Kentucky reportedly reaches out to Rutgers transfer C Clifford Omoruyi
Even with a cloud of uncertainty hovering over the Kentucky men’s basketball program, recruiting stops for no one.
According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Rutgers transfer Clifford “Big Cliff” Omoruyi has heard from Kentucky since entering his name into the transfer portal last week on Wednesday. The 6-foot-11 center has spent all four of his college seasons with the Scarlet Knights and was twice named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team (2023, 2024).
Omoruyi averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in 26.9 minutes per game this season while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor. He will have one year of eligibility remaining as a grad transfer.
Kentucky isn’t even close to the only school expressing interest in Omoruyi though. The likes of Kansas, Baylor, UConn, St. John’s, Alabama, Auburn, Southern California, Florida, and several more have also done the same. No visits have been set up yet, although St. John’s (coached by Rick Pitino) is expected to receive one in the coming weeks, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog, and has been viewed as the early frontrunner.
Back in his high school days at Roselle Catholic (NJ), Kentucky actually offered Omoruyi a scholarship. He even called UK his “dream school”. The native of Nigeria was considered a four-star recruit and top-50 prospect from the 2020 cycle before ultimately committing to Rutgers.
Omoruyi came off the bench as a freshman in 2020-21, averaging just 3.8 points and four rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game. His role drastically increased as a sophomore though, with per-game averages of 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 28.7 minutes.
As a junior, Omoruyi developed into an all-conference caliber player. He was Second Team All-Big Ten by the media and Third Team All-Big Ten by the coaches during the 2022-23 season. Across 34 games played (all starts), he averaged 13.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 30.3 minutes per contest on 50.7 percent shooting. Omoruyi became the first Rutgers player to lead his team in points, rebounds, and blocks in one season since Keith Hughes in 1990-91.
This past season as a senior, Omoruyi was tabbed as an Honorable Mention for All-Big Ten. His 93 blocks were the most of any Big Ten player since 2018. Per On3’s transfer portal rankings, Omoruyi is considered the second-best available transfer available.
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