LEXINGTON, Ky. — Rhode Island freshman Jacob Toppin is the latest college basketball transfer headed to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Toppin — a 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward from Brooklyn — announced Thursday that he has committed to UK, one day after narrowing his transfer options to Kentucky, Oregon and Iowa State. He is the younger brother of national player of the year Obi Toppin.
Jacob Toppin was an unranked recruit in the 2019 class — choosing Rhode Island over additional scholarship offers from Cal Poly, Stony Brook, Quinnipiac and Central Connecticut State — but he emerged as an immediate contributor for a Rams team that finished 13-5 in the Atlantic 10 this past season.
Toppin averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game as a freshman. He had season highs of 12 points and eight rebounds in a game against Richmond, a possible NCAA Tournament team, and he also scored in double figures in games against Alabama and Louisiana State. On Monday, he became the fourth Rhode Island player to put his name in the transfer portal.
A traditional transfer, Toppin would not be eligible to play at Kentucky right away next season under the current NCAA rules, but that status could change in the coming weeks. The NCAA is expected to vote May 20 on guidelines that would allow players one “free transfer” in their college careers. If the measure passes, it would allow non-graduate transfers the opportunity to play for a new team without sitting out a season.
The NCAA told the Herald-Leader a few weeks ago that the change, if passed, would go into effect immediately for the 2020-21 season. An NCAA spokeswoman referred to the new set of transfer guidelines as “a change to waiver criteria” that could be applied right away, not an outright rule change that would need additional time to be implemented.
There is now conflicting information in college basketball and recruiting circles as to whether the new guidelines will go into effect for next season, and it will probably be several more weeks, at least, before any changes to the transfer guidelines are made official. An NCAA spokeswoman reiterated to the Herald-Leader on Thursday that the NCAA is continuing to work toward new criteria that would change transfer guidelines for the 2020-21 academic year.
Even if he has to sit out next season, Toppin should be a valuable addition to Kentucky’s 2020-21 squad.
With the announcement Wednesday that EJ Montgomery will join Nick Richards, Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey in the NBA draft, the Cats’ projected roster for next season stood at just nine scholarship players before the addition of Toppin, who will be able to practice with the Wildcats and continue to develop even if he’s not eligible to play.
Toppin’s older brother, Obi, was a redshirt in his first year on Dayton’s campus before emerging as a key player for the Flyers as a freshman and then developing into the national player of the year and surefire NBA lottery pick this past season as a third-year sophomore.
Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans referred to Jacob Toppin as a “long and rangy” player that could greatly benefit from a year of development to improve his game and body for a higher level of college basketball. He will have three seasons of eligibility at Kentucky.
“He’s like Obi in the sense that he is a late bloomer that (could use) such a sit-out year to improve at a rapid rate,” Evans told the Herald-Leader. “I’m not saying he will be just like his brother, but he should return to the floor looking nothing like what he was at Rhode Island. Has also has a lot of value as a versatile defender.”
Freshman forward Keion Brooks is the only returning Wildcat with any experience playing for UK, and he’ll be joined by returning wing Dontaie Allen, who sat out his entire freshman season with a knee injury, Creighton transfer guard Davion Mintz, who missed all of this past season with an ankle injury, and six highly touted freshmen.
Toppin doesn’t solve UK’s need for a traditional post player, but he would add some more size and length to a Kentucky team lacking in frontcourt players. Incoming freshmen Isaiah Jackson and Lance Ware — both 6-9 power forwards — are the closest players to “bigs” on Kentucky’s 2020-21 roster. Brooks, at 6-7 and 205 pounds, would be the next biggest scholarship player on the roster.
Kentucky is still in the mix for Purdue graduate transfer Matt Haarms, who is a versatile, 7-3 center and clearly the top-ranked player in the NCAA transfer portal. There is no timetable for Haarms’ transfer decision.
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