TOLEDO, Ohio – University of Toledo sophomore
Ryan Rollins announced today that he will forego his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility and remain in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Macomb, Mich. native was an All-MAC First Team honoree and a member of the Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American Team this past season. Rollins initially announced his intention to declare for the draft on April 7. His solid performances at post-season workouts and in the NBA Draft Combine on May 18-19 helped to confirm his decision.
"After receiving feedback at the NBA Combine and other workouts over the last month, I have decided to remain in the 2022 NBA Draft," Rollins said in statement. "This was one of the hardest decisions of my life and I want to thank my family and everyone in the Toledo program for their tremendous support throughout this entire process. To my teammates, coaches, trainers and managers; I love all y'all and will cherish all the moments we had together over my couple years and I am super grateful for the relationships and brotherhood that came along with that. Spending my last two years as part of the University of Toledo community is something I will never forget. Love you all and I will forever be a ?? 4L!"
"I couldn't be happier for Ryan and his family," Head Coach
Tod Kowalczyk said. "He has earned the right to be an NBA player, and I'm proud that we had the chance to coach him for the last two years. He leaves here as clearly one of the best players to ever play at the University of Toledo. In addition to being a phenomenal player, Ryan was a great representative of our program and will always be a big part of our family."
Rollins is looking to become the first Rocket selected in the NBA Draft since Casey Shaw was drafted in the second round (37
th overall) by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1998.
After receiving MAC Freshman of the Year honors in the 2020-21 season, Rollins took his game to a higher level in the 2021-22 campaign and helped Toledo to its second straight outright league title. Rollins became just the fourth Rocket ever to score 1,000 points in his first two seasons and his 641 points scored this past year rank third in school history.
Rollins ranked fourth in the MAC in 2021-22 with a team-high 18.9 ppg and 1.7 spg, and was second on the team with 6.0 rpg, 3.7 apg and an 80.2 free-throw percentage. He scored in double digits in all but two contests and was tied for first in the MAC with 18 20-point outings. Rollins scored a career-high 35 points vs. Coastal Carolina (Nov. 24) en route to earning MVP honors at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. He also came close to registering a triple-double on three occasions: 15 points, career-high 16 rebounds and eight assists vs. Ohio (Feb. 8); 16 points, career-high 10 assists and eight rebounds at Bowling Green; 24 points, 10 boards and seven assists vs. Ball State (Jan. 18).
The 2022 NBA Draft Presented by State Farm will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Thursday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. ABC and ESPN will provide coverage for the first round with ESPN airing the second round.
