RICHMOND, Ky. — Richmond native Isaiah Cozart has returned to his hometown to play basketball at EKU.
Cozart spent the past three seasons at Western Kentucky.
During his prep career at Madison Central High School, Cozart was named the Gatorade Kentucky Boys Basketball Player of the Year and was a finalist for Kentucky Mr. Basketball. He was rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals.
The two-time first team all-state selection averaged 20 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.8 blocks and one assist per game as senior. He was chosen as the 11th Region Player of the Year that season. He finished his career with 1,575 points, 1,268 rebounds and a state-record 716 blocked shots.
Cozart is the latest addition to a recruiting class currently ranked 65th in the country by 247Sports. The class also includes EKU's first-ever ESPN four-star freshman recruit in point guard Leland Walker, three-star point guard Tayshawn Comer, former four-star high school prospect Taelon Martin, three-star high school center David Onanina, junior college All-American John Ukomadu, Kentucky Mr. Basketball Turner Buttry, 6-foot-10 forward Dardan Kapiti and 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jackson Holt. Walker and Comer were rated among the top-40 high school point guards in the nation.
EKU's class is ranked higher than such programs as South Carolina (66th), Kansas State (67th), Connecticut (73rd), Georgia (79th), Oklahoma State (81st), Arizona (83rd), Mississippi State (86th) and North Carolina State (94th). It is the highest rated Eastern Kentucky class in the internet recruiting era.
"I am excited about getting the opportunity to bring Isaiah back home," Eastern Kentucky Head Coach A.W. Hamilton said. "He's going to have a major impact on our program, on and off the floor."
Cozart played in 19 games as a freshman at WKU in 2019-20. He shot 64 percent from the field as a sophomore in 2020-21. Cozart hit on 67 percent of his shots this past season and blocked three shots in a game twice.
