A high-scoring guard from the mid-major ranks has committed to UK basketball
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball gets a transfer portal commitment from Furman guard Alex Wilkins.
- Wilkins averaged 17.8 points per game this past season for the Paladins.
- Wilkins will join Mark Pope’s UK basketball program for the 2026-27 season.
UK basketball has landed a commitment from a high-scoring guard from the mid-major ranks for the 2026-27 season.
On Saturday, Furman guard Alex Wilkins committed to Mark Pope’s Wildcats out of the NCAA transfer portal, he shared on social media.
The 6-foot-5 Wilkins is the second player to commit to Kentucky out of the transfer portal this offseason, joining Washington sophomore point guard Zoom Diallo.
Wilkins — who took a recruiting trip to Kentucky this week — averaged 17.8 points per game as a freshman this past season at Furman. He scored 21 points against UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
247Sports ranks Wilkins the No. 41 player in the transfer portal.
Originally from near Boston, Wilkins was unranked as a high school prospect by 247Sports. He then blossomed into a volume scorer during the 2025-26 season with the Paladins. Wilkins also averaged 4.7 assists per game while shooting 46.0% from the field, 32.8% from 3-point range and 82.4% from the free-throw line.
Wilkins — who started all 35 games Furman played this past season — scored 20 or more points on 14 occasions. This included a career-best 34 points against UNC Greensboro in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. Wilkins was a second-team All-Southern Conference honoree for the 2025-26 season.
Wilkins’ scoring pop could be key for a Kentucky team that’s set to replace its top five scorers from the 2025-26 season. Otega Oweh (18.6 points per game), Denzel Aberdeen (13.5), Collin Chandler (9.7), Mouhamed Dioubate (8.8) and Jaland Lowe (8.0) are all leaving the UK program this offseason.
Oweh is out of college eligibility and is turning his focus to a professional basketball career. Aberdeen entered the transfer portal and committed to Florida, his previous school, but Aberdeen will need a waiver from the NCAA to play a fifth season of college basketball.
Chandler, Dioubate and Lowe all also entered the portal. Chandler has committed to BYU and Lowe has committed to Georgetown. Dioubate has yet to pick a new school, but St. John’s is expected to land his commitment.
With Wilkins now in the fold, Kentucky now has eight projected players for its 2026-27 roster.
Diallo and Wilkins will join the Wildcats as transfer portal additions. Both players are ranked as top-50 portal players.
Kentucky’s lone commitment from the 2026 high school class, so far, is four-star point guard Mason Williams, who is a son of new UK assistant coach Mo Williams.
The Wildcats are also expected to return freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne, freshman center Malachi Moreno, sophomore wing Kam Williams, sophomore forward Trent Noah and junior forward Reece Potter from this past season’s squad.
Hawthorne and Potter both redshirted the 2025-26 season. Hawthorne is expected to remain with the Cats for the 2026-27 season. Moreno has entered his name into the 2026 NBA draft, but he’s announced that if he’s playing college basketball next season it will be for Kentucky. Williams, Noah and Potter have announced their returns to UK.
