EKU's entire basketball roster is returning for 2023-24
“The most exciting 40 minutes in sports” is returning quite a bit of excitement in 2023-24. Or all of it, for that matter.
Eastern Kentucky basketball closed out its 2022-23 campaign with a 23-14 overall record (12-6 in the ASUN), making it to the semifinals of the conference tournament and the finals of the College Basketball Invitational. It was an impressive run coming off a 13-18 record in 2021-22, one that saw four total postseason wins and closed out with a 21-point comeback to nearly pull off the CBI title upset.
The Colonels finished with their third-most wins ever, tied for the most postseason wins ever, most wins in the state of Kentucky overall and led the conference in attendance. Now, the core of that group will be returning next season.
12 players in total, headlined by standouts Devontae Blanton, Michael Moreno, Isaiah Cozart, Leland Walker and Tayshawn Comer, announced their respective returns to Richmond together in a press conference on Thursday.
The program’s message: while other teams in college basketball work to fill out their rosters for next season, EKU will be working.
“In the world that we live in with the transfer portal, this is unheard of, what just happened,” Colonels head coach A.W. Hamilton said at the press conference. “These guys can get in the portal. All of them could. That’s the new thing to do — there’s over 2,000 people in the transfer portal now. They didn’t want to do that. We can look back at this moment at the end of next year and everyone in here will be really proud.”
Graduating seniors Cooper Robb (7.6 PPG) and Michael Wardy (2.5 PPG) are the only players not set to return for Eastern Kentucky. Beyond those two, the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 scorers on the roster will all be back.
As Coach Hamilton said, that just doesn’t happen in college basketball, especially in the transfer portal era.
Watch out for the Colonels this winter.
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