Kentucky lost another former top recruit Wednesday, as guard Charles Matthews decided to transfer after just one season.
Matthews was ranked by ESPN as the 42nd overall prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, but struggled to find playing time on the loaded Wildcats roster.
Despite averaging only 10.3 minutes, Matthews was one of four Wildcats to appear in every game last season. The 6-foot-6, 189-pounder averaged just 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in limited playing time.
With another top-ranked recruiting class coming to Lexington, Matthews was likely to struggle to find playing time yet again, and was granted a full release by John Calipari, enabling him to transfer to any school in the nation. He becomes just the fifth player to transfer away from Kentucky during the legendary coach's tenure.
As per NCAA regulations, Matthews will be forced to sit out next season before becoming eligible in 2017-18.