These UK football players have announced plans to transfer after coaching change
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Transfer portal opens Friday as several Kentucky role players announce departures.
- New coach Will Stein retains starters, but reserves and key role players plan exits.
- Wide receiver Stellato seeks medical waiver after injuries limited play at Kentucky.
With the transfer portal set to open Friday, current Kentucky football players who have decided not to stick in Lexington through the coaching change have begun announcing plans to leave.
The first eight Wildcats to announce plans to transfer were projected as backups for the 2026 season. That trend ended Wednesday when 247Sports reported UK starting cornerback D.J. Waller was planning to enter the portal. Even if Mark Stoops had been retained as UK’s coach, the roster was sure to experience significant turnover with players down the depth chart leaving for smaller programs with an easier path to the field and some stars sure to receive transfer interest from traditional powers.
The hire of coach Will Stein adds additional uncertainty. Some players who were fits for Stoops might not see the same role in Stein’s offense or defensive coordinator Jay Bateman’s scheme, especially if the new coaches are followed to Lexington by any transfers their former jobs. Others may be more willing to leave because they have no existing relationships with the new staff.
Several UK defensive players might have the additional consideration of following former coordinator Brad White and defensive backs coach Chris Collins to Florida. The plethora of former Ohio and Kentucky high school stars recruited to UK by Vince Marrow might consider following him to Louisville in the first window since his defection to UK’s top rival.
Fans should expect more transfer announcements when the portal officially opens, but here is the group of Wildcats planning to transfer as of Wednesday afternoon.
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CB DJ Waller
The first projected starter to leave, Waller departs Kentucky after a frustrating season that saw him play just one full game due to a hamstring injury. Waller was considered UK’s best cornerback entering the season but was injured in the season-opening win over Toledo. He attempted a comeback multiple times only to be scratched shortly before kickoff. Waller did return to the field for the season finale against Louisville but reaggravated his hamstring injury on UK’s first defensive play. Waller, who started his career at Michigan, playing a reserve role for a national championship team as a freshman, has NFL potential and will likely be in demand in the portal. His departure also ensures the new UK staff will be in the market for a starting cornerback transfer.
DL Javeon Campbell
A four-star recruit in the high school class of 2025, Campbell was a late riser on the recruiting circuit after not playing football until his junior year at Western Hills High School. That rawness was evident when he made it to campus. Campbell did not play in a game as a freshman, instead using a redshirt year to try to add some much-needed weight to his 6-foot-5 frame. UK listed him at just 246 pounds this season. Campbell’s transfer recruitment will say much about his future. Will he have other power conference offers based on the potential he showed as a high school senior, or will he have to transfer down a level to find snaps?
WR Troy Stellato
When Stellato signed with UK as a transfer from Clemson last winter, the hope was he could overcome a series of bad injury luck to finally cash in on his potential as a sure-handed slot receiver. Instead, Stellato barely played in the first half of the season, totalling just one catch, and then missed the final six games with another injury. Stellato was briefly elevated to the top punt returner position when safety Ty Bryant was benched there but suffered his season-ending injury shortly thereafter. Stellato will need a medical hardship waiver for another season of eligibility, but that should not be an issue considering he also missed a full season due to a torn ACL at Clemson. Stellato would have opened spring practice behind sophomore Cam Miller and any transfer additions at slot receiver had he stayed at UK.
CB Nasir Addison
Addison appeared in 24 games across three seasons at Kentucky. His most consistent role was as the gunner on UK’s punt team, but he did factor in the cornerback rotation at times. He made two starts there in 2025 after injuries decimated UK’s depth at the position. The high point of his UK career came in a November start against Auburn in which he totaled five tackles and helped keep star wide receiver Cam Coleman in check. Addison started the win over Florida, too, then missed the final two games of the season. Stoops said Addison was hurt for at least one of those games but also acknowledged the staff was trying to keep him under four games played to preserve a redshirt season. That decision, when initiated by the player, is often the precursor to a transfer. Addison entered the offseason as one of UK’s top three cornerbacks but could have been pushed further down the depth chart by transfer additions at the position.
DL Austin Ramsey
Ramsey arrived at Kentucky as a massive offensive guard but made the move to defensive line after shedding some weight. He broke into the rotation at nose guard in 2025, eventually passing senior Josaih Hayes for the top backup spot behind David Gusta. With Gusta exhausting his eligibility, Ramsey entered the offseason at the top of the nose guard depth chart, but this felt like a spot where Kentucky would seek a starter-level transfer regardless of who the coaching staff was.
WR David Washington
After playing in all 12 games in 2024 as a freshman, primarily appearing on special teams, Washington missed the entire 2025 season with an injury. Washington was one of four representatives for the football team on UK’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council. The Philadelphia native seems likely to transfer to a smaller program after totalling one catch in two years at Kentucky.
WR Preston Bowman
Bowman did not play in one season at Kentucky. A former three-star recruit from Pickerington, Ohio, Bowman enrolled early at UK and participated in spring practice. Bowman was listed as out for UK’s first three SEC games of 2025 but was not mentioned as an option in the receiver rotation by coaches even after he was removed from the weekly SEC availability report. Bowman reported offers from Ohio State and Michigan in high school, but the most likely scenario is a transfer to a smaller program with a clearer path to the field.
QB Stone Saunders
Saunders’ commitment to Kentucky in August 2023 came with much fanfare. He was then rated as a four-star prospect on his way to breaking the career high school passing yards record in Pennsylvania, but his recruiting stock dipped during another prolific statistical season as a senior. He signed with Kentucky as a three-star prospect then spent the majority of his freshman season fifth on the Wildcat depth chart, behind fellow freshman Brennen Ward. A transfer seemed likely even if Stoops had not been fired as Saunders appeared unlikely to see the field at Kentucky anytime soon.
OLB Steven Soles
Soles was UK’s most effective pass rusher for much of 2025, tying for the team lead with 3.5 sacks, but he rarely saw the field outside of obvious passing downs. Soles’ role did expand down the stretch after a season-ending injury to outside linebacker Sam Greene, but he still split snaps with senior Kam Olds and redshirt freshman Lorenzo Cowan. Soles’ pass-rushing skills will likely earn him a chance at another power-conference school, but Kentucky has depth to withstand this loss, if the new staff can keep the rest of the edge rushers on the roster.
LB Landyn Watson
When Watson transferred to Kentucky from Marshall last offseason, it was believed he only had one season of eligibility left, but he announced he would enter the transfer portal shortly after the end of the 2025 season. Watson totaled 21 tackles and one tackle for loss in his only season as a Wildcat while serving in a backup role at inside linebacker. Watson could have provided some needed depth for UK in 2026 — if he is granted a waiver for another season of eligibility — but the previous staff had clearly viewed younger players at the position as better options.
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM.