Kerr Kriisa’s Kentucky basketball season is over. What to know about guard’s injury

LEXINGTON — Kerr Kriisa’s season is officially over.

During a news conference Thursday, Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope said Kriisa, a fifth-year guard who hasn’t played since Dec. 7 because of a foot injury, won’t take the court for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.

“We’re past the window now where he could actually get back,” Pope said. “It’s just been a little bit of a stubborn healing process. So, yeah, he just hasn’t reached the benchmarks he needs to get to in terms of the healing process.”

Kriisa finishes the season having appeared in nine games, making one start. He averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. His assist average ranks second on the Wildcats, trailing fellow point guard Lamont Butler at 4.5.

Because of how few games he played in 2024-25, and since none of his appearances occurred past the midpoint of UK’s season, Kriisa would be eligible for a medical redshirt — and a return for the 2025-26 campaign. The possibility of a sixth season for Kriisa is why he didn’t participate in the team’s senior night ceremony prior to Tuesday’s victory over LSU.

“We walked into the season thinking Kerr was going to exhaust his eligibility this year, but he didn’t,” Pope said Monday night during his weekly radio show. “He’s got another year left, which is so fantastic for all of us, right?”

Prior to transferring to Kentucky, Kriisa spent last season at West Virginia, where he appeared in 23 games (all starts). He averaged 11 points and 4.7 assists in 33.4 minutes per outing for the Mountaineers.

Kriisa starred at Arizona the first three seasons (2020-21 through 2022-23) of his college career.

He led the Pac-12 in assists per game his last two seasons at Arizona, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat since Southern Cal’s Brandon Granville in 2000 and 2001. Kriisa played in 76 games (70 starts) at Arizona, with averages of 9.4 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per outing.