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Rob Wright is returning to the BYU basketball program. He does so after a brief stay in the transfer portal.
The talented guard was in search of a higher NIL payday. He received interest from the Kentucky Wildcats. Rather than move onto his third school in three years, he chose to re-sign with the Cougars.
For head coach Kevin Young, it’s a huge get. He returns the production and experience of a veteran player without having to provide a significant raise.
For Mark Pope, it’s a disappointment.
Rob Wright will return to BYU.
The point guard was a key contributor on last year’s NCAA Tournament team. He averaged 18.1 points per night to go along with a team-high 4.6 assists.
The point guard initially signed with Baylor out of high school. He moved onto Provo after his freshman year.
Despite success in his debut season with the Cougars, he opted to test the market.
College basketball insider Matt Norlander says he and his agent were in search of a pay raise. He was rumored to have received $3.5 million in 2025. BYU wouldn’t budge on its number for 2026. So, he chose to enter the portal.
My understanding is Wright’s camp wanted to *really* test the market on a bigger NIL number after BYU wouldn’t budge.
Wright landed immediate interest from Louisville, Kentucky, and St. John’s. The Cardinals and Red Storm subsequently filled backcourt positions with other transfer portal options.
The point guard visited Lexington on Tuesday of this week. A day later, he chose to stick with BYU.
Was Kentucky unprepared?
Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 suggests the Wildcats didn’t do enough to attract Wright, and other top talent for that matter.
He says the school will have less money this offseason after spending $22 million on the most recent roster. Goodman insists that NIL wasn’t the only factor, though. The Wildcats’ hesitance to hire a General Manager put them behind the sticks in Wright’s recruitment.
“First of all, they don’t have the money they had last year,” the insider said. “There’s not the disparity they had last year… What did they need to do that they did not do? (Hire a GM).
“This was absolutely ludicrous. You have all that money. Devote it to a GM that can have Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C, who’s talking to all these agents every single day – not your assistant coaches. They’re having to deal with this and coach the team.
“They brought in a young guy three weeks ago. It’s too late for this year… I think that was their No. 1 mistake. You’ve got to know who you can get, who you can’t get, and every agent. You’ve got to be ultra prepared, and I’m not sure they were.”
Goodman says a General Manager could’ve guided the negotiation while gathering pertinent information on Wright’s demands. If they were too high, Kentucky wouldn’t have wasted its time. If they were within the budget, a competitive offer could’ve been compiled.
The Wildcats were late to the party. They did not have the pieces in place to swipe the point guard. As a result, Rob Wright will return to BYU despite the Cougars’ hardball antics as they relate to the NIL ransom.