Kansas transfer guard Rylan Griffen commits to Texas A&M basketball

Former Kansas guard Rylan Griffen has announced his commitment to Texas A&M.

At 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds, Griffen averaged 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists as a junior for the Jayhawks. He shot 37.2 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from 3-point range and 67.5 percent at the free throw line.

The Dallas native was a four-star prospect ranked inside the top 50 in the class of 2022. After winning District 7-6A Offensive MVP at Richardson High School, Griffen ultimately committed to Nate Oats and Alabama as a top-five player in the Lone Star State.

After an average freshman season where he averaged 5.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, Griffen took on a significantly larger role with the Tide as a sophomore.

In the 2023-24 season, he started 33 of Alabama’s 36 games on the Tide’s road to the 2024 Final Four while averaging 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. During that season, he shot 45.4 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent at the free throw line.

On the Crimson Tide’s deep tournament run, Griffen averaged 12.4 points per game while shooting 13-for-27 from deep, good for 48.1 percent. His breakout game came in a 19-point performance against No. 1 seed North Carolina in the Elite Eight, hitting five triples.

With 106 college basketball games under his belt and 53 starts, Griffen brings experience and high potential to Bucky McMillan’s first roster.

Kansas and Bill Self had a multitude of problems last season, including the mismanagement of Griffen and other key players, as the Jayhawks fell from preseason No. 1 to a No. 7 seed in March Madness with a first-round exit.

While returning to his home state for his final season of eligibility, this is a great opportunity for Griffen to return to the level of play he had as a starter at Alabama two seasons ago.

College Station and Reed Arena just might be the perfect place for his fresh start.

Griffen picked the Aggies over a return to Alabama or a year at Kentucky after canceling his visit to Lexington earlier this week. Working in silence, McMillan and his staff pulled off another recruiting win over some of the nation’s top programs.

He arrives in Aggieland with one year of eligibility left.