Former Cincinnati guard Kerr Kriisa was arrested by FBI agents on Saturday, with Kentucky Sports Radio’s Jack Pilgrim reporting that he is expected to be extradited to West Virginia next week in connection with an alleged crime.
Pilgrim said Kriisa’s arrest is tied to a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that dates back to his time at West Virginia in 2023-24. A court hearing is scheduled for next week. Pilgrim also noted that Kriisa averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 assists in 19 games this past season at Cincinnati.
The 25-year-old from Estonia had been set to play in The Basketball Tournament this month, but that plan is now off. He also signed last week with his former club, Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits, for the upcoming season in Estonia.
Cincinnati added Kriisa out of the transfer portal last spring, and he opened the year as a major part of the rotation. Injuries, though, again interrupted his season, and he eventually slipped out of the lineup.
Kriisa spent six seasons in college basketball, including his stint at West Virginia, which now sits at the center of the legal situation. Before and after his college run, he also played in the Kaunas Žalgiris system in Lithuania and spent time in Germany with Brose Bamberg and Bayreuth Young Pikes.
Last year at 2025 Big 12 Media Days, Kriisa spoke about what he loves most about the college game, saying, "College basketball is the best thing in the world," Kriisa told the local media in a breakout session at 2025 Big 12 Media Days last year about his love for the sport. "You can't compare college basketball to your league to the NBA, because the community and everything about it is so special.
Everybody has their own mascot. Everybody takes pride.
And it's just the best. It really is like it makes me, like, smiley; it's a super cool thing."
In Other News...
UCLA Is Deep In The Fight For The Nations Top Recruit
The race for Kaleena Smith is only getting bigger, and UCLA has secured a spot in the middle of it. The top-ranked player in the 2027 class has lined up 11 official visits, with Westwood on the itinerary for Oct. 30, giving the Bruins a chance to make their case to one of the countrys most coveted young guards. Smith, a 5-foot-6 point guard, has built her reputation on scoring and vision, and her junior season numbers, 31.5 points and 6.9 assists per game, show why so many programs are pressing to get her on campus.
UCLA is not alone in the chase, with Smith also setting visits to schools such as Louisville, Cal, Syracuse, LSU and Notre Dame, along with a long list that stretches across the country. The Bruins have been in the mix for a while, having offered her in August 2025 and later bringing her to Westwood on an unofficial visit, but the upcoming official trip adds a different level of urgency. For UCLA, the timing matters, and so does the competition, because this recruitment already looks like one that could stretch deep into the cycle. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Biggest Backfield Question May Finally Have An Answer
UCLAs backfield picture has been one of the few stable parts of a season that quickly went off the rails, and now it has a new layer of intrigue with the coaching change. After the 0-3 start and DeShaun Fosters dismissal in his second year, the Bruins are turning the program over to Bob Chesney, who arrives with a strong rsum from James Madison, where he delivered a Sun Belt title and a College Football Playoff berth. Even before the staff fully resets, the running back room already offers a clearer path than a lot of the roster.
Knight looks like the back most likely to anchor the offense, coming off a breakout season that showed he can carry a heavy load while also adding value as a receiver. Behind him, the Bruins still have pieces with defined jobs, including Thomas as a passing-game option after struggling to get much going on the ground and Woods as a power-back candidate trying to rebound from a season-ending injury at Utah. For a team trying to steady itself, the question is no longer whether UCLA has enough bodies at the position, but how quickly the new staff settles on the right mix. [Read more 🡒]
Five Bruins Just Earned Early Big Ten Respect
Athlons preseason All-Big Ten teams offered an early snapshot of how UCLA is being viewed in its new conference home, and five Bruins made the cut. Wayne Knight, Sahir West, Eugene Brooks, Samy Omosigho and Rodrick Pleasant all landed on the magazines lists, a notable showing for a program still building its Big Ten identity and looking to establish itself against a deeper, more familiar league hierarchy.
Knight drew the most attention with dual recognition as a second-team all-purpose player and third-team specialist, while West was tabbed for the third-team defense. Brooks, Omosigho and Pleasant were also included based on what they have already shown and what they are expected to provide, giving UCLA a solid preseason footprint before a snap is played. The bigger question now is how much of that respect turns into production once the Bruins start facing Big Ten competition for real. [Read more 🡒]