Koby Brea, nation's top 3-pointer shooter in 2023-24, commits to Kentucky basketball
LEXINGTON — Mark Pope added some much-needed shooting to Kentucky basketball's 2024-25 roster Wednesday.
Former Dayton guard Koby Brea — arguably the nation's best sharpshooter — became the Wildcats' latest commitment. He gave his pledge to Pope and UK shortly after a visit to Lexington, announcing his commitment to ESPN.
"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 told ESPN. "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 led Division I in 3-point accuracy last season, knocking down 49.8% (100 for 201) of his attempts for the Flyers. That put Brea well ahead of the pack, more than 3 percentage points higher than his closest competitor, Belmont's Cade Tyson, who made 46.5% (80 for 172) of his 3-pointers in 2023-24. (To qualify for consideration on Division I statistical leaderboards, players must have appeared in at least 75% of their team's games and made at least 2.5 triples per outing.) Along with his 3-point marksmanship, Brea averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 29.1 minutes per game last season.
"By the numbers, Koby Brea is the most efficient mid-to-high major player in college basketball in the last decade,” Pope said in a statement Wednesday announcing his roster's newest player. "He’s the best returning shooter in college basketball next year. Koby is a dangerous, dangerous man who is a great human with an incredible family. He will be key in allowing us to play the style of basketball that we love the most. Koby and this group are going to take Big Blue Nation on an incredible ride."
Brea is the eighth player to join the Wildcats' 2024-25 roster. It's a group that includes 2024 signee Travis Perry (the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school history), former BYU signee Collin Chandler and transfers Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma) and Amari Williams (Drexel).
Koby Brea highlights: Watch Kentucky basketball transfer portal commit
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball, Mark Pope add Koby Brea via transfer portal
