Wenyen Gabriel announced that he will not return to Kentucky after one season with the Wildcats. The former top Providence recruiting target in the class of 2016 will transfer and have three years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2017-18 season at his new school, per NCAA transfer rules. Gabriel chose Kentucky out of Wilbraham & Monson after being one of the breakout performers on the grassroots circuit with the Mass Rivals heading into his senior season at the Massachusetts boarding school.
Gabriel was ranked 14th in the class of 2016 by 247Sports’ Composite National Ranking and chose Kentucky over Duke, Maryland, Providence and UConn. Gabriel’s decision to leave Kentucky continues an offseason of mass exodus out of Lexington with freshmen Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and sophomore Isaiah Briscoe opting to declare for the NBA Draft. So far all of them have hired an agent and cannot return except for Adebayo. Kentucky has, per usual, reloaded with top recruits like big men Nick Richards and P.J. Washington. The Wildcats also continue to be in the running for 6’11 power forward Mo Bamba, who is ranked 3rd in the class of 2017.
Gabriel averaged 17.7 minutes/game in 38 games played at Kentucky. He started 23 times and averaged 4.6 points/game and 4.8 rebounds/game for the Wildcats during their 32-6 season that ended with a loss to eventual national champion North Carolina in the Elite 8. Gabriel’s best game of his freshman season came on February 7th against LSU when he led Kentucky with 23 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds en route to 92-85 win over the Tigers.
At the present, Providence has two open scholarships for next season after the transfers of Ryan Fazekas and Ricky Council II. With the Friars hosting 2017 point guard Makai Ashton-Langford for an official visit this weekend one of those available spots could be taken should the top-35 recruit opt to commit to Providence this time around.
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