From Track Star to Rim Protector: How William Kyle III’s Journey Shaped Syracuse’s High-Flying Center
In a game filled with highlight-reel dunks and emphatic blocks, William Kyle III doesn’t just play above the rim - he lives there. The Syracuse big man has become one of college basketball’s most electric athletes this season, but ask him how high he can actually jump, and he’ll shrug. Not because he’s being modest - but because the machines used to measure his vertical leap can’t keep up with him.
“I don’t have an accurate pinpoint vertical just because the [machines] that I’ve used, I mostly maxed all those out,” Kyle said. “So the measurements I have have mostly been estimates, but I know it’s over a 40-inch vertical.”
Whatever the number is, it’s more than just a stat - it’s the engine behind some of Syracuse’s most jaw-dropping moments this season. Kyle is a constant lob threat, a shot-blocking menace, and a defensive anchor for a team that thrives on energy and athleticism.
He leads the ACC in blocks and ranks fourth nationally, swatting away 2.7 shots per game. But long before he was patrolling the paint in the Dome, Kyle was soaring over a different kind of bar.
A Track Star in the Making
Before basketball took over, Kyle’s athletic future looked like it might be on a different path - one that could’ve led to the Olympic stage. His father, Will Jr., thought track and field would be his son’s calling.
“I never saw basketball as his future because of his passion for track and field,” he said. “I thought he was going to be a tall Olympian.”
Kyle’s introduction to track came early. His mom, Lutricia, signed him and his two older sisters up for a summer program in Bellevue, Nebraska, when Kyle was just a first grader.
Initially, it was just a way to keep the kids active during the summer. But it quickly became something more.
By third grade, Kyle was competing in the high jump - not because he asked to, but because his coach and parents nudged him into it.
“I didn’t want to do high jump,” Kyle admitted. “I was just kind of thrown into it.”
Turns out, he had a knack for it. By fourth grade, he placed sixth at the USATF national meet in Houston.
He also qualified in the 800 meters. Two years later, he was back on the national stage, placing seventh in the high jump at the USATF nationals in Sacramento.
Through his freshman year at Bellevue West High School, Kyle kept competing in both the high jump and the 800. He narrowly missed qualifying for the state meet - a strong showing for a first-year high schooler. But then, everything changed.
The Pandemic Pivot
The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out Kyle’s sophomore track season - and with it, the momentum he’d built in the sport. With AAU basketball also on pause, Kyle had a choice to make. He chose basketball.
“That’s when I focused my attention on basketball,” he said.
That summer, he got to work with Greg Hepburn, a well-known trainer in the area whose son Chuckie had become a standout college guard. Hepburn helped Kyle translate his raw athleticism into basketball-specific skills. It wasn’t just about jumping high - it was about learning how to move, how to control that power, how to defend in space.
“I told Will, ‘You’ve got a lot of work to do to get caught up,’ and, boy, he worked,” said Kyle’s father. “Greg was doing training sessions in the evening. We’d sit up there for hours and Will would just be working.”
Kyle also hit the weight room harder than ever before. The results came quickly. He started his sophomore year on JV, but by season’s end, he was on the varsity squad - and Bellevue West won a state championship.
Basketball had officially taken center stage.
The Long Road to Syracuse
Kyle continued to grow - both in height and in his game. By the time he was done with high school, he stood 6-foot-9.
But despite his size and athleticism, he flew under the radar as a recruit. He averaged just 12.0 points per game as a senior, and his scholarship offers were limited: Omaha, Indiana-Fort Worth, Longwood, and South Dakota State.
He chose SDSU, and it didn’t take long to make his presence felt. As a sophomore, he was named the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year - a testament to his timing, instincts, and, of course, those hops.
But Kyle wanted to test himself at a higher level. He transferred to UCLA, where minutes were hard to come by behind a crowded frontcourt rotation that included Tyler Bilodeau and Aday Mara. So he made another move - this time to Syracuse.
Now in his senior season, Kyle is averaging 8.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game. That block average is the second-highest for a Syracuse player in the last decade, trailing only Jesse Edwards’ 2.8 mark in 2021-22. His presence in the paint has been a game-changer for the Orange, not just because of what he erases defensively, but because of the energy he brings.
A Vertical That Defies Measurement
Kyle’s vertical leap has become the stuff of legend around Syracuse. Some say it’s 44 inches - a number that would top last year’s NBA Combine, where the best mark was 43 inches by North Carolina’s Drake Powell.
Whether that’s accurate or not is almost beside the point. What matters is what Kyle does with that bounce.
He’s been compared to some of Syracuse’s most explosive leapers - Jerami Grant, Hakim Warrick, Stevie Thompson. That’s elite company, and Kyle’s earned the right to be in the conversation.
“I think I owe a lot of it to track,” Kyle said. “With my playing style, you don’t see a lot of guys like me moving and jumping like I do. I’ve been jumping since I was in the third grade.
“A lot of guys have jumping ability, but there’s also just knowing how to jump. There’s timing and anticipation. I just think there’s a lot of synergy there.”
That synergy shows up every time he skies for a lob or meets a shot at the apex. He’s not just reacting - he’s reading, timing, and executing like someone who’s been doing this his whole life. Because, in a way, he has.
And while the exact number on his vertical might remain a mystery for now, one thing’s clear: William Kyle III isn’t done rising - not on the court, and not in his basketball journey.