20-05-2025
Vermont basketball gains two transfers on same day
In the span of an hour on May 17, Vermont basketball landed two transfers to join the 2025-26 Catamount program.
Ben Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard from Bellarmine, and Chris Kuzemka, a 6-foot, 180-pound guard from Loyola, committed to Vermont over the weekend. GoEmpire Group, a sports agency based out of Chicago, announced Johnson's commitment on X, formerly known as Twitter. Kuzemka, who will be a walk-on, shared news on his social media pages.
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Vermont previously picked up forwards Gus Yalden, Ben Michels and Trey Woodyard via the transfer portal and brought back Jackson Skipper, who spent last season at Oral Roberts following two years in Burlington. Head coach John Becker and his Vermont staff are searching for two more scholarship spots to round out the 2025-26 roster.
Chris Kuzemka: Beat cancer diagnosis this spring
Kuzemka left the Loyola program in January to have surgery and receive treatment for a cancerous mass found on his body. On April 18, Kuzemka posted on his Instagram page that he was "cancer free" following five months of "scans, surgery, and four rounds of chemotherapy."
Doing his time at Loyola, Kuzemka played in 60 games (started four) over three-plus seasons, averaging 5.5 points per game and making 67 out of 172 3-point attempts (39%).
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Prior to Loyola, Kuzemka was the Virginia Class 6A player of the year as a senior in 2020-21 when he averaged 22.7 points, 4.6 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game, helping Centreville High School to district, region and state titles.
Ben Johnson: Averaged 12.2 points a game at Bellarmine
Bellarmine Knights guard Ben Johnson (33) looks to pass the ball by Utah Utes guard Cole Bajema (2) during the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center on Dec. 20, 2023.
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Johnson averaged 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 37.3% from 3-point range in 77 games (42 starts) for Bellarmine.
Johnson reached double figures in 10 games this past winter, with a season-high 29 points on 10 of 21 shooting with six 3s in a 100-68 loss to Louisville, before an injury limited his availability to just 18 total games.
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In 2022-23, Johnson landed on the Atlantic Sun Conference all-rookie team and his 38.1% shooting on 3s as a sophomore the following season ranked fourth in his conference.
In high school at Lexington Catholic, Johnson was a two-time captain and four-year starter who was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball in 2021 when he averaged 27 points per game.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@ Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont basketball: Ben Johnson, Chris Kuzemka commit to Catamounts
