The WKU men’s basketball team added a familiar face to its 2019-20 roster Monday afternoon, as senior forward Matt Horton rejoined the program after previously announcing his intent to transfer.

“Senior forward Matt Horton has returned to the program and will have one year of eligibility remaining with the Hilltoppers in 2019-20,” the WKU men’s basketball team wrote in a statement posted to its verified Twitter account.

Horton originally announced that he would transfer elsewhere for his senior season on April 10 after only one season on the Hill.

“I’d like to thank my teammates, the WKU fans and coaches for bringing me in and loving me like a real family, but my time here came shorter than I thought it would,” Horton wrote in a note posted to his Twitter account. “With that being said, I talked to my family and they support me 100 percent. I’ll be reopening my recruitment.”

{{tncms-inline account=”iammatthewhorton” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/edyXUYEUId">pic.twitter.com/edyXUYEUId</a></p>— iammatthewhorton (@5mjh_) <a href="https://twitter.com/5mjh_/status/1115982249378422786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/5mjh_/status/1115982249378422786″ type=”twitter”}}

{{tncms-inline account=”iammatthewhorton” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">COMMITTED 📍❤️🦍 <a href="https://t.co/tXgysxNOrN">pic.twitter.com/tXgysxNOrN</a></p>— iammatthewhorton (@5mjh_) <a href="https://twitter.com/5mjh_/status/1122249103633723398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2019</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/5mjh_/status/1122249103633723398″ type=”twitter”}}

But Horton posted a photo of himself and WKU teammate Josh Anderson on Instagram with the caption “I’m back” on Aug. 13, prompting rumors he would be returning to WKU even after his prior announcements to the contrary.

{{tncms-inline account=”WKU Herald Sports” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt Horton announced his intent to transfer via Twitter on April 10, but the forward posted a photo on Instagram with the caption "I’m back️️️️️" Tuesday. WKU has confirmed with the Herald that there are no roster changes to announce at this time. <a href="https://t.co/7TT2N2wqPP">pic.twitter.com/7TT2N2wqPP</a></p>— WKU Herald Sports (@wkuheraldsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/wkuheraldsports/status/1161677001171841024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2019</a></blockquote>” id=”https://twitter.com/wkuheraldsports/status/1161677001171841024″ type=”twitter”}}

Horton didn’t make much of an impact for the Hilltoppers in 2018-19. The 6-foot-11 forward dealt with injuries and was stuck behind a deep group of big men. He played in just 10 games and averaged 4.2 minutes of action.

The junior from Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, tallied 1.1 points and 1.0 rebound per game in limited action last season — the big man didn’t play a minute after a Feb. 9 contest at North Texas.

Horton was originally slated to be one of 17 players to leave the program early under head coach Rick Stansbury since he became head coach in 2016, a number that now decreases to 16.

Horton’s return also removes him from the list of players to leave WKU this offseason, which includes former teammates Dalano Banton, Jake Ohmer, Moustapha Diagne, Marek Nelson and incoming freshman signee Nick Ongenda.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at 270-745-2653 and [email protected]. Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.