Duke guard Jeremy Roach shocked the college basketball landscape when he decided to enter the transfer portal after spending all four seasons of his college career with the Blue Devils. A two-time team captain who will take his talents to Waco, Texas next basketball season and suit up for Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears for his final year of eligibility.

The transfer portal process for coaches and players alike can be a hectic one, which Roach tried to avoid as he reopened up his recruitment this offseason. Keeping things simple and revealing to Ray McCallum from Swish Cultures that Baylor was just one of two programs he was exploring while in the portal.

“So it was really kind of a quick decision, I didn’t want to elongate my decision,” Roach said. “So when Baylor called I took maybe a day or two, I met with Kentucky too, and then it was really between those two and I think Baylor was the best decision for me.”

Roach committed to Baylor just five days after it was reported that he would be entering the transfer portal, becoming one of the most coveted point guards in the recruiting landscape once again.

Out of Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax (VA), Roach was the four-star prospect ranked the No. 22 overall player and the No. 6 point guard for the 2020 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Entering the transfer portal this offseason as the No. 2 available point guard and No. 11 ranked player regardless of position in the portal according to On3’s Industry Transfer Portal Rankings.

“For me just going in the process, I already knew it was kind of going to be crazy. I mean I’ve already been through the recruiting process already,” Roach explained. “Doing visits, doing multiple meetings, and stuff like that. So I really didn’t want to even go through that whole visiting and meeting with 50 million coaches. I wanted to kind of keep my schools tight and wanted to pick from all the schools that were calling me.”

Roach is one of the most experienced and productive guards in the country, coming off of a career year where he averaged 14 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Joining the Bears after starting in 108 of his 130 career games with 1,469 points to his name and extensive postseason experience with 11 NCAA Tournament game appearances.

There’s no question that the Wildcats and many other programs would have loved to add Roach to their roster ahead of the 2024-2025 season. With the head coach and roster turnover at Kentucky likely playing a role in his decision.

But now that Roach revealed what his top two looked like, fans in Lexington will likely reflect on what could have been for quite some time as Baylor faithful let out another sigh of relief following rumors of their own head coach jumping ship for Kentucky this offseason.