5/31/2023 basketball Edit

All-A10 forward Tyler Burton commits to Villanova

Russ Wood • Rivals Transfer Portal

National Analyst

Villanova appears to have secured the final piece to its roster puzzle Wednesday with the commitment of Richmond transfer Tyler Burton. He made the announcement via Twitter.

Mar 17, 2022; Buffalo, NY, USA; Richmond Spiders forward Tyler Burton (3) drives to the basket against Iowa Hawkeyes forward Kris Murray (24) in the first half during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

The 6-foot-7 combo forward played the last four seasons at Richmond where he was an All-Atlantic 10 selection twice, including last season after leading the Spiders in scoring (19.0 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and steals (1.5 spg). Burton was the third-leading scorer in the A10 last season and left Richmond ranked 11th in program history with 1,634 points. He tested the NBA Draft waters before withdrawing ahead of today’s deadline.

Burton is the fourth player to exit the NCAA transfer portal and commit to the Wildcats this off season. Head coach Kyle Neptune has retooled his roster with forward Lance Ware (Kentucky) and guards TJ Bamba (Washington State) and Hakim Hart (Maryland).

Along with All-Big East returnees Justin Moore and forward Eric Dixon, the nucleus of Neptune’s second year roster will elevate the Wildcats to a preseason top-25 team and put them back in contention for a Big East championship.