Departing Arizona point guard Kylan Boswell is heading home for the next stage of his college basketball career, announcing he will transfer to Illinois for his junior season.
The decision arrives less than a week after news surfaced that Boswell would transfer from Arizona after becoming something of a lightning rod as the Wildcats' starting point guard in 2023-24.
"It is important I focus on being the person I was raised to be and become the basketball player I am supposed to be," Boswell posted in a graphic to X, after thanking coach Tommy Lloyd and UA for the opportunity to play for the Wildcats. "I know this requires great commitment, discipline and work. Champaign-Urbana has always been part of my success and I will wear Illinois on my chest with pride."
Iβm back π§‘π pic.twitter.com/2YL4naZMXm
— Kylan Boswell (@BamBam_Boz) April 14, 2024
BoswellΒ grew up in the Champaign-Urbana area, leading his eighth-grade team to the state tournament and playing for the well-regarded Meanstreets club out of ChicagoΒ before relocating to Southern California for high school. His grandfather played defensive lineman on an Illinois Rose Bowl football team in the 1980s.
After moving, Boswell was named to the MaxPreps.com all-freshman third team in 2019-20 at Colony High School in Ontario, California, and played a COVID-restricted season for Corona Centennial High School in 2020-21, then transferred to AZ Compass Prep as a junior in 2021-22.
After breaking a foot during the spring of 2022, Boswell opted to skip his senior season at AZ Compass Prep and arrive at UA that summer to rehabilitate during the preseason and play as a 17-year-old freshman in 2022-23.
Boswell played off the bench that season behind Kerr Kriisa in 2022-23 and then started in 2023-23. He averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 assists as a sophomore while posting better than a 2-1 assist-turnover ratio and shooting 37.9% from 3-point range.Β But he ended the season on a rough note, averaging 6.0 points and shooting just 23.1% from 3 over his final six games.
The only one of UA's starters who wasn't a senior, Boswell was an X-factor of sorts this season. The Wildcats were only 8-8 in games when he scored less than 10 points, with Boswell going scoreless in away losses at Washington State and Oregon State.
Arizona was 19-1 when Boswell scored 10 or more points.
"I would like to thank coach Lloyd and Arizona for the opportunities they have afforded me," Boswell wrote to open his statement. "Humbled by this experience, I will always be grateful for my Wildcat family and wish them the best."
Boswell's departure has left the UA starting point guard job open for rising junior Jaden Bradley, who was rated the Wildcats’ most efficient player both offensively and defensively on a per-possession basis by EvanMiya.com. Bradley averaged 7.0 points and 2.0 assists while shooting 46.4% from 3-point range and was the Wildcats’ best perimeter defender.
Six Arizona players have hit the transfer portal since the end of the Wildcats' season on March 28: Boswell and starting center Oumar Ballo, along with redshirting center Dylan Anderson, walk-on guard Grant Weitman, wing Filip Borovicanin and forward Paulius Murauskas. Ballo is reportedly visiting Indiana this weekend.
Arizona has 10 expected scholarship players for next season as of now, assuming wing Pelle Larsson leaves for the NBA Draft as a projected second-round pick. Senior wing Caleb Love, who had his COVID year of eligibility remaining and is not a projected NBA Draft pick, is believed to be deciding between entering the draft and returning to Arizona.
Arizona's expected 2024-25 roster as of now:
Player, Class, Pos., Ht., Wt., Hometown
Jaden Bradley, Jr., G, 6-3, 200, Rochester, N.Y.
Carter Bryant, Fr,. F, 6-8, 225, Riverside, Calif.
Motiejus Krivas, So., C, 7-2, 260, Siauliai, Lithuania
KJ Lewis, So., G, 6-4, 205, El Paso
Caleb Love, Sr,. 6-4, 205, St. Louis
Conrad Martinez, So., G, 6-0, 165, Granollers, Spain
Jamari Phillips, Fr,. G, 6-3, 190, Stockton, Calif.
Joson Sanon, Fr., G, 6-5, 190, Fall River, Mass.
Emmanuel Stephen, Fr,. C, 7-0, 215, Lagos, Nigeria
Henri Veesaar, Jr., F, 7-0, 225, Tallinn, Estonia
