Florida guard Riley Kugel commits to transfer to Kansas

Florida Gators shooting guard Riley Kugel has committed to transfer to the Kansas Jayhawks. Kugel announced the decision on Instagram.

Riley Kugel played his high school basketball at Dr. Phillips in Orlando, Florida. There, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was also the 10th-ranked shooting guard and the 72nd-ranked player nationally in that cycle.

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In two seasons at Florida, Riley Kugel played in 65 games, starting 28 of them. For his career, he is averaging 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He’s also shooting 42.3 percent from the field during the course of his college career.

This season, Kugel was a key figure on Florida’s team, helping the Gators to go 24-12 before being eliminated in their first game of the NCAA Tournament. However, later in the season, Kugel did see his minutes go down from where they had been previously.

Riley Kugel will join a Kansas team that is one of basketball’s traditional blue bloods. However, the Jayhawks are coming off a disappointing season, which saw Kansas finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 conference. Then, the Jayhawks were upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against a talented Gonzaga team.

Prior to committing to transfer to Kansas, Kugel trimmed his list of transfer destinations down to Arizona, UConn, Houston, and Kansas. Along with the Jayhawks, that’s a list that included two of this season’s NCAA Tournament one-seeds as well as a two-seed. So, he clearly had a long list of teams currently at the top of the sport that were interested in adding him.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

Florida and the Transfer Portal

The Transfer Portal for college basketball opened on March 18th, the day after Selection Sunday, and will remain open for 45 days from that time. It’s a timing that many coaches are frustrated by because, even though players rarely leave while their team is still playing, there is a need to recruit from the portal and evaluate your roster while still looking to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Riley Kugel was the first player who the Florida Gators lost to the Transfer Portal during the 2024 Transfer Portal cycle. As of now, Florida also hasn’t added any new players to its roster through the Transfer Portal. However, it does look like the Gators are going to be active with multiple players expressing interest in Florida.