James Madison forward Justin McBride commits to transfer to Kentucky

Nevada’s Justin McBride shoots while taking on Colorado State at Lawlor Events Center in Reno on Dec. 21, 2024.

Former James Madison junior power forward Justin McBride has committed to transfer to Kentucky out of the NCAA Transfer Portal. McBride, who has one season of eligibility remaining, will be playing for his fourth team in as many seasons in college.

McBride made his commitment to the Wildcats following an official visit to campus on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound McBride is a well-traveled player with previous stops at James Madison, Nevada and Oklahoma State between 2023-26. McBride is coming off a breakout junior season with the Dukes, during which he averaged career-highs with 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while starting 30 of his 31 games at James Madison. He became the first JMU player to average 15 points and five boards through a season since Matt Lewis in 2019-20. McBride also shot a consistent 49.4% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range on the season.

Prior to that, McBride averaged 7.8 points and 4.1 rebounds as a key reserve at Nevada, where he started just three of his 34 games with the Wolf Pack during the 2024-25 season. As a true freshman in 2023-24, McBride averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 70.4% (19-of-27) from the floor in 24 games at Oklahoma State.

McBride signed with Oklahoma State as a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle out of , where he was the No. 10 player in Texas, the No. 26 power forward in the class and the No. 125 player overall, , a weighted composite of all three major recruiting media services.