The 2025 outlook for Dane Key, Barion Brown and other players who transferred from UK

When Kentucky football takes the field for the 2025 season opener against Toledo on Saturday, more than half the scholarship players on the roster will be wearing a UK jersey for the first time.

The success of the 2025 Wildcats will largely depend on how successful the coaching staff was in evaluating the 24 transfers added to the roster, but it will be equally fascinating to follow the performances of the 29 former Wildcats who transferred out of the program since the 2024 season ended. Some of those players left because it was clear they would not have a prominent role for the 2025 Wildcats. Others left who the staff would have preferred to keep.

It will not take long for Kentucky to get an up-close look at one of those outgoing transfers.

Former UK running back Chip Trayanum, whose one season as a Wildcat was derailed by injuries, is expected to start for the Rockets on Saturday.

“A tough, physical back,” UK coach Mark Stoops said of Trayanum on Monday. “It’s unfortunate that he really wasn’t very healthy here, but we know what he’s capable of when fully healthy. And I would expect in game one that he’ll be ready to go.”

Here’s a look at where UK’s outgoing transfers landed and the outlook at their new programs as the season opens.

TE Khamari Anderson (Arizona State)

Former UK tight ends coach Vince Marrow was never shy about hyping Anderson’s potential, but Anderson caught just six passes in two years at Kentucky and entered the portal when it became apparent Willie Rodriguez had earned a featured role at the position moving forward. Anderson landed at Arizona State, where he is expected to provide depth behind second-team All-Big 12 tight end Chamon Metayer.

WR Barion Brown (LSU)

At his best, Brown was one of the most electric playmakers on the roster in three years at Kentucky. He tied the SEC record for career kickoff returns but struggled to live up to the hype of his freshman season at wide receiver. Many of the historic football powers pursued Brown in the transfer portal before he signed with LSU. Brown will face more competition for targets at LSU than he did at Kentucky. Perhaps that pressure will lead to more consistency as a receiver. He should still be one of the most dangerous kick returners in the country regardless of his performance on offense.

LB Jayvant Brown (Temple)

Brown played in 11 games, mostly on special teams, as a freshman at Kentucky in 2023 but appeared in just four games while redshirting last season. He finished his UK career with eight tackles. Brown was listed as the third middle linebacker on Temple’s week one depth chart.

WR Anthony Brown-Stephens (Tulane)

Best known as the nephew of Grammy Award winner John Legend, Brown-Stephens caught 10 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons at Kentucky. He joined the mass exodus from UK’s wide receiver room in December, eventually landing at Tulane, where he will play for former UK linebacker and assistant coach Jon Sumrall. Brown-Stephens is projected to open the season as a backup receiver, according to NOLA.com.

OL Ben Christman (UNLV)

Christman spent two years at UK after transferring from Ohio State. He was set to play his final season at UNLV but died in February. The Clark County, Nevada, coroner later ruled Christman’s cause of death was heart disease and an irregular heartbeat.

OL Anfernee Crease (Texas State)

A former junior college transfer, Crease was viewed as an important piece for the future of the UK offensive line when he was signed by assistant Eric Wolford before the 2024 season, but he played in just two games before reentering the transfer portal. Texas State will be the fourth school in four years for Crease, but he received praise from coach GJ Kinne for his early impact in training camp.

TE Jordan Dingle (South Carolina)

Kentucky convinced Dingle to return to Lexington in 2024 after he entered the transfer portal, but another disappointing season for the offense seemed to ensure his departure last winter. He caught 43 passes for 615 yards and four touchdowns in four years at UK. Dingle will play his final season at South Carolina, facing his former team later this month. Dingle is the most accomplished of the four players competing to replace South Carolina tight end Josh Simon, who led the team in catches last year.

LB Tyreese Fearbry (Wisconsin)

A former four-star recruit, Fearbry never matched that hype in three years at Kentucky. He totaled 14 tackles in 11 games last season before transferring to Wisconsin. He was listed third at outside linebacker on the Badgers’ first projected depth chart.

OT Courtland Ford (UCLA)

Ford started twice for Kentucky in 2023 after transferring from USC, but he appeared in just two games in 2024 due to a hand injury. That injury did allow him to use the 2024 season as a redshirt year, extending his college career by a year. He transferred back to Los Angeles for his final season, this time at UCLA. Ford was splitting first-team reps at tackle during preseason camp, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

DL Kendrick Gilbert (Louisville)

Marrow was not the only person to switch sides in the Governor’s Cup rivalry this offseason. Gilbert, a former four-star recruit from Indianapolis, actually did it first. Gilbert totaled five tackles and one tackle for loss in eight games for UK last season. It does not appear he has earned a featured role at Louisville yet, but considering Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm recruited him heavily out of high school, the staff clearly appreciates his potential.

DL Darrion Henry-Young (Coastal Carolina)

One of the best examples of Kentucky’s failed former transfer strategy that centered around signing hyped high school recruits the program initially lost to powerhouse programs, Henry-Young barely played in two years at Ohio State before transferring to UK, where he appeared in 13 games across three seasons. He missed the entire 2024 season due to injury. Perhaps transferring to the Sun Belt Conference will be the step that finally allows him to step into a featured role.

LS Walker Himebauch (Colorado State)

A walk-on, Himebauch served as the primary snapper for punts and field goal for most of the 2023 season. He did not open 2024 as the starter but eventually returned to the role on field goals for the final six games. The Colorado native transferred to his home state.

DL Dennious Jackson (Colorado State)

A late addition to the 2024 roster as a junior college transfer after injuries during spring practice decimated UK’s depth at nose guard, Jackson did not appear in a game in one season with the Wildcats. He was still able to find a spot on an FBS roster, signing with Colorado State.

OL Koby Keenum (Mississippi State)

Once viewed as Kentucky’s center of the future, Keenum played on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2024 but appeared in just one game on the offensive line. His potential was enough to earn him another chance in the SEC, but he was listed third at center on Mississippi State’s first depth chart of the season.

WR Dane Key (Nebraska)

Key’s departure arguably stung the most of any of UK’s transfer losses after he emerged as a true go-to option as a junior in 2024. It would be difficult to argue with the Lexington native’s decision to leave the program, though, after another season when the passing attack struggled mightily. He joined former UK wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts in moving to Nebraska, where he is expected to serve as the top target for quarterback Dylan Raiola.

TE Tanner Lemaster (Eastern Michigan)

Lemaster did not appear in a game in two seasons at UK. His move to Eastern Michigan appears to have paid off with a chance to earn a featured role as he was listed as a starter on the Eagles’ first depth chart of the season. Lemaster will face his former team at Kroger Field on Sept. 13.

DB Quavo Marshall (Liberty)

A former three-star recruit, Marshall spent just one season at UK without playing in a game. He was not listed on Liberty’s first depth chart of the season.

OLB Noah Matthews (Delaware)

It was strange to see Kentucky sign two high school recruits from Delaware in the class of 2022, but neither ended up finishing their eligibility in Lexington. Matthews followed fellow Delaware native Tomiwa Durojaiye in transferring away from UK in December after starting two of 12 games in 2024. He signed with his home state school, which is playing as an FBS program for the first time this fall.

OL Daniel Mincey (UAB)

A late addition to UK’s 2024 high school class, Mincey signed with Kentucky as a package deal with older brother Gerald, a transfer from Tennessee. Gerald’s one year at Kentucky was a disappointment and ended early due to injury. With his older brother gone, Daniel entered the transfer portal, eventually signing with UAB. He was not listed on the Blazers’ week one depth chart.

OL Marc Nave (Purdue)

Nave appeared in just one game — the blowout of FCS Murray State — during a redshirt season in his lone year as a Wildcat. The fact that Kentucky coaches viewed Nave as a potential future contributor on the offensive line was evidenced by his ability to find a spot at another Power Four conference program despite no game film of note. He is not projected to open the season in Purdue’s two-deep, though.

OL Dylan Ray (Minnesota)

Ray vastly exceeded expectations after transferring to Kentucky from West Virginia as a walk-on in 2023, starting 12 games across two seasons. His role decreased in 2024, though, and his path to regular snaps was uncertain with Kentucky planning to rebuild its own offensive line through the transfer portal. Ray elected to transfer for a second time, signing with Minnesota, where he is projected to open the season as the starting right tackle.

OLB Caleb Redd (Kansas)

Redd played in just two games in his one year at UK. The former three-star recruit from St. Louis found another Power Four conference landing spot but did not play for Kansas in its season-opening win over Fresno State.

DL Keeshawn Silver (USC)

A former five-star recruit who transferred to UK from North Carolina prior to the 2023 season, Silver started 23 of 24 appearances at UK across two years. 247Sports ranked him as the fifth-best defensive lineman in the 2025 portal class. Silver is expected to start for USC this fall as he looks to prove himself to NFL scouts.

DB Avery Stuart (Ball State)

A former four-star recruit, Stuart appeared in just three games across two seasons at UK before transferring to Ball State in search of more playing time. He is expected to compete for snaps at safety for his new team.

RB Chip Trayanum (Toledo)

Trayanum was supposed to be one of the crown jewels of Kentucky’s 2024 transfer class, but the former Ohio State running back appeared in just three games due to injuries. Even after he was healthy, Trayanum found himself behind multiple younger running backs in the rotation. UK signed Nebraska transfer Donte Dowdell to essentially replace Trayanum as the Wildcats’ power back. Trayanum will have a chance to prove his Kentucky struggles were simply bad luck when he faces the Wildcats on Saturday.

OL Wallace Unamba (Virgina)

Only the most devoted of Kentucky fans will even remember Unamba was ever on UK’s roster. He signed with the Wildcats as a transfer from New Mexico in December and participated in spring practice but reentered the portal after it became apparent he would not break into the starting lineup in Lexington. Instead, Unamba will spend his last season of eligibility at Virginia, where he is expected to start at right tackle.

WR Brandon White (Hawaii)

At 5-foot-8, White never looked the part of SEC wide receiver, but he lasted three seasons at Kentucky, appearing in six games with one kickoff return as his only statistical contribution. White already has found a more prominent role at Hawaii. He started the season-opening win over Stanford, totaling two catches for 17 yards.

QB Gavin Wimsatt (Jacksonville State)

A former Owensboro High School star who spent multiple seasons as a starter at Rutgers, Wimsatt played extensively as the top backup to Brock Vandagriff in his one year at Kentucky. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry as a run-heavy wildcat quarterback but was passed by freshman Cutter Boley on the depth chart late in the season. Wimsatt will open his final season of eligibility as the starter for Jacksonville State against UCF on Thursday.

DL Tommy Ziesmer (EKU)

The former Boyle County star appeared in six games across two years at UK. He will try to jumpstart his career at the FCS level this fall

This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription