What happened with UK basketball and the transfer portal this weekend?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball continues to recruit players from the NCAA transfer portal.
- Some of UK’s top targets from the portal are Washington’s Zoom Diallo, BYU’s Rob Wright.
- Seven players from the 2025-26 UK team have entered the transfer portal this offseason.
The first weekend of transfer portal action has come and gone for Mark Pope’s Kentucky program.
It’s set up a major recruiting Monday for the Wildcats.
While Kentucky still doesn’t have any commitments from portal players, UK’s work during the past few days could lead to some roster additions in the near future.
Kentucky has honed in on the top point guards available in the portal, and Pope and his staff also have the Wildcats in the mix for several other intriguing players with proven college experience.
All the while, other top portal players are narrowing their recruitments, making their college commitments and shaping the outlook of the 2026-27 college basketball season.
UK basketball hosts Rob Wright III, Tyran Stokes on recruiting visits
This will be one of the defining weeks of the Kentucky basketball offseason.
The Wildcats are set to welcome two of their top offseason targets to Lexington for recruiting visits this week.
On Monday, BYU sophomore guard Robert Wright III will be on campus. The 6-foot-1 Wright is ranked by 247Sports as the top point guard available in the transfer portal, and as the No. 4 portal player overall.
Wright averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game for the Cougars during the 2025-26 season. He started all 35 of BYU’s games and shot 41% from 3-point range on 139 attempts. He scored 10 or more points in 32 of BYU’s 35 games, and also led the Cougars with 34.8 minutes played per game.
Point guard is the top position of need this offseason for the Wildcats. From this past season’s team, junior guard Jaland Lowe and freshman guard Jasper Johnson have both entered the transfer portal. The Wildcats have a commitment from four-star high school recruit Mason Williams, who is a point guard. But, Williams is projected to be a depth piece for the Cats for next season.
Over the weekend, Kentucky hosted Washington sophomore guard Zoom Diallo for a recruiting visit out of the portal. Diallo, whose given first name is Vazoumana, averaged 15.7 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this past season for the Huskies.
The 6-4 Diallo was the first portal player to visit UK this offseason. Friday was the first day that in-person contact was allowed between college coaches and portal players. Diallo is ranked as the No. 25 player in the portal.
Wright’s visit alone qualifies as major news for Pope’s program. But it’s magnified because UK is also set to host the top-ranked high school senior in the country for a recruiting visit this week.
That’s Tyran Stokes, a 6-7 small forward who is originally from Louisville.
Stokes is the consensus top recruit in the 2026 high school class. He is the only five-star prospect from the 2026 class yet to make a college choice, and it’s looking like Kentucky will get the final visit in his recruitment.
After being strongly linked to both Kansas and Kentucky over the past few months, Stokes said he’s planning to take a recruiting trip to UK to learn more about the Wildcats’ new-look coaching staff.
Stokes’ top recruiter at Kentucky had been former assistant coach Jason Hart. But, Hart is leaving UK this offseason to become the associate head coach at SMU.
UK’s pursuit of Stokes is also relevant to Kentucky’s transfer portal activity because landing Stokes would come with a significant NIL and revenue-sharing investment. Devoting those resources to Stokes would take them away from potential portal additions, but Stokes is viewed as a game-changing talent who is poised to make a major impact on college basketball as a freshman.
The last time Kentucky landed the top high school recruit in the country was Skal Labissiere in 2015.
Trent Noah returns for Kentucky basketball’s 2026-27 roster
Another piece for Kentucky basketball’s 2026-27 roster was confirmed Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Trent Noah — who appeared in 27 games and made three starts for the Wildcats this past season — will be back at UK for his junior year.
The 6-5 Noah is a Harlan County native and UK fan favorite. By choosing to stick with the Wildcats, Noah is set to become the only player to appear for Kentucky in all three seasons of the Pope coaching era.
Noah has appeared in 51 games over the past two seasons. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game for UK this past season, but he contributed in some big moments. This included a 9-point, 7-rebound effort in UK’s road win at Arkansas in January.
Noah only appeared for three minutes, and in one game, across UK’s five total postseason contests in the 2025-26 season.
In an offseason full of change, Noah will offer some continuity for Kentucky. In addition to Noah, Pope has received commitments to return from 6-8 wing Kam Williams and 7-foot center Malachi Moreno.
Williams is entering his junior season.
Moreno started at center for the Wildcats as a freshman this past season and will be going through the NBA draft process. Moreno has a May 27 deadline to withdraw his name from the draft pool and retain his college eligibility for next season.
Freshman wing Braydon Hawthorne and junior forward Reece Potter are also expected to be back in Lexington next season. The 6-8 Hawthorne and the 7-1 Potter both redshirted the 2025-26 season.
Louisville lands top portal player Flory Bidunga, point guard Jackson Shelstad
The big winner of the transfer portal, so far, is Louisville.
On Sunday, the Cardinals picked up portal commitments from Kansas sophomore forward Flory Bidunga and Oregon junior point guard Jackson Shelstad.
The 6-10 Bidunga spent his first two college seasons with the Jayhawks. He averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 assists during the 2025-26 season. Bidunga is ranked as the top player in the transfer portal.
The 6-1 Shelstad averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 12 games for the Ducks this past season. Shelstad’s junior year was cut short due to an injury to his shooting hand, but he’s expected to get a medical redshirt from the NCAA that would allow him to have two more years of NCAA eligibility.
Shelstad is ranked as the No. 16 portal player.
This is a power move by Pat Kelsey’s program.
This past season, U of L advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 24-11 record.
The Cardinals were also in the market for a point guard this offseason following the departure of star freshman Mikel Brown Jr., who is projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
As of Monday morning, only two schools have secured commitments from multiple players ranked in the top 20 of the 247Sports portal rankings. Those programs are Louisville and Texas.
The Longhorns have commitments from 6-7 TCU sophomore forward David Punch (No. 7 in the transfer rankings) and 6-1 Colorado freshman guard Isaiah Johnson (No. 12).
Former UK basketball players make transfer portal commitments
Seven players from the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball team have entered the transfer portal this offseason. Of those players, five have announced their next college stops.
Senior guard Denzel Aberdeen — who needs a waiver from the NCAA to play a fifth year of college basketball — is returning to Florida, where he spent the first three seasons of his college career.
Sophomore guard Collin Chandler is heading to BYU. Chandler was originally signed to play for Pope’s Cougars in 2022, before Chandler took a two-year Mormon mission and then followed Pope to UK in April 2024.
Sophomore forward Andria Jelavic is going to Ohio State after just one season in Lexington. Jelavic was the final addition to UK’s roster this past season. The Croatian was a late arrival to Kentucky’s campus and missed all of the Wildcats’ summer practice, but he emerged as a starter for UK during SEC play.
Junior forward Brandon Garrison is staying in the SEC with his commitment to Alabama. Garrison — who was a four-star recruit and a 2023 McDonald’s All-American out of high school — began his college career at Oklahoma State, before spending the past two seasons playing for Kentucky. The 6-11 Garrison appeared in 71 of UK’s 72 games over the past two seasons.
Junior guard Jaland Lowe is joining Ed Cooley’s Georgetown program after one injury-filled season at Kentucky. Lowe played in only nine games for the Wildcats this past season due to a series of right shoulder injuries. Georgetown defeated UK in an exhibition game in October at Rupp Arena, but Lowe didn’t play for the Cats in that contest.
Freshman guard Jasper Johnson and junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate are all still in the transfer portal.
Alabama is considered the favorite to land Johnson. Dioubate has a visit with St. John’s set for Monday, according to On3.
Tyrone Riley commits to Oregon, Brett Decker set to join Baylor
San Francisco sophomore wing Tyrone Riley IV has been linked to Kentucky as a transfer portal target in each of the past two offseasons.
While the 6-6 Riley elected to return to the Dons last year, he’s on the move this portal season and has already made his commitment.
Riley — who averaged 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 36.8% on 114 3-point attempts this past season at San Francisco — committed to Oregon on Saturday out of the portal. Riley is ranked as the No. 71 portal player.
Brett Decker Jr., an Elizabethtown native who showed serious scoring pop this past season at Liberty, also was connected to Kentucky in the early stages of the portal this offseason.
The 6-3 Decker went 114 for 242 (47.1%) from 3-point range as a sophomore this past season for the Flames, and his commonwealth connection played a part in the buzz surrounding him possibly landing at Louisville or Kentucky out of the portal.
Instead, Decker — ranked as the No. 186 transfer — will be joining Baylor for next season. Scott Drew’s program went 17-17 this past season and hasn’t advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since winning the COVID-impacted March Madness in 2021.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
