After visiting the Cincinnati Bearcats, then taking an additional visit to Oklahoma, guard Tylen Riley from Tulsa has committed to UC and new head basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun.
Riley made his announcement on April 22 on the CBS College Basketball YouTube channel. Riley had a 4-star transfer portal rank via 247Sports. Riley wore a No. 10 pendant in the appearance, which was somewhat awkward as he couldn’t initially hear the host.
Seven minutes into the event, Riley could hear and talked about his recruitment before the video went black.
“I can only go to one school out of all these amazing schools,” Riley said. “I will be a Cincinnati Bearcat.”
Putting on a UC hat he said he loved the fanbase and the coaches and he didn’t want to leave after making his visit.
“I really feel like we can make a run,” Riley said. “I love his (Jerrod Calhoun’s) coaching style. I feel like they’re all players, coaches. He has a good history. That’s the school I want to play for, a coach that knows how to win.”
Tylen Riley has already signed with Cincinnati Bearcats
UC quickly put out a release after the announcement. Riley will have one year of eligibility.
“Tylen is the ultimate competitor and just an unbelievable story from the time he enrolled in college a few years back to where he is now,” UC coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “He has shown significant growth and can do a lot of things on both sides of the ball. Tylen will light up a room and is a consummate winner.”
A native of Las Vegas, Riley averaged 15.0 points and 4.4 assists per contest, starting all 38 games this past season at Tulsa on his way to second-team All-American Conference honors and American Conference All-Newcomer Team laurels. Riley scored in double figures 31 times, leading the Golden Hurricane on 12 occasions, and posted eight games with 20-plus points. He led the American and ranked 11th nationally with 203 made free throws and ranked second in the conference in free-throw percentage at 87.1%.
For his three-year career, Riley has played in 89 games, including 51 starts, averaging 9.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest.
Tylen Riley’s last season at Tulsa before becoming UC Bearcat
In his last game, April 5, he had 20 points in Tulsa’s overtime loss to Auburn in the NIT championship.
Riley will be a senior. He shot 44.8% from the field and 38.9% on 3-pointers. His best game was a 30-point effort against Wichita State.
Riley started every game for the Golden Hurricane and he previously played for California Baptist. He was the No. 2-ranked player in Nevada his senior year.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats add veteran guard Tylen Riley from Tulsa
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
