Former Western Kentucky men’s basketball standout guard Julius Thedford announced his commitment to play at Memphis on Monday.

Thedford, who entered the NCAA transfer portal after this past season, will be returning to his hometown to play for the Tigers.

As a true freshman this past season at WKU, Thedford’s promising season was cut short by a knee injury. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors after averaging 12.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last season.

Thedford posted the third-highest scoring average on the team and 16th best average in CUSA. He shot 42.8% from the field with a 36.6% clip from 3point range for the season, the fourth-highest mark from beyond the arc on the team.

Thedford’s season ended early when he dislocated his right kneecap in a 71-57 loss at Middle Tennessee on Jan. 18.

With his commitment, Thedford is the first of several players off WKU’s squad last season who entered the transfer portal to announce his intention to play elsewhere next season. Leading scorer Don McHenry, a second-team all-conference pick, and second-leading scorer and top rebounder Babacar Faye also entered the portal after the season along with guard Braxton Bayless, forward/center Fallou Diagne, guard Enoch Kalambay and forward Tyrone Marshall Jr.

TOPS ANNOUNCE SELEBANGUE SIGNING

WKU announced the signing of McNeese State transfer Bryant Selebangue on Tuesday. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Selebangue joins the Hilltopper men’s basketball roster for 2025-26 after helping lead McNeese to Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships and a first-round victory in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

“I’m thrilled that Bryant has decided to join our Hilltopper family,” WKU coach Hank Plona said in a news release. “Bryant brings winning experience, scoring, rebounding and a presence to the floor every time he touches the court.”

Selebangue competed in all 35 games for McNeese in 2024-25 while finishing as the third-leading rebounder on the Cowboys’ roster with 150 total and 4.3 per contest. Selebangue helped McNeese to an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament after securing the SLC tournament conference title with the Cowboys. No. 12-seeded McNeese advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament after upsetting No. 5 seed Clemson on March 20.

Prior to joining the Cowboys’ roster, Selebangue competed for one season at Arizona State in 2023-24, appearing in 32 games with five starts while averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds. Selebangue led the team with 64 offensive rebounds and finished the season with a 57.1% (60-of-105) clip shooting from the field.

Selebangue spent the 2022-23 season at Tulsa where he started all 30 games for the Golden Hurricane while logging an average of 31.4 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-8 standout forward was the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.0 points per game and led the team in rebounding with 9.2 per game, good for the highest mark in the AAC. Selebangue posted 11 double-doubles and 17 double-figure scoring efforts while finishing with a team-best 61.5% shooting clip from the field. Selebangue also led Tulsa in blocks with 14 total for the year.

Selebangue played under current Hilltopper assistant coach Eric Murphy at Florida Southwestern State College in 2021-22, where he was named to the FCSAA All-State and NJCAA All-Region VIII teams and earned first-team all-conference merit. Selebangue helped the team to a 24-6 overall record while averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest. Selebangue totaled 23 double-figure scoring efforts and 17 games with double-digit rebounding totals.

Selebangue played his freshman season at Hutchinson Community College in 2020-21, helping lead the Blue Dragons to the NJCAA National Tournament while averaging 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and shooting at a 53.0% clip from the field. Selebangue attended Rice Prep for high school before playing a season at TRC Prep in 2019-20 and averaging 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

“Coach Murphy and Bryant have a great relationship and have had success together,” Plona said. “That relationship will only help him make a difference from the very start. Hilltopper fans will love the energy that Bryant plays with and his will to win. He’s a great young man who has succeeded throughout his college career and we are excited that he decided to finish his college career here at WKU.”