Kansas basketball receives commitment from St. Bonaventure transfer Melvin Council Jr.
LAWRENCE — The Kansas basketball fan base received some good news on Wednesday, as St. Bonaventure transfer guard Melvin Council Jr. revealed during a livestream on Instagram that he has committed to play for the Jayhawks.
Council, listed as a 6-foot-4 and 180-pound senior this past season, spent just one season at St. Bonaventure. He spent the previous year at Wagner and also has experience at the junior college level. With St. Bonaventure, he was an Atlantic 10 Conference all-league third-team honoree.
Advertisement
RELATED: Where could Kansas basketball be ranked to start 2025-26 season? Here are poll projections
"We're very excited to announce Melvin Council Jr. has signed," head coach Bill Self said in a KU release that followed Council's announcement. "He's a 6-4, long, rangy guard that can play with the ball and without the ball. Melvin will remind our fans physically and athletically of Tyshawn Taylor. He's a superior athlete who can score the ball and has the potential to be one of the more elite defenders that we've had in recent memory. He's been very well drilled and well coached at Monroe (College), Wagner (College) and Saint Bonaventure. We could not be more excited to have him in the fold."
Council won't arrive at Kansas as someone who's expected to be a reliable 3-point shooter, but he has been a productive player who brings experience to the roster. He'll be someone who can be relied upon to be a pivotal part of the rotation. As the Jayhawks look to deal with the departure of numerous players who could have returned from this past season's squad, his presence will be valued.
Last season, Kansas finished 21-13 overall and saw its postseason end in the round of 64 of the NCAA tournament with a loss against Arkansas. The Jayhawks also saw their Big 12 Conference tournament run end in the quarterfinals with a loss against Arizona. As coach Bill Self and company look to regain the momentum that followed a national championship run in 2022, Council will look to play a key role.
Melvin Council Jr. has elected to transfer to play for Kansas basketball after playing at St. Bonaventure.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association's sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: St. Bonaventure transfer Melvin Council Jr. picks Kansas basketball

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
First-time Epson Tour winner crowned at 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
BATTLE CREEK — Battle Creek is the place where champions are born. For the fifth straight year, a first-time winner was crowned at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. Samantha Wagner rallied in the final round to win the 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship at Battle Creek Country Club on Sunday, June 8. Advertisement When the final round of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship began, Wagner was two shots back of the 36-hole leaders, Yana Wilson and Samantha Vodry. By the end of the day, she was two shots clear of Sophia Schubert and hoisting her first Epson Tour trophy on the 18th green with a final round of 65 and a three-day total of 13-under par 203. Wagner played at the University of Florida and has been on the Epson Tour since 2018. MORE: Battle Creek's Gibson will golf against pros at a course her grandpa wasn't allowed to play Samantha Wagner won the 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship at the Battle Creek Country Club on Sunday, June 8. For the majority of the day, it was anyone's tournament to win, but Wagner was the one who took it and ran. Advertisement At the turn, Wagner was in the hunt, but not in control of the lead. A disappointing par on the par-5 10th was followed by another par on the 11th. The 12th hole was when everything started to click for the 28-year-old, making her first birdie of the back nine. She followed it up with three more birdies, making it four in a row before a par on the difficult par-3 16th broke the streak. At this point, Wagner held the solo lead, chasing down the clubhouse lead at 11-under set by Sophia Schubert. One more birdie came on 17, extending her lead to two coming down 18. It was business as usual for Wagner, hitting the fairway and then a green in regulation. A two- the two-shot victory for her first win on the Epson Tour. 'It's finally sinking in; this is awesome,' said Wagner after her win. 'I think for me, a lot of it was taking a step back and really trying not to think about winning and just really focusing on my process. I've been told by many people that if I keep doing that, eventually it'll pay off, so I really just had to lean in and trust that. It's been a long time, so it's nice to see that finally come through. It just feels great moving forward.' The Epson Tour heads to Harbor Springs, Michigan, next week for the inaugural playing of the Great Lakes Championship. Tournament play will begin June 13. Advertisement Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@ Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick. This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Samantha Wagner wins 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championships


Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Washington Post
Deion Sanders absent from football camps in Boulder, Colorado. No reason specified by school
BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders has not attended football camps in Boulder, Colorado, this spring. The University of Colorado said it couldn't comment on a reason for his absence. ESPN, citing a source it did not name, said Sanders has been ill and out of the office recently. Over the weekend, his son Deion Sanders Jr. posted a livestream video on YouTube in which he said his father remains at his Texas home and 'feeling well,' according to USA Today. His son added in the video: 'He'll tell y'all soon enough what he's going through.' Sanders is required to operate a minimum of three on-campus football camps, according to the contract extension he signed in March . Sanders' deal runs through the 2029 season and made him the highest-paid football coach in the Big 12 Conference. The 57-year-old Sanders has struggled with his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State. He missed media day in 2023 , his first year at Colorado, after a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot. Asked about his father at the Browns' minicamp Tuesday, rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders responded: 'Yeah, I don't know what's going on. So I'm here not to talk about Pops. I'm here to be the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. I'm focused on learning this playbook and everything I got to do to be the most successful quarterback and best teammate I could be. Outside of that, I don't really have no thoughts or really opinions on anything outside this game.' Deion Sanders was a scratch last weekend as a keynote speaker at the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Educational Symposium in Florida. The organization posted on social media that 'due to an unavoidable last-minute scheduling change, our originally scheduled Foundation Keynote Speaker, Deion Sanders 'Coach Prime' is unable to attend.' Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson was his replacement. The Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 by hosting Georgia Tech. ___ AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report. ___ AP college football: and


San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
This Date in Baseball - Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the 6th player in MLB history to reach 600 HRs
June 9 1901 — The New York Giants set a major league record with 31 hits in beating Cincinnati 25-13. Al Selbach of the Giants went 6-for-7 with two doubles and four singles and scored four runs. 1906 — Boston snapped a 19-game losing streak by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3. 1914 — Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates got the 3,000th hit of his career off Philadelphia's Erskine Mayer in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Wagner's hit, a double, came in the ninth. Wagner joined Cap Anson as the only members of the 3000-hit club. 1935 — The St. Louis Cardinals became the 10th team in major league history to score a run in every inning in a 13-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. 1946 — Commissioner Happy Chandler imposed five-year suspensions on players who jumped to the Mexican League and three-year suspensions for those who broke the reserve clause. 1946 — The New York Giants' Mel Ott became the first manager to be ejected in both ends of a doubleheader. The Pittsburgh Pirates won both games, 2-1 and 5-1. 1963 — Playing the first Sunday night game in major league history because of excessive heat during the day, the Houston Colt .45s handed the San Francisco Giants their seventh straight loss in Houston, 3-0. Turk Farrell and Skinny Brown pitched the shutout. 1966 — Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Don Mincher and Harmon Killebrew homered in the seventh inning for the Minnesota Twins in a 9-4 victory over the Kansas City Athletics. 1979 — California's Nolan Ryan struck out 16 batters as the Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 9-1. It was the 21st time in his career he struck out 15 or more batters in one game. 1986 — Chicago pitcher Tom Seaver (306) and California Angels hurler Don Sutton (298) had the highest composite win total (604) for opposing pitchers since 1926, when Walter Johnson (406) faced Red Faber (197). Sutton pitched a two-hit shutout to beat the White Sox 3-0. 1990 — Eddie Murray of the Los Angeles Dodgers tied Mickey Mantle's record by homering from each side of the plate in the same game for the 10th time in his career. The Dodgers beat the Padres 5-4 in 11 innings. 1998 — Cecil Fielder of the Angels and Yamil Benitez of the Diamondbacks each hit grand slams in the same inning in Anaheim's 10-8 win over Arizona. It was the first time both teams hit grand slams in the same inning since 1992. 2008 — Ken Griffey Jr. became the sixth player in baseball history to reach 600 homers with a drive off Mark Hendrickson in the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds' 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins. 2014 — Lonnie Chisenhall had nine RBIs and three home runs in a five-hit game, Michael Brantley scored five times and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 17-7. 2015 — Chris Heston pitched the first no-hitter in his 13th career start, leading the San Francisco Giants over the New York Mets 5-0. The rookie allowed three baserunners — all on hit batters. He also had a two-run single for his first big league RBIs and finished with two more hits than the Mets. 2019 — The Nationals accomplish a very rare feat as four consecutive batters hit solo homers in the 8th inning in Petco Park in San Diego to break a 1 - 1 tie. Pinch-hitterHowie Kendrick starts things off against Craig Stammen, and is followed in order by Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon, who all go yard. This is only the ninth time in major league history this has happened, and the Nats were the last to do so, on July 27, 2017. 2022 — The Twins open the bottom of the 1st against the Yankees with three consecutive homers off Gerrit Cole at Target Field, by Luis Arraez, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. This is the first time in franchise history this has happened. _____