UK transfer Tai Wynyard to play for former Cats assistant at new school
Former University of Kentucky basketball player Tai Wynyard has found a new home to complete his college career, and a former UK assistant coach is there to welcome him.
Wynyard announced on Instagram on Friday that he will play for head coach Herb Sendek at Santa Clara (Calif.) University. The school later followed up with a press release confirming the news.
Wynyard, who played two seasons at Kentucky, will have two seasons of eligibility at Santa Clara.
"I’m happy @taiwynyard decided on Santa Clara.," Kentucky Coach John Calipari tweeted. "Coach Herb Sendek is a friend from Pittsburgh. He was an assistant at Kentucky in the '90s. I’m looking forward to watching and rooting for them!"
Sendek was an assistant to Rick Pitino at Kentucky from 1989-90 through 1992-93. He is entering his third season as head coach at Santa Clara.
Wynyard, a 6-foot-10 product of New Zealand played in only eight games for Kentucky last season as the result of a back injury and a late-season suspension. As a freshman, Wynyard played in 15 games.
He announced plans to transfer shortly after this past season ended.
Wynyard also saw action playing for the New Zealand national team at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, where he averaged team highs in points (13.8) and rebounds (9.2) in six games.
"We are thrilled to welcome Tai Wynyard to our Santa Clara Family," Sendek said in a press release. "Tai distinguished himself playing for the New Zealand National Team, and now, joins us from the University of Kentucky. His abilities to score, pass, rebound, and defend should add great value to our future teams."
Santa Clara finished seventh in the 10-team West Coast Conference this past season. The Broncos went 12-20 overall and 8-10 in the league.
Santa Clara's basketball program is best known for producing Hall of Famer Steve Nash.
This story was originally published May 19, 2018 at 9:29 AM with the headline "UK transfer Tai Wynyard to play for former Cats assistant at new school."