Former Big 12 guard Will Kuykendall – who played at Baylor and Arizona – has signed with the Seawolves. Photo by Alyssa Meyers/Baylor Lariat
The last time Will Kuykendall came to Anchorage was in 2022, when the Santa Maria, Calif., native helped the St. Joseph boys basketball team win the Alaska Airlines Classic over the East T-birds at West High School.
He probably thought The Last Frontier was in his rearview mirror, but then a coaching change at UAA triggered a series of events that has the 6-foot-2 shooter coming back north.
Kuykendall is the latest big-name recruit to sign with the Seawolves for the upcoming season as new head coach Cameron Turner added another notch on his belt. And Kuykendall’s stay in Rage City was brief but impactful because it played a role in Turner’s decision to bring him on board.
“He had been to Anchorage in winter, so he understands it,” said Turner, a former UAA assistant coach who took over for Rusty Osborne in March. “That was one of the factors why we got him.”
Osborne, the program’s all-time wins leader (383), retired after last season’s playoff campaign following 35 years at UAA, including the last 22 as head coach. Turner served on Osborne’s staff at UAA from 2011 to 2017 before leaving to become the head coach at Eastern Arizona College.
Since taking over for the Seawolves two months ago, he has signed six players with a couple more likely on the way.
Among the players to sign is Kuykendall, who started his career at Arizona, where he was for two years before transferring to Baylor, where last season he appeared in nine games, made 4-of-9 3-pointers and scored 18 points, including a season-high six against Southern.
On a squad stacked with pro talent, playing time was tough to come by at Baylor, so he bounced.
“He chose to leave,” Turner said. “I talked with (Baylor head coach) Scott Drew and he wanted him back. It’s not like Will got cut or anything. He had a spot to come back.”
Kuykendall shoots a jumper at the 2022 Alaska Airlines Classic at West High. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Seeing high-major players in the transfer portal is nothing new; having one of them pick UAA is, but landing big recruits is Turner’s MO. When he was a Seawolf assistant, he was responsible for signing Taylor Rohde – an Arizona State transfer who was the Division II Player of the Year for UAA in 2012 – and Suki Wiggs – an Idaho transfer who became an All-American for UAA in 2016.
In search of a change of scenery, Turner sold Kuykendall on being a Seawolf.
“He just wanted a bigger role and a different experience,” the coach said. “People might say, ‘Oh, he was a walk-on.’ Nope. He was a scholarship player.”
Kuykendall joins other recent signees Tarrance Warren of Dallas, Texas; Joseph Mayberry of Lancaster, Texas; Mack Keighran of Melbourne, Australia; Karim Elgizawy of Cairo, Egypt; and Quincy Byas of Hillsboro, Ore.
“I want guys from winning programs,” Turner said. “They’ve been through the fire, made those sacrifices and lived those moments when you’re down one with 30 seconds to go. You ain’t sweating it. You can still go win the game.”
Take Mayberry, for example. The McLennan CC transfer went 56-8 in junior college and was part of four straight district championships in high school.
Or Warren, a Barry University transfer who played for Turner at Eastern Arizona, going 55-11 and winning ACCAC Freshman of the Year honors.
Or Elgizawy, a former Division I player and Laramie County CC transfer who led his team to a NJCAA Region 9 North Division title.
“They’re just winners,” Turner said. “That’s all they know.”
