Former Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa will likely return to McKale ... with Cincinnati

After playing three seasons for UA under Sean Miller and Tommy Lloyd, Kriisa transferred to West Virginia for the 2022-23 season ... and would have faced the Wildcats twice this season (though not at McKale) had he not transferred to Kentucky last spring.

But by transferring to Cincinnati this spring, an announcement Kriisa made Sunday, the outspoken Estonian guard is back in the Big 12 and will face Arizona at McKale Center because the Bearcats only played Arizona at home this season. The Big 12 has said teams that did not play at one school's homecourt this season will next season, whether as part of a double- or single-play arrangement.

Because Kriisa broke his foot in December after playing in nine games, he is eligible for a medical redshirt that will allow him to play in 2025-26 as a sixth-year senior. 

"I’m pretty sure it’s my last year of eligibility (for real this time)," Kriisa posted to Instagram. "Excited to be a Bearcat!!"

Kriisa's move actually made him a three-time "cat" following his stops at Arizona, Kentucky and now Cincinnati, something former teammates Pelle Larsson may have referred to when he replied "cats cats cats" to Kriisa's post.

UA equipment manager Brian Brigger, a native of Cincinnati, replied to Larsson's post by saying: "I don’t know about this! He better respect my city haha."

Kriisa arrived from his native Estonia in 2020 and sat out most of the 2020-21 season because of an NCAA suspension over a contract he had signed with a Lithuanian club.

He played in eight games that season under then-coach Sean Miller, then started for most of UA coach Tommy Lloyd's first two seasons with the Wildcats, 2021-22 and 2022-23.