Kentucky Lands Koby Brea; Dayton Transfer Considered Duke, UNC, More

After being hired to replace John Calipari as Kentucky head coach, Mark Pope has landed one of the best players remaining in the transfer portal.

Dayton transfer guard Koby Brea announced on Wednesday that he has committed to play for Pope and Kentucky:

Brea is coming off a historic shooting season for the Flyers. Per ESPN's Jonathan Givony, he became the fourth player in college basketball history to make 100 three-pointers while connecting on 50 percent of his attempts, joining Salim Stoudamire (2005), Mike Iuzzolino (1991) and Steve Kerr (1988).

Givony noted that Brea chose the Wildcats over a long list of suitors that included Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and back-to-back reigning national champion UConn.

"Growing up, I was told I was dreaming too big whenever I'd say my dream was to play for the University of Kentucky," Brea said. "I feel like God does everything for a reason, and He has put me in a position where I'm able to play for my dream school in my last year of college, while playing for something bigger than myself."

Brea added that playing for Pope, whose BYU team ranked third in three-point attempts this past season, was a big reason for his decision.

"His style of play complements my strengths as a basketball player," Brea said. "He's proven to be one of the best when it comes to utilizing the 3-pointer. There's nobody in college basketball who can shoot off the catch, off the bounce and off the move all together the way I do."

Brea had declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the transfer portal, and he ultimately decided to return for his senior season. He's now the sixth transfer to commit to Kentucky, joining fifth-year seniors Amari Williams (Drexel), Lamont Butler (San Diego State) and Andrew Carr (Wake Forest) junior Otega Oweh (Oklahoma) and sophomore Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State).