or any other program pushing for his commitment in the portal back in the spring. Now, his goal is to return to the WCC and lead the Dons to the NCAA Tournament while personally inching closer toward his NBA dreams.

“Obviously, every college program wants to make it to the tournament,” he said. “Me, I want to make a big jump in my production and my leadership role to be a big factor while we go to the tournament this year. And I want to shock some people, put my name in the best position to get drafted next year.”

Things worked out for all parties involved, if you ask me.