UK basketball offseason tracker: What you need to know before the transfers begin
There’s already been considerable change within the Kentucky men’s basketball program this offseason, but much more is coming, and this week should bring several new developments.
Mark Pope has had individual meetings with the players from UK’s 2025-26 roster. Three Cats had already made decisions to move on from Lexington heading into what will be a pivotal week across the college basketball landscape.
A fourth player from Pope’s second Kentucky team joined that trio in the portal pool Monday afternoon.
Pope, who kept the same five-man coaching staff together for his first two seasons on the job, has also seen a shakeup there, with more additions (and possibly departures) on the horizon.
Those pining for even more movement within the UK basketball landscape are about to get their wish. The NCAA transfer portal officially opens Tuesday morning, and while dozens of college basketball players have already signaled their intentions to switch schools over the past few weeks, the floodgates will open as soon as the portal does.
And commitments for next season should start rolling in soon, too.
Here’s what you need to know before the portal madness truly begins.
Who’s leaving Kentucky?
Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen are departing seniors, leaving two major roles to fill for next season. Jayden Quaintance is expected to enter and remain in the NBA draft this year. Walker Horn and Zach Tow, who joined the program as walk-ons, are moving on, too.
Those five departures still left 11 players from the 2025-26 roster with remaining eligibility.
Heading into the week, three of those players — junior forward Brandon Garrison, freshman guard Jasper Johnson, and junior point guard Jaland Lowe — had already made clear that they would enter the transfer portal and look for new schools for the 2026-27 season.
Mouhamed Dioubate became the fourth player in that group Monday afternoon.
Pope will be looking to add a few starter-level players to the mix over the next few weeks as he tries to put UK in a better position to compete for a national championship in 2027 after the team fell well short of expectations this past season.
That talent search will be costly, with a solid portion of the program’s NIL and revenue-sharing budget expected to go toward new acquisitions. That will mean fewer financial resources available to the players on the 2025-26 roster, and some other Cats who’d like to come back for another run will likely find opportunities for bigger paychecks through the transfer portal.
Once the portal opens, players will have two weeks to enter their names. As long as a prospective transfer is in the portal by that April 21 deadline, he can make a college decision at any point this spring or summer.
Who’s coming back to UK?
So far, none of Kentucky’s players have explicitly said they will return to Lexington for next season since the immediate aftermath of the Cats’ NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State two weeks ago.
Several Kentucky players in the postgame locker room that afternoon indicated they would be back, but statements like that — so close to the end of the season — often don’t pan out, and Garrison was among the Cats that day who clearly stated an intention to return.
Starting center Malachi Moreno did announce Monday night that he would return to Kentucky for his sophomore season if he remains in college basketball. That was part of his announcement that he plans to go through the NBA draft process first, bringing a layer of uncertainty to his future.
Moreno will have until May 27 to withdraw from the draft and maintain his eligibility.
Freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne, who sat out this season as a redshirt but has NBA-level upside, told the Herald-Leader in February that he expected to be back next season. Lexington native Reece Potter, who also used a redshirt year after transferring from Miami (Ohio) last offseason, has also indicated that he will return, though neither of those players has offered an official statement since the season concluded.
Much of the early offseason speculation around potential returnees has revolved around Collin Chandler and Moreno, who emerged as starters early in the 2025-26 season and are priorities for retention as Pope puts together his next roster.
The UK coach also included Andrija Jelavic (another starter for most of the season) with Chandler and Moreno when talking about retention priorities in his postgame press conference following the Iowa State loss. Kam Williams, who has two remaining seasons of eligibility, is also being targeted for a Kentucky return.
Harlan native Trent Noah has also drawn praise from Pope throughout his two-year career at Kentucky, though his path to consistent playing time has been limited when the Cats have been close to full strength.
Any of those players who want to move on from Kentucky must enter their names in the transfer portal by the April 21 deadline to do so, and some of those Cats’ plans could be contingent on any additions Pope makes in the early days of the portal window.
New UK basketball recruits
Kentucky ended the 2025-26 campaign with zero high school recruits, but that changed in the opening days of the offseason.
Four-star point guard Mason Williams — the son of former NBA All-Star guard Mo Williams — committed to the Cats on March 27, and he should provide some intriguing depth in the backcourt.
The 6-foot-2 playmaker is expected to be a bench option at the point guard spot for Pope, who has not had that luxury for much of his first two seasons on the job due to injuries and defections at the position.
Kentucky is still pursuing 6-7 prospect Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 recruit in the 2026 class, though Kansas also remains an option there, and many in college basketball see the Jayhawks as the team to beat following Bill Self’s decision to return to KU for another season as head coach.
UK is also still in the mix for G League guard Dink Pate, who is hoping to make his NCAA basketball debut next season after skipping college and going straight to the NBA’s developmental league out of high school.
Whatever happens with Stokes, Pate and the other potential UK returnees, Pope will have at least a few roster spots to fill this offseason, and the bulk of that is likely to be accomplished through the transfer portal.
Kentucky is looking to add a player who can step into the starting point guard role from day one. Pope and his coaching staff will also be searching for some proven perimeter shooting and likely more talent and depth in the frontcourt.
If UK can retain some of those key players from this past season — Chandler, Jelavic, Moreno and Williams were all regular starters at various points — it would serve as a nice foundation for a roster capable of contending at the highest level in 2027, but Pope will need to bolster his group of returnees with more players good enough to play major minutes for a program with Final Four expectations.
What’s next for Mark Pope?
It’s going to be a busy month for the Kentucky basketball coach.
Pope was at the Final Four this past weekend — an annual gathering place for college basketball coaches of all levels — and he’s been visiting with prospective recruits and keeping tabs on players who have already been linked to the transfer portal.
Talks with current Cats are ongoing as those players get closer to their own stay-or-go decisions. Pope has also been busy filling out his staff for the 2026-27 season.
Alvin Brooks III and Jason Hart are already out after serving on Pope’s staff in each of the past two seasons. Hart accepted the associate head coach position at SMU, where he’ll work for Andy Enfield, his former boss for eight seasons at Southern Cal. Brooks, who came to UK as Pope’s associate head coach two years ago, has not yet announced his next move after his contract was not renewed this offseason.
Current assistants Mark Fox and Cody Fueger are also on expiring contracts this offseason, though both have been active in Kentucky’s recruiting efforts over the past couple of weeks. Fellow assistant Mikhail McLean is signed with UK through the 2026-27 season.
Pope has already filled one of his two open assistant positions with Mo Williams, who was the head coach at Jackson State for the past four years. He stepped down from that role to take a spot on Pope’s staff, and his connections to the NBA and grassroots basketball should make him a solid addition to UK’s recruiting team, as well as a valuable part of the program’s on-court instruction, especially at the point guard position.
At least one more assistant coaching spot will need to be filled this spring.
Pope has also hired Keegan Brown as UK’s new director of roster management, a behind-the-scenes role with some GM-like duties. Brown was on Pope’s staff for five seasons at BYU and helped him identify recruits and potential transfers in his role there.
Kentucky is expected to add at least one more staff position to help with roster management this offseason as Pope reshapes his operation heading into a crucial third year on the job.
Year 2 of the Pope era did not go according to plan. The UK coach is making moves to ensure that Year 3 lives up to the high expectations associated with the program, and the changes necessary to future success are just beginning.
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 6:15 AM.
