What is Kentucky basketball’s history with international players?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A total of 23 players born outside the United States have appeared in a game for UK.
- This includes multiple players who were born in Canada, Croatia and England.
- Only one current Kentucky player, Andrija Jelavic, was born outside the U.S.
Over the past 30 years, the Kentucky men’s basketball program has amassed significant international talent.
Dating back to 1996, a total of 23 players born outside the United States have appeared in a game for the Wildcats. This group covers 15 different countries and has spanned five different Kentucky coaches: Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, Billy Gillispie, John Calipari and Mark Pope.
This season’s Kentucky team is no different, although Pope’s current group of Wildcats only has one international player on the roster. That’s sophomore forward Andrija Jelavic, who is from Croatia and is in his first season of college basketball.
Jelavic took college-level courses while playing professionally in Europe and enough of those credits transferred for him to be designated as a sophomore by the NCAA.
The trend of international players in college basketball isn’t going away anytime soon. More and more players from overseas — including those with professional playing experience in those countries — are exploring the potential of coming stateside to play college hoops.
Here’s a look at each international player that’s suited up for the Wildcats, sorted alphabetically by country.
At least two other international-born players have spent time on Kentucky’s roster, but didn’t appear in a game. Enes Kanter (2010-11) was born in Switzerland and Shaedon Sharpe (2021-22) was born in Canada. Kanter, who has since changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, played internationally for Turkey.
Australia
- Isaac Humphries (2015-17).
Humphries is the only Australian to have played college basketball at UK. He played in 61 games and made two starts across two seasons in Lexington.
According to ESPN, Humphries in November 2022 became the first professional basketball player “in a top-tier” men’s league — Australia’s National Basketball League — to announce that he’s gay.
Canada
- Jamaal Magloire (1996-2000).
- Bernard Cote (2002-04).
- Sheray Thomas (2003-07).
- Trey Lyles (2014-15).
- Jamal Murray (2015-16).
- Mychal Mulder (2015-17).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2017-18).
Seven former Wildcats have come from Canada, including the most notable ex-Cat currently in the NBA.
When Magloire joined the Wildcats in 1996, he became the first non-U.S.-born player to appear in a game for Kentucky. Magloire averaged nearly 15 minutes per game on Kentucky’s national title-winning team in 1998.
Currently, both Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray are full-blown NBA superstars.
Last season, Gilgeous-Alexander became the first former UK player to win the NBA MVP award. That award has existed since the 1955-56 season.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Oscar Tshiebwe (2021-23).
While Tshiebwe’s two Kentucky teams combined for only one NCAA Tournament win, his individual prowess cemented him as a UK basketball legend.
Tshiebwe earned national player of the year accolades from all six NCAA-recognized outlets — Sporting News, Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award — following the 2021-22 season, becoming the first player in program history to do so.
Despite only playing two seasons, Tshiebwe finished his Kentucky career with 1,117 points and, most impressively, 952 rebounds. Tshiebwe’s career average of 14.4 rebounds per game is the second-highest in UK history behind Bob Burrow (16.1).
Croatia
- Zvonimir Ivisic (2023-2024).
- Andrija Jelavic (2025-present).
Ivisic — who before arriving at UK played for SC Derby, a basketball team based in Montenegro — had his college basketball debut delayed until January of his freshman season due to an NCAA review of his eligibility.
After appearing in 15 games for the Wildcats during the 2023-24 season, Ivisic followed Calipari, his coach at UK, to Calipari’s next coaching stop at Arkansas. Ivisic transferred again this past offseason to Illinois, where he now plays with his twin brother, Tomislav.
Jelavic is also from Croatia. He’s Pope’s third international player at UK, after rostering Kerr Kriisa (Estonia) and Amari Williams (England) last season. Jelavic committed to Kentucky after a two-year professional playing career in Serbia.
So far this season, Jelavic — the only international player on the UK roster — is averaging 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 11 games for the Cats.
“He’s been working really hard. I think that there’s space for him to really help us,” Pope said Dec. 30 about Jelavic’s ability to impact Kentucky. “... As he gets more and more comfortable with the pace of the game, I think there’s a space for him to really help us shooting the ball. I do. I think he’s a pretty good playmaker. He has had some impact in the post offensively. Him becoming more verbal and communicative on defense is going to be really important for him.”
Dominican Republic
- Eloy Vargas (2010-12).
Vargas, who began his college career at Florida, transferred to a junior college and then spent two seasons at UK. He won a national championship as a senior in 2012, playing in 33 games as a backup center to Anthony Davis.
England
- Morakinyo Williams (2007-08).
- Amari Williams (2024-25).
Morakinyo Williams’ time in Lexington was brief. He played just five games for the Wildcats as a freshman before transferring to Duquesne. He was recruited to UK by Tubby Smith but spent his only season in Lexington playing under Billy Gillispie. Williams finished his college career at The Citadel.
Amari Williams also played just one season at Kentucky, but his time as a Wildcat was far more memorable. Williams will always have a place in history as Pope’s first transfer-portal pickup as the Kentucky coach.
One of several veteran players who anchored Pope’s first UK team, Williams was one of two players (along with then-junior Otega Oweh) to start all 36 of UK’s games last season. Williams finished with per-game averages of 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 blocks. Williams was part of Pope’s first NBA draft class at UK: He was a second-round selection in this past summer’s NBA draft at No. 46 overall.
England is one of three countries — along with Canada and Croatia — to have produced multiple UK basketball players.
Estonia
- Kerr Kriisa (2024-25).
Kriisa was another member of Pope’s first Kentucky basketball roster. Kriisa’s only season in Lexington was cut short due to injury. He was expected to provide an energetic presence at point guard for the Cats last season, but he only appeared in nine games before suffering a season-ending foot injury.
This past offseason, Kriisa transferred to Cincinnati for his final college season. That’s the fourth school he’s played college basketball at, following stints at Arizona, West Virginia and UK.
Before he came to the United States for college basketball, Kriisa played for two teams in Lithuania.
France
- Olivier Sarr (2020-21).
Before he transferred to UK for the ill-fated 2020-21 season, Sarr spent three seasons at Wake Forest.
During his lone season at Kentucky, Sarr posted solid averages of 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and started all 25 contests. But the Cats as a whole were awful: Kentucky went 9-16 overall and missed out on the national postseason.
Haiti
- Skal Labissiere (2015-16).
Labissiere was a one-and-done player at Kentucky before being selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 36 games during his only UK season.
Labissiere was the top-ranked high school recruit (according to the 247Sports Composite) in the 2015 recruiting class and remains the most recent top-ranked prep basketball prospect to play for the Wildcats.
Jamaica
- Nick Richards (2017-2020).
Richards was a three-year player at Kentucky who totaled 105 games and 70 starts for the Wildcats. He led the 2019-20 UK team in rebounding with 7.8 boards per game and was tied for second on that team in scoring (along with Tyrese Maxey) with an average of 14.0 points per contest.
Richards arrived at Kentucky following a McDonald’s All-American high school campaign in 2017 at The Patrick School in New Jersey.
New Zealand
- Tai Wynyard (2016-18).
Wynyard was a midyear enrollee at UK in December 2015, but he redshirted the remainder of that 2015-16 season. Wynyard played in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons at Kentucky, but he totaled only 23 career appearances.
Wynyard’s sophomore season was cut short due to a back injury.
After announcing that he would transfer from UK in April 2018, Wynyard committed to Santa Clara, but he never played for the Broncos. Wynyard instead returned to New Zealand to continue his basketball career.
Nigeria
- Ugonna Onyenso (2022-2024).
Onyenso was a late addition to the 2022-23 Kentucky team and played sparingly as a freshman on that squad. After a brief appearance in the NCAA transfer portal following his freshman season, Onyenso returned to Kentucky for his sophomore campaign, which was delayed by a left foot injury.
Onyenso eventually developed into Kentucky’s starting center during the 2023-24 season, which was Calipari’s final one as the UK coach. During that campaign, Onyenso set a new single-game Rupp Arena record for blocks by a Kentucky player with 10.
Onyenso opted to transfer from Kentucky to Kansas State following his sophomore season. After one season at K-State that featured a decreased role compared to his time in Lexington, Onyenso hit the portal again. He’s now at Virginia for his senior season.
Poland
- Lukasz Obrzut (2003-07).
A four-year Wildcat and a fan favorite, Obrzut played in 123 games at Kentucky with 18 starts. He’s remained in the commonwealth long after his basketball career ended.
Senegal
- Souleymane “Jules” Camara (1998-2003).
Camara played four seasons at Kentucky in a five-year span: He was suspended for the 2000-01 UK season after violating the University’s student-athlete alcohol policy and being convicted of driving under the influence.
On the court, Camara played in 136 games and averaged at least four points and three rebounds per game in all four of his college seasons.
Sudan
- Wenyen Gabriel (2016-18).
A two-year player at UK, Gabriel averaged more than five points and five rebounds per game across 75 games with the Cats.
Gabriel appeared in 150 NBA games across five seasons in that league. He now plays overseas in Germany. Gabriel played in the 2024 Paris Olympics with the South Sudan national team.
