Riley Welch joins UK staff as graduate assistant coach

Another former Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball player — Riley Welch — has been added to the UK staff as a graduate assistant coach for the 2021-22 season.

Welch just finished his two-year career with the Wildcats and graduated in May with an undergraduate degree in liberal studies. He plans to pursue a Master of Business Administration.

In his new role, Welch will be involved in all on-court activities including practices, individual workouts and film sessions. He’ll also assist the staff with practice and game-plan preparation.

The 6-foot, 180-pound native of Colorado appeared in 34 career games as a Division I player split between two years at Kentucky and one at UC Irvine. Welch also played one season at the College of the Desert where he averaged 8.2 points and 5.0 assists per game.

Welch earned SEC Academic Honor Roll honors in 2021 and participated in the 2020 SEC Career Tour. He was a two-time Dean’s List honoree at UC Irvine.

Welch is the second former player to join the staff, as it was announced Thursday that Brad Calipari is also coming aboard as a grad assistant.