Cole Edelen, a WKU basketball commit, is leaving Kentucky. The Male High School star will spend his senior year at Combine Academy in North Carolina.
Cole Edelen is heading to North Carolina for his senior season of high school basketball.
Edelen announced Monday he is transferring to Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina.
Edelen, a 6-foot-2 guard who has committed to Western Kentucky University, averaged 21.6 points and five assists last season and was a second-team All-State selection of The Courier Journal.
Edelen joined Male’s varsity program as an eighth grader and said he will miss being a Bulldog.
“Male is my home,” Edelen said. “I just think getting ready for my next stop in college at WKU, what Combine has to offer is a little bit better of a situation for me. … In the long run, it will help me out.”
Combine is near Charlotte and is a “top international boarding school and professional sports performance center,” according to its website. Combine also is a part of the Overtime Elite League, which features several of the nation’s top prep stars.
Kaden Magwood, a former star at Western High School, played at Combine and is set to enter his freshman season at Auburn.
Edelen said it was a difficult decision to give up his chance of winning Kentucky’s 2026 Mr. Basketball award and potentially playing in the Sweet 16 again.
“And I had the chance to be the second-leading scorer (all time) at Male and maybe the first,” Edelen said. “At the end of the day, I don’t think any of those things are going to help me in the long run. But leaving those things definitely hurts.”
Edelen said he will head to Combine on Aug. 16.
He’s the third star player from Louisville to leave for a prep school this offseason. Trinity senior Jayden Johnson announced in June his transfer to Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah. Fairdale junior Ferlandas Wright announced earlier this week he's headed to La Lumiere in La Porte, Indiana.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; [email protected]; Follow on X @kyhighs.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA basketball transfer news: Cole Edelen leaving Male High School
Category: General Sports
