Former Alabama guard Rylan Griffen enters portal after 1 year at Kansas, per report

Former Alabama guard Rylan Griffen left the Crimson Tide program after making a Final Four run last year to head to Lawrence.

But joining Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks didn’t go as planned. The Jayhawks were the No. 1 team in the preseason AP Poll, but struggled all year and ultimately bowed out in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament against John Calipari’s Arkansas squad.

Now it appears Griffen will look for a new program ahead of the 2025-26 season. Per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Griffen has entered the NCAA transfer portal:

Based on his decline in production, it’s probably safe to say Griffen’s move to Lawrence didn’t go the way he planned. The same can be said for a couple of the Jayhawks’ other transfers, too.

Could Griffen return to Tuscaloosa? It’s not out of the question, according to AL.com’s Nick Kelly:

Here’s a look at how Griffen’s numbers from 2023-24 at Alabama and 2024-25 at Kansas differed:

• 2023-24 at Alabama: 26.3 minutes, 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists per game; 45.4% field goals, 39.2% 3-pointers
• 2024-25 at Kansas: 20.2 minutes, 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists per game; 37.2% field goals, 33.6% 3-pointers

Yeah, not great. But Griffen still has his senior year left to play. Where will he end up? That remains to be seen, but if he can get back to his 2023-24 form, he’ll have a lot of success this coming season.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.