LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Kansas basketball has landed its first transfer of the offseason. The Jayhawks landed a commitment from Florida transfer Riley Kugel on Sunday. As a sophomore this past season, Kugel averaged 9.2 points on 39.4 percent shooting with 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 23.3 minutes per game. The 6-foot-5 guard has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Kugel started 11 of Florida's 33 games this past season. He began the season as the starter for the Gators, but he got off to an inefficient start to the season. The guard shot 38 percent from the field on 11.7 attempts per game, notching 11.6 points per game with 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He was then benched by head coach Todd Golden and came off the bench for the rest of the season. In his role off the bench, Kugel averaged 20 minutes per game and his efficiency improved to 40.7 percent shooting from the field while averaging 7.9 points per contest.
As a freshman on a 16-17 Florida team, Kugel started the final 14 games of the season and 17 in total. He averaged 9.9 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, while sooting 50.3 percent from 2 and 37.6 percent from 3. Coming out of high school in the class of 2022, Kugel was rated as a four-star prospect. Ranked as the No. 56 prospect nationally and the No. 4 shooting guard in the 2022 class, Kugel signed with Florida over offers to play at Auburn, Houston and Miami.
At the time of his commitment, Kugel is not rated as a transfer by the 247Sports recruiting staff.
KU has some big needs on the wing this offseason, with Kevin McCullar departing the program through graduation. Based on the current outlook, KU has two slots to work with if everyone who can return to school does. The addition of Kugel means KU has one scholarship spot to work with this offseason on the basis that KU will be at 12 scholarships next season.