Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor commits to Kentucky

Posted by author May 16, 2024 Basketball

Mark Pope’s roster is nearly complete. The Kentucky men’s basketball head coach has added the 11th piece to his debut group for 2024-25.

On Thursday morning, Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor commitment to the Wildcats, according to his agent Trevor Harris of Devore Sports Group. The 6-foot-7 forward met with Pope and the UK staff on Saturday through Zoom and arrived in Lexington for a visit on Tuesday. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining.

During the 2023-24 season for Fairleigh Dickinson, Almonor averaged 16.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 32 minutes per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from deep (on 7.4 attempts), and 80 percent from the line. He started 31 of 32 games played.

Almonor, a native of New York, joined Fairleigh Dickinson as a freshman ahead of the 2021-22 season. In year one, he started four of 24 games played, averaging 3.5 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per outing. His role significantly increased as a sophomore in 2022-23 to averages of 13.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while earning Third Team All-Northeast Conference along the way.

But his best season came in 2023-24. He was named First Team All-NEC and tabbed as the NEC Player of the Week twice. He ended his time with the Knights recording 1,097 career points. His 93 three-point makes this past season were the most in the conference and tied for the most in a single season in program history.

With Almonor now on board, Pope has two more scholarships to work with. The expectation is that one of those spots will go to either Jaxson Robinson (BYU), Chaz Lanier (North Florida), or Wooga Poplar (Miami).

Kentucky’s Incoming 2024-25 Roster

Amari Williams – Drexel – 12.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 51.7% FG, 33.3% 3PT
Lamont Butler – San Diego State – 9.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 42.1% FG, 30.2% 3PT
Otega Oweh – Oklahoma – 11.4 PPG, 3.8 RPB, 1.0 APG, 49.3% FG, 37.7% 3PT
Andrew Carr – Wake Forest – 13.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 52.6% FG, 37.1% 3PT
Brandon Garrison – Oklahoma State – 7.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 57.2% FG, N/A 3PT
Koby Brea – Dayton – 11.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 51.2% FG, 49.8% 3PT
Kerr Kriisa – West Virginia – 11.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 4.7 APG, 42.9% FG, 42.4% 3PT
Ansley Almonor – Fairleigh Dickinson – 16.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 43.6% FG, 39.4% 3PT
Travis Perry – 2024 commit – Lyon County (Eddyville, KY)
Trent Noah – 2024 commit – Harlan County (Baxter, KY)
Collin Chandler – 2024 commit – Farmington (Farmington, UT)