March Madness hopes reignited for Kentucky with help from New York Haitian athlete Ansley Almonor

After a series of injuries plagued the University of Kentucky Wildcats, New York Haitian American forward Ansley Almonor helped propel the team to No. 15 in the nation after falling to No. 19.

The road to the March Madness single-elimination SEC Tournament has not been easy for the Wildcats. 

The team lost key players Kerr Kriisa and Jaxson Robinson for the rest of the season. Under first-year head coach Mark Pope, an alum of the program, the team dropped from No. 17 to No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 NCAA Men’s Basketball rankings. Now, with a healthy Ansley, the Wildcats have advanced to the quarterfinals as a No. 6 seed in the tournament. Ansley Almonor has had to be relied upon on more while his teammates heal from their injuries 

From Haiti to Hoops: Almonor’s Basketball Roots

Ansley’s parents, Jean and Sherley Almonor, were both born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and met after they moved stateside.

“My dad moved here when he was 19. Since he was 10 years old, he would visit Spring Valley, NY during the summer because that’s where my grandparents stayed,” Almonor told The Haitian Times over Zoom.

Ansley’s father was raised by his godmother in Haiti while his parents lived in the U.S. Almonor’s mother lived with her cousins in Brooklyn while her mother remained in Haiti.

“My mom moved here when she was like 15 or 16. It was just getting bad! She said it just wasn’t safe for her to really stay there anymore,” Ansley said. 

Jean and Sherley met at a party in Long Island, NY. Jean had two children from a previous relationship, Marcus and Samara Almonor, before he and Sherley welcomed Ansley and his younger brother Jayden.

“They got me a basketball hoop when I was young, and I just fell in love with the game. My older brother played basketball, so I always wanted to be like him,” Ansley said. 

Ansley almost missed his opportunity to play NCAA basketball 

Ansley played multiple sports, including soccer and flag football, but ultimately focused on basketball due to his height advantage. Ansley graduated from Our Savior Lutheran High School in the Bronx, where he averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, earning First Team All-Bergen County Jamboree honors.

The stand-out recruit’s trajectory was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting exposure to college scouts. With no offers coming out of his senior year, the 6-foot-7, 200-pound stand-out attended Our Savior Lutheran prep school in the Bronx.

His coach’s connection with Fairleigh Dickinson University’s (FDU) staff helped him secure a roster spot.

At FDU, Almonor played a crucial role in the school’s two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a historic upset over No. 1 Purdue University in 2023—one of the biggest shocks in tournament history. During the 2022-23 season, he started 34 of 36 games, averaging 13.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Rising star at Kentucky

Almonor’s impressive performance at FDU caught the attention of the University of Kentucky, a powerhouse program now led by Mark Pope, former captain of the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats National Championship team. Pope replaced legendary NCAA coach John Calipari, who now coaches Arkansas.

Now, Almonor and the Kentucky Wildcats are set to face the Oklahoma Sooners in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at 9:30 p.m. EST. The last time the two teams met, tensions were high between the Sooners and former teammate-turned-Wildcat Otega Oweh.

If Kentucky wins, they will advance to the semifinals, putting them just two victories away from a conference championship title.

The March Madness stakes

Winning the SEC Tournament would guarantee Kentucky an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, a spot awarded to 31 conference champions. The remaining teams will need an at-large invitation from the selection committee on Selection Sunday, March 16.

Fans can catch the game live on the SEC Network as Almonor and the Wildcats fight for their spot in the championship tournament. 

The post March Madness hopes reignited for Kentucky with help from New York Haitian athlete Ansley Almonor appeared first on The Haitian Times.

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March Madness hopes reignited for Kentucky with help from New York Haitian athlete Ansley Almonor was first posted on March 13, 2025 at 4:44 pm.