Western Kentucky freshman Julius Thedford announced he has entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday.

Thedford made the announcement via social media on his Instagram account.

” … Opportunities like this don’t come often, and I’ve always been told to chase my dreams,” Thedford wrote. “After much prayer and careful consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal for next season.”

A true freshman on the WKU men’s basketball team this past season, Thedford had a standout first collegiate campaign cut short by injury.

Appearing in 18 games for the Hilltoppers, Thedford averaged 12.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He connected on 30 of 82 attempts from 3-point range, tallied 16 assists and 11 steals.

Thedford was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team after finishing the season with the third-highest scoring average on the team, 16th most in CUSA. He had the fourth-highest 3-point shooting percentage on the team at 36.6% and the fifth most blocks with six total for the season. Thedford was twice named CUSA Freshman of the Week this past season.

Thedford, who scored in double digits 13 times  in 18 games (six starts) this past season, tallied a career-high 19 points against Marshall in the Tops’ 90-82 win against Marshall on Nov. 30 at E.A. Diddle Arena.

His season came to an end on Jan. 18 in a road loss to Middle Tennessee, when Thedford suffered a dislocated right kneecap in the second half.

The 6-foot-4 native of Memphis, who ranked as the No. 62 shooting guard and the No. 5 player in Tennessee according to 247Sports.com, was the first signee to be announced by WKU head coach Hank Plona for the Tops’ 2024 signing class and the second high school commit for the 2024-25 season. Thedford, who decommitted from Missouri State to sign with the Hilltoppers, competed on the AAU circuit with fellow Hilltopper freshman Kade Unseld.