< Previous50 @KentuckyMBB Off the court with RILEY n Sister, Haley, is serving in the Peace Corps n Was the 2014 Adidas Unrivaled assist leader n Is a vegetarian n Won a county or conference champion- ship during all four years of high school basketball n Enjoys going to the beach in his free time 2018-19 (College of the Desert) Saw action in 27 games ... Averaged 8.2 points per game for the Roadrunners ... Also contributed 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game ... Dished out a team-high 134 assists ... Sunk 31 shots from behind the arc ... Scored a career-high 29 points vs. San Jacin- to on Feb. 1 on 9-of-11 shooting and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line ... Recorded 19 points vs. West LA on Nov. 2 ... Twice tabbed to the College of the Desert Dean's List. 2017-18 (UC Irvine) Appeared in 27 games as a true freshman ... Played double-digit minutes four times ... Scored five points in his collegiate debut at Denver ... Dished out four assists and hit a three against Chapman ... Had three assists in six minutes at Montana ... Snared four boards to couple with two points vs. UC Riv- erside ... Two-time Dean's List honoree. High School Played for Chatfield High School ... 2016 Chauncey Billups regional champion ... School reached the Colorado High School Activities Association Final Four in 2016 ... Three-time league champion ... Two-time Jef- ferson County All-Conference ... 2014 Adidas Unrivaled assist leader ... Finalist in the 2013 USA U-18 3x3 Tournament ... Phi Theta Kap- pa Honor Society. Personal Born Sept. 26 in Fresno, California … Par- ents are John and Jean Welch … Has a sister, Haley ... Major is bachelor of liberal studies ... Father played basketball at UNLV and has served as a coach in the NBA for 15 years ... John Welch is currently serving as an as- sistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers ... Grandfather Coley was the third-ranked boxing middleweight in the world in 1941 ... Chose No. 13 because it was Steve Nash's number ... Proudest moment as a basketball player was suiting up for UC Irvine for his first collegiate game. Guard n 6-0 n 185 n Jr. RILEY WELCH Follow RILEY on Social Media n @Riley__Welch on Twitter n @riley__welch on Instagram #13 Littleton, Colo.@UKSportsNetwork 51 Off the court with KAHLIL n Scored more than 2,000 career points in high school n Father, Kelly, played basketball at Seton Hall n Father game him his nickname "The Dragon" n Most memorable basketball moment is winning a state high school championship n He and former Wildcat, Isaiah Briscoe, both attended Roselle Catholic High School Tabbed the No. 11 overall player by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index in the 2019 class ... Consensus five-star prospect ... Ranked in the top 15 by every major re- cruiting service, including 247Sports (No. 11), ESPN (No. 12) and Rivals (No. 14) ... 247Sports tabs him as the second-best small forward in the class ... Named Naismith High School Boys' All-America Third Team ... Secured All-USA Today New Jersey First Team honors ... Averaged 19.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for Roselle Catho- lic ... Second alum from Roselle Catholic to play under John Calipari at Kentucky, join- ing Isaiah Briscoe ... Scored in double fig- ures in all 29 games during his senior season with 11 games of 20 or more points ... Led Roselle Catholic to the New Jersey's Tourna- ment of Championship as a junior ... Aver- aged 21.1 points and 7.2 rebounds on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit ... Scored more than 2,000 points during his high school career ... Participated in the McDonald's All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic Game and the Iverson Round- ball Classic ... Named co-MVP at the Iverson Classic after scoring 38 points in the contest. Personal Born Jan. 8 in Chicago ... Major is unde- clared/exploratory studies in agriculture ... His parents are Kelly Whitney and Chanel Tillmon … Has three siblings, Kylie, Tyre- ese and Isaiah ... Father played basketball at Seton Hall ... Also played football as a kid ... Nickname is the Dragon ... Can play the drums ... His most prized possession is his family ... Father has been his life's greatest influence ... Most memorable moment as a basketball player is winning a state champi- onship ... Definition of a true hero is some- one who changes the lives of others ... Chose Kentucky over Oregon, Illinois, Georgetown and Miami. Forward n 6-6 n 210 n Fr. KAHLIL WHITNEY Follow KAHLIL on Social Media n @KahlilWhitney on Twitter n @kahlilwhitney on Instagram #2 ChicagoBy Eric Lindsey UK Athletics Communications and Public Relations Following a historic fall season, the Ken- tucky women’s golf team opened its spring season in February with back-to-back tournaments in Puerto Rico and Florida. The Wildcats placed fifth at the Lady Puer- to Rico Classic to end a four-month winter break and followed up a week later with a seventh-place performance at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida. Although the opening two tournaments of the spring didn’t match the unprecedent- ed run of the fall when the Wildcats won two championships and placed second in another, Kentucky’s spring start did nothing to temper the now high expectations to not only make the postseason for the seventh time in the 10-year Golda Borst era but to advance. Sure, the Wildcats would have liked to have finished higher in both tournaments to begin the spring, but there were plenty of signs of building on the groundwork UK laid in the fall, including leading the 16- team field in birdies at the Louisville’s an- nual spring tournament in Florida last week. “We need to figure out why we are mak- ing so many big numbers,” Borst said. “If we are able to limit our mistakes, then we are right there at the top of the leaderboard.” Kentucky, ranked 21st in the country (as of last week’s Golfstat rankings), looked like one of the top teams in the country in the final round of the Moon Golf Invitational af- ter knocking off the rust of the long winter break. UK’s 286 in the final round was its fourth- best total of the season, and several individ- uals appeared to find their swing again. Chief among them was freshman phen- om Jensen Castle. After finishing outside the top 20 for the first time in her collegiate ca- reer at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, Castle bounced back in Florida with an even-par performance at the Moon Golf Invitational, where she tied for 12th. Castle now owns 11 rounds of par or bet- ter this season, just three shy of Leonie Bet- tel’s 2018-19 single-season school record of 14. Sophomore Casey Ott was three top-10 showings, she got going in the final round of the Moon Golf Invitational with a final-round 68, moving all the way to a tie for 14th place. Junior Rikke Svejgård Nielsen tied for eighth in Puerto Rico with an even-par 216 but struggled a bit in Florida. Senior Sarah Shipley already has a 69 to her name in the spring and has proven time and time again to be one of the most consistent Wildcats. And freshman Marissa Wenzler continues to get stronger and stronger, tying for 12th in Puerto Rico with a final-round 69. The heart of Kentucky’s schedule is com- ing up. After a three-week break for prac- tice, UK will begin a stretch of three tour- naments in four weeks before postseason play begins at the Southeastern Conference Championship. Next up will be a trip out west for the Clo- ver Cup in Mesa, Arizona, where the Wild- cats have enjoyed consistent success over the last few years. Spotlight: Women's Golf 52 @KentuckyMBBClick on Player Names for More Information 54 @KentuckyMBB @UKSportsNetwork 55Click on Player Names for More Information 56 @KentuckyMBB 17 | F/C | 6-10 | 216 Atlanta Hawks GMS PPG. RPG. APG 33 5.8 5.1 1.3 @UKSportsNetwork 57Click on Player Names for More Information 58 @KentuckyMBB @UKSportsNetwork 59Next >