Back in April, BYU star point guard Robert Wright III entered the transfer portal after one season at BYU. Wright had a breakout sophomore season, averaging 18.1 points per game while shooting 41% from three.
Wright was one of the top players in the transfer portal. He was being heavily pursued by Kentucky and former BYU head coach Mark Pope. Wright made the trip to Lexington to take a Kentucky visit. Once it became public that Wright was going to take the Kentucky visit, the Wildcats were viewed as the heavy favorites to land him.
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For the first time since withdrawing from the portal and returing to BYU, Wright met with the media on Tuesday. In the interview, Wright explained that he knew he wanted to return to BYU after just one day in Kentucky.
“I did end up taking a visit to Kentucky,” Wright said. “I was there for like a day, and then the second day I just came back to the airport…cause I just wanted to go back to BYU.”
Wright explained that he was originally trying to work out a deal to return to BYU. When “the timeline wasn’t coming together” on a deal to return to BYU, BYU’s coaching staff encouraged Wright to explore his options in the transfer portal.
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BYU head coach Kevin Young called Wright’s transfer – and subsequent return – as a “byproduct” of the current system.
“There was a lot of nonsense honestly that was going on with all that,” Young said. “A lot of it is just a byproduct of the way the system is set up at the moment, so. I’m just glad [Rob] is here.”
High Expectations for Wright in 2026-2027
Going into 2026-2027, Kevin Young has very high expectations for Rob Wright. Young believes Wright can be “the best point guard in college basketball.”
“I enjoy coaching Rob. He’s a great young man,” Young said. “I think he’s going to be the best point guard in college basketball as we enter this next season. With his experience, I really was impressed with his level of improvement from his freshman year to his sophomore year, particularly in our style of play.”
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Young expects Wright to make a “big jump” as a junior.
“I think he’s really matured,” Young said. “I think he’s primed to take on a just a bigger role across the spectrum of our team. And that doesn’t necessarily mean scoring, just playmaking, leadership, defense, you know, he’s a guy I think that’s really ready to make a big jump, so we couldn’t have been more thrilled to get him back.”
BYU will participate in summer practices over the next few weeks while simultaneously putting the finishing touches the roster.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/byu as Rob Wright Left Kentucky Visit Wanting to Return to BYU.
