Source: Florida basketball transfer Riley Kugel will no longer join Kansas Jayhawks

Riley Kugel, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound junior-to-be guard from the University of Florida, who entered the transfer portal March 27 and committed to Kansas four days later, will not be playing basketball for the Jayhawks, a source has confirmed to The Star.

Kugel — he originally chose KU over Arizona, Houston and UConn — now “is being recruited again by high majors,” according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, who first reported the news on the social media site X. Kugel has not publicly commented on the reopening of his recruitment.

KU coach Bill Self had said Monday on the NCAA March Madness podcast that it was “up in the air” whether Kugel would come to KU. He did not elaborate.

KU with the addition of portal transfers Rylan Griffen (Alabama), AJ Storr (Wisconsin) and Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State), as well as incoming freshmen Flory Bidunga and Rakease Passmore, currently has 12 scholarship players on the 2024-25 roster.

Teams are allowed 13 scholarship players in accordance with NCAA rules. KU has to have one under the limit on scholarship either this year or 2025-26 to complete self-imposed NCAA sanctions.

The players who are listed as returnees at this time are: KJ Adams, Zach Clemence, Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, Johnny Furphy, Jamari McDowell and Elmarko Jackson.

Furphy has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft with the option of returning to school. Self said Monday Furphy will “probably stay in the draft” as he projects to be a first-round pick.

KU brought in a guard for an unofficial visit on Monday. Rice sophomore Noah Shelby has KU on his list of schools and is expected to make a decision soon.

Kugel played two seasons at Florida, starting 17 games his freshman year and 11 in 2023-24. He averaged 9.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game as a sophomore for the Gators (24-12). A preseason all-SEC selection, Kugel hit 110 of 279 shots for 39.4%. He was 34-of-109 from 3-point range for 31.2%.

He scored 20 or more points in five games. Kugel was benched two games by head coach Todd Golden in the SEC’s postseason tournament.

Kugel was Rivals.com’s No. 145-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2022. He helped lead Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Florida, to a state title in 2021. He has two years of eligibility remaining.