Western Kentucky adds St. John’s transfer Eli Wright

Western Kentucky has officially added St. John’s transfer Eli Wright.

The 6-foot-5 Wright sat out the 2018-19 season at St. John’s as a transfer after two seasons at Mississippi State. He opted to leave the Queens school without playing a single game.

“We’re excited to have Eli join our team,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said. “He’s gained some valuable college experience that he brings with him. I think it will be good for him and our program having him back close to home.”

Wright – an Owensboro, Ky., native – appeared in 64 games for Mississippi State over his first two years of college, averaging 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2017-18 as the Bulldogs reached the NIT semifinals.

He averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes as a freshman, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from 3-point range.

Wright was ranked as a consensus four-star prospect and top-100 recruit in the 2016 class by every major recruiting outlet.

He averaged 23.6 points per game as a senior at 22 Feet Academy in Greenville, S.C., after averaging 20.6 points and 7.5 rebounds as a junior at Apollo High School in Owensboro. He received All-State honors from the Courier-Journal as a junior and netted 52 of 136 3-point attempts.

Wright is the seventh Kentucky native on the Hilltoppers’ 2019-20 roster. That is the most Kentuckians WKU has had on its roster since 1980-81.

(Photo: USA Today; Release: WKU Athletics)

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