BYU Center Aly Khalifa Enters NCAA Transfer Portal, Per Report
Apr 12, 2024, 2:07 PM | Updated: Apr 15, 2024, 2:22 pm
PROVO, Utah – The Transfer Portal continues to move with BYU basketball players.
Hours after guard Dallin Hall entered the portal, BYU starting center Aly Khalifa was the latest entry on Friday.
BYU center Aly Khalifa has entered the transfer portal, per source. Started 26 games this past season for the Cougars, averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 assists. One of the elite passing big men in the country.
His entry has a "Do not contact" classification, for what it's worth.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 12, 2024
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello was the first to report the news. Per Borzello, Khalifa has a “Do not contact” designation with his Transfer Portal entry. That typically means a player knows where they want to go next.
Earlier on Friday, Mark Pope was officially hired as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Pope prioritized Khalifa in last year’s Transfer Portal cycle, as Khalifa’s passing ability was viewed as a perfect fit for the scheme Pope ran at BYU.
BYU landed Khalifa over interest from Florida.
Aly Khalifa snapshot at BYU
Khalifa finished last year as the top center in assist/turnover ratio in the country during the 2023-24 campaign at 3.59.
The passing ability of the 6-foot-11 center garnered the “Egyptian Magician” nickname.
During his one season at BYU, Khalifa averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. He put up those numbers while dealing with a knee injury that limited his practice availability this past year.
A native of Alexandria, Egypt, Khalifa began his college basketball career at the University of Charlotte for two seasons before moving on to BYU. Khalifa has one year of eligibility remaining in his collegiate career.
BYU has three scholarship players from the 2023-24 roster in the transfer portal. Khalifa joins the previously mentioned Dallin Hall and forward Marcus Adams Jr.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
