Kentucky’s latest transfer portal addition is a sophomore who plays in the SEC
On the same night as the men’s college basketball national championship game, Kentucky added a player to its 2025-26 roster that it hopes will get the Wildcats one step closer to hanging another banner in Rupp Arena.
On Tuesday night, former Alabama sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate announced he would be staying in the SEC and transferring from Alabama to Kentucky. On3 was first to report Dioubate’s commitment to the Wildcats.
A 6-foot-7 forward from New York City, Dioubate came off the bench the past two seasons for the Crimson Tide. As a sophomore, Dioubate averaged 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 37 contests for Nate Oats’ team. Dioubate appeared in every game that Alabama played this season.
Dioubate also averaged more than one assist and nearly one steal per game for the Crimson Tide, while shooting 46.2% on a low volume of 3-pointers. Dioubate went 12-for-26 behind the 3-point line this season. He averaged 16 minutes played per game off the bench for the Crimson Tide during the 2024-25 season.
Kentucky fans will likely remember what Dioubate did in the three games that Alabama played against UK this season, which were all wins for the Crimson Tide.
On Jan. 18, Dioubate had eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes off the bench in Alabama’s road win at Kentucky. On Feb. 22, Dioubate had four points, five rebounds and a block in 14 minutes as the Crimson Tide beat the Wildcats in Tuscaloosa. Finally on March 14, Dioubate had 13 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 22 minutes as Alabama destroyed Kentucky in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville.
As a freshman at Alabama, Dioubate averaged 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in 7.7 minutes off the bench during the 2023-24 season.
During both of his seasons at Alabama, Dioubate was part of lengthy NCAA Tournament runs. The Crimson Tide made the program’s first ever Final Four in the 2023-24 season when he was a freshman, and Alabama reached the Elite Eight this season when Dioubate was a sophomore.
Originally a member of the 2023 high school recruiting class, Dioubate was a four-star high school prospect out of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut. He originally committed to Alabama over scholarship offers from Maryland, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, among other schools.
Dioubate was the third transfer portal add for UK head coach Mark Pope this offseason, joining sophomore guard Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh) and freshman wing Kam Williams (Tulane).
On Tuesday morning, former Arizona State freshman big man Jayden Quaintance also committed to the Wildcats out of the portal. This gives UK four transfer portal pickups this offseason.
Mark Pope, UK basketball build roster for 2025-26 season
While a wholesale roster reset isn’t expected, Pope has some work to do this offseason to retool the Kentucky roster for the 2025-26 season.
Six players from the 2024-25 UK team are out of NCAA eligibility. Those players are Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams. Their college basketball careers are over.
Guard Kerr Kriisa is expected to get a sixth season of college eligibility due to his injury issues, and he committed to Cincinnati from Kentucky out of the transfer portal on Sunday.
Players from the 2024-25 UK team who could return to the Wildcats next season are freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.
UK now has seven newcomers in the fold for next season. Those players are transfer portal additions Dioubate, Lowe, Quaintance and Williams, plus incoming high school recruits Jasper Johnson, Acaden Lewis and Malachi Moreno, who recently won a Sweet 16 state championship with Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School.
Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American this year. Each of Johnson, Lewis and Moreno are top-30 recruits nationally.
Kentucky is also still involved in the recruitment of high school senior Nate Ament, a five-star power forward from Virginia. Ament is down to five schools in his college recruitment: Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Tennessee.
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 6:55 PM.
