Dec. 30, 2014

ST. LOUIS – Freshman Tyler Ulis has been named the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Week following his breakout performance at No. 4 Louisville on Saturday.

Ulis was selected by CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander, in partnership with the USBWA.Ulis, a 5-foot-9 guard from Lima, Ohio, came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points in 26 minutes in top-ranked Kentucky’s 58-50 win over rival and 4th-ranked Louisville on Saturday. On the season, Ulis is averaging 5.8 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds.

Norlander’s popular weekly freshman watch column will continue to feature nation’s the top freshmen each week in addition to the national player of the week. Later in the season, the USBWA will release a midseason watch list before naming finalists for the award. This season marks the first time a weekly national freshman of the week will be selected and, each Tuesday through Feb. 24, a standout first-year player will be chosen for the honor.

In addition to the USBWA honor, Ulis was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week and the Bluegrass Sports Commission Most Valuable Player for his efforts against Louisville.

Ulis is the first Wildcat to earn a weekly award from the USBWA this season, and the first since James Young claimed the Freshman of the Week honor on Dec. 31, 2013 following a double-double in last season’s regular season win over Louisville.

Kentucky will return to the floor on Jan. 6, 2015 to begin SEC play. UK hosts Ole Miss at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.