Former Kentucky in-state freshman Travis Perry has found his new college basketball home, and it’s one UK fans will be quite familiar with.
The guard out of Lyon County officially committed to fellow SEC school Ole Miss on Sunday, joining Rebels coach Chris Beard, who had recruited him in high school.
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On3’s Joe Tipton confirmed the news around 3 p.m., officially wrapping up the mystery of where all Wildcats lost in the offseason are headed after Kerr Kriisa previously committed to Cincinnati and incoming freshman Acaden Lewis committed to Villanova.
Perry committed to Kentucky initially under then head coach John Calipari, being a part of the freshman class that included Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond III, Jayden Quaintance, Karter Knox and Somto Cyril.
While Richmond, Fland and Knox would all follow Calipari to Arkansas when the 15-year head coach departed Lexington, Cyril would join Georgia and Quaintance would go to Arizona State — though he has since transferred to Kentucky — but Perry remained committed to UK and new head coach Mark Pope.
Being joined by Pope’s former BYU commit in Collin Chandler and fellow in-state talent Trent Noah, who de-committed from South Carolina for UK, Perry was a part of the trio of freshmen on the roster last season.
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Like Chandler and Noah, he was thrust into a far larger role than initially anticipated due to a seemingly never-ending stream of injuries to the squad that included point guard Lamont Butler, backup point guard Kriisa, stand-in point guard Jaxson Robinson and Andrew Carr.
Despite that, it was clear that Perry, a former four-star prospect, was not quite ready for the leap of playing significant minutes in a loaded SEC.
He averaged 2.7 points in 31 games played, only seeing the floor in one of UK’s NCAA Tournament games while dealing with a minor injury.
His two best showings in Kentucky blue came against Alabama, dropping 12 in a 96-83 loss in Tuscaloosa after star Otega Oweh fouled out and scoring 11 in the SEC Tournament in what would end as a lopsided 99-70 loss.
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With Pope and his staff adding a plethora of top level talent to the roster via the transfer portal in the offseason, Lewis would decommit after being recruited over and, on the last day the portal remained open, Perry followed suit.
From the time he entered the transfer portal, Perry was a target for multiple SEC schools, including Vanderbilt, but chose Ole Miss thanks to his history with Beard from his high school recruiting.
Kentucky faced off with Ole Miss once last season, in Oxford, falling 98-84 after being down huge at halftime. Perry played 14 minutes and scored five points, two of which were free throws.
