Per a report from 247sports’ Travis Branham, North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier, a 6-foot-4 guard who is the 11th overall ranked player in the transfer portal, will visit Kentucky Monday.
He is first visiting Kentucky head coach Mark Pope’s former home, BYU, as he will be in Provo, Utah, visiting the Cougars this weekend, per Branham. Lanier is also expected to visit Tennessee, who were considered the front-runners when the Nashville native initially entered the transfer portal.
Lanier’s college visits come after he participated in the NBA G League Combine in Chicago. Pope attended to watch Lanier and also attended the NBA Combine, where fellow UK target and BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson competed.
After playing in just 10 games as a true freshman, he played in 31 and started eight as a sophomore during the 2021-22 season, averaging 4.5 points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He picked up three steals in a loss to Kentucky inside Rupp Arena.
As a junior, he played in 31 games with nine starts and averaged 4.7 points per game and 2.5 assists. UNF made a return trip to Rupp Arena, where Lanier scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in a loss.
This past season, the guard broke out. He played in 32 games and started 31 for the Ospreys, averaging 19.7 points per game, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 51.0 percent from the field, 44.0 percent from three, and 86.4 percent from the free throw line. He scored a season-high 35 points in a loss to North Alabama, had two 33-point performances, a 30-point night and logged one double-double.
Kentucky is still looking for an all-around scorer to carry the Cats on any given night; Lanier would fit that bill.
So far, Kentucky has signed 11 players, leaving just two available spots on its 2024-25 scholarship roster. It hopes either Lanier or Robinson will be one of the two players to fill those spots.