BYU Receives Good News in College Basketball Transfer Portal

The BYU Cougars are landing the sharpshooter they always wanted.

The 6-foot-5 combo guard Collin Chandler was originally a four-star recruit who signed with BYU in 2021 to play for then-coach Mark Pope.

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After serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he followed Pope to Kentucky Wildcats when the coach took the job there in April 2024 rather than enrolling at BYU.

In his two seasons at Kentucky, the Utah native became the team’s best three-point shooter. He is now “returning home” to play for the Cougars under head coach Kevin Young.

On3’s Joe Tipton broke the news Friday, confirming the former Kentucky guard has committed to BYU via the transfer portal. However, the commitment was widely expected because On3 reports expert predictions from Tipton and Pete Nakos strongly favoring BYU to land Chandler for the upcoming season.

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Chandler himself confirmed his home return on Instagram, penning, “Cougar nation, let’s rock 🤞🏼”

Last season, Chandler was Kentucky’s third-leading scorer, averaging 9.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He started 31-of-36 games and shot 41% from three-point range. This was a major step up from his freshman year, where he averaged only 2.7 points in limited minutes off the bench.

Chandler entered the portal on April 8 with a “Do Not Contact” tag. That designation typically signals a player already has his destination in mind. Alongside On3’s expert, 247Sports had him 100% seeing him to the Cougars before the commitment was made official.

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The reason Kentucky didn’t retain him came down to NIL. Reports indicate he sought a high-value compensation package that Kentucky declined to match, clearing the way for his commitment to the Cougars.

Chandler was the No. 33 player in the country when he first signed with BYU in 2021 and became the highest-rated commit in school history, earning 2022 Mr. Basketball honors in Utah.

While this is currently a verbal commitment, his arrival…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/byu-receives-good-news-college-173943569.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-11 17:39:00

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