After one season with Kentucky, Kerr Kriisa has found a new school to play for
The first player from the 2024-25 Kentucky men’s basketball team to enter the NCAA transfer portal has found a new school to play for.
On Sunday evening, former UK guard Kerr Kriisa announced on social media that he has committed to Cincinnati.
“I’m pretty sure it’s my last year of eligibility (for real this time). Excited to be a Bearcat!!” he posted on Instagram.
Kriisa, who began the 2024-25 season as Kentucky’s backup to starting point guard Lamont Butler, only played in nine games during his one season with the Wildcats. He suffered a foot injury in Kentucky’s win over Gonzaga on Dec. 7 in Seattle and didn’t return to the court after that.
Near the end of the regular season, Kentucky coach Mark Pope announced that Kriisa wouldn’t be able to return to game action.
Kriisa has played five seasons of college basketball already, spanning stints at Arizona, West Virginia and Kentucky. Since Kriisa only played in nine games for the Wildcats this season and because of when his season-ending foot injury occurred, Kriisa is expected to be eligible for a medical redshirt.
Across his nine games at UK, Kriisa averaged 4.4 points and 3.8 assists in 17.3 minutes.
After he entered the transfer portal on March 31, Kriisa posted a statement to social media recapping his time as a Kentucky basketball player.
“To Coach Pope and the UK coaching staff — it has been an absolute dream to play for the University of Kentucky. Thank you for your continued support,” the statement read. “To my teammates — I am so thankful for the relationships we’ve formed during my time at Kentucky, and I will keep those friendships for a lifetime. To BBN — your unending support of me and my team has been amazing. Playing at Rupp Arena in front of huge crowds has been a dream come true.
“I will always cherish my time in the Bluegrass State, and I wish Kentucky basketball all the best in the future.”
Kriisa is the second former UK basketball player to hit the transfer portal and commit to Cincinnati in recent years.
In 2023, CJ Fredrick also went from the Wildcats to the Bearcats. Like Kriisa, Fredrick also transferred to UK and played only one season for Kentucky before opting to transfer again.
Kentucky basketball roster outlook for 2025-26 season
While a wholesale roster reset isn’t expected, Kriisa’s departure from Kentucky is part of the roster retooling that Pope and his coaching staff must oversee for UK this offseason.
Six players from the 2024-25 UK team are out of NCAA eligibility. Those players are Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams. Their college basketball careers are over.
Kriisa, obviously, has chosen to transfer from UK to Cincinnati.
Players from the 2024-25 UK team that could return to the Wildcats next season are freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.
UK already has five newcomers in the fold for next season, including transfer additions Kam Williams — a freshman wing from Tulane — and Jaland Lowe, a former All-ACC guard at Pittsburgh.
Lowe and Williams will be joining three incoming high school recruits. Those incoming freshmen are in-state center and McDonald’s All-American Malachi Moreno and guards Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis.
Kentucky is also still involved in the recruitment of high school senior Nate Ament, a five-star power forward from Virginia.
This story was originally published April 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM.
