Former Kentucky RB named his Conference's Offensive Player of the Week

by: Zack Geoghegan6 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Sep 17, 2022; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats running back La'Vell Wright (29) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Youngstown State Penguins at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

La’Vell Wright hasn’t played for the Wildcats since 2022, but he’s putting up big numbers for another Kentucky-based school.

Wright, a 5-foot-11 running back who attended North Hardin High School, is beginning to hit his groove as a college player. Now a top ball carrier for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, the Louisville native picked up a nice honor for his play over the weekend. Wright was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording 10 rushes for 91 yards (9.1 YPC) and a pair of second-half touchdowns during WKU’s 27-22 win over Missouri State.

Trailing 16-10 early in the third quarter, Wright capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown to put WKU in front by one. On the Hilltoppers’ next possession, Wright’s 17-yard run for a score ended a four-play, 65-yard drive that gave his squad a commanding 27-16 lead it would not look back on. WKU improved to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in C-USA thanks to Wright’s efforts.

𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙎𝙀 𝙋𝙊𝙒𝙀𝙍 😤🏁

La’Vell Wright has been named the @ConferenceUSA Offensive Player of the Week

📲: https://t.co/rajmG0gBCQ #GoTops | @lavell3421 pic.twitter.com/4fd0699C96
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) September 29, 2025

Wright has come a long way since his time in Lexington. A former three-star recruit, he committed to Kentucky in May 2020 over offers from schools such as Missouri, Vanderbilt, Maryland, Duke, Wake Forest, and others. A member of the 2020-21 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll, he redshirted his freshman season at UK.

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Moving on to the 2022 season, Wright saw the field in all 13 of Kentucky’s games, although with limited production. He finished the season with 39 carries for 120 yards, along with six catches for another 28 yards. His two receptions in the Wildcats’ Music City Bowl loss to Iowa marked a career high. Unfortunately, injuries forced him to miss the entire 2023 season as a redshirt sophomore. That led him to transfer out of UK and eventually land at Austin Peay.

With the Governors in 2024, Wright led the team in rushing with 609 yards and five touchdowns on the ground across 10 games. He hopped into the portal once again before settling in at WKU. Through five games with the Hilltoppers this season, Wright has 177 rushing yards (6.3 YPC) and five touchdowns — most of that production coming on Saturday against Missouri State.

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