These are the serious NCAA transfer portal targets for Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball
Kentucky basketball’s roster rebuild is underway for the 2025-26 season.
While Mark Pope isn’t expected to build a brand-new roster from scratch like he did last offseason, a significant retooling of the Wildcats’ team will be taking place. The NCAA transfer portal, once again, will be heavily utilized by Pope and company.
Kentucky will lose at least seven players from Pope’s first UK squad, which saw its season end Friday night with an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee in Indianapolis.
Six Wildcats — Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams — are out of NCAA eligibility. Fifth-year guard Kerr Kriisa, who could receive a sixth year of eligibility, entered the transfer portal on Monday.
This leaves freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh as the potential returnees for Kentucky next season. Pope also has three incoming freshmen in the fold, with in-state center Malachi Moreno and guards Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis all signed to play at UK later this year.
Kentucky is also still in contention to land five-star power forward Nate Ament, the top uncommitted recruit left in the 2025 high school class.
This leaves plenty of roster space available for Kentucky to get to work in the portal. The Wildcats already have a portal pledge from Kam Williams, a former freshman wing at Tulane. Williams committed to Kentucky out of the transfer portal on Friday.
Who will join Williams as transfer additions for the Cats this offseason?
As of Tuesday morning, these are the players Kentucky is seriously pursuing in the portal.
Reed Bailey
Class: Junior.
Position: Forward.
Past school: Davidson (three seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 41.5% 3-point shooting, 33.3 minutes.
Notable: Bailey has started all 97 games that Davidson has played since he arrived on campus in 2022 as a three-star recruit.
A 6-foot-10 forward from Massachusetts, Bailey led the Wildcats in scoring, rebounding and assists this season. Davidson went 17-16 overall, with a 6-12 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference games. Bailey’s 41.5% success rate on 3-pointers was the best on the Davidson team, among regular players.
Bailey’s 18.8 points per game is a top-50 mark nationally.
College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa has Bailey as a top-60 player available in the transfer portal, out of more than 1,500 portal entrants.
Abdi Bashir Jr.
Class: Sophomore.
Position: Guard.
Past school: Monmouth (two seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 20.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 86.8% free-throw shooting, 38.3% 3-point shooting, 33.2 minutes.
Notable: After coming off the bench as a freshman at Monmouth, the 6-foot-7 Bashir exploded in production as a regular starter for the Hawks this season.
Bashir led the team in scoring and 3-point shooting, among regular players. Bashir’s 20.1 points per game ranks in the top 15 nationally. Shot volume certainly wasn’t an issue for Bashir either: He attempted 17.8 shots per game, with an average of 10.1 3-pointers hoisted per contest.
Bashir has attempted the fourth-most shots in the country this season. For comparison, Bashir’s 589 shot attempts are 174 more than Kentucky’s leading shooter, junior guard Otega Oweh (415), had.
Monmouth went 13-20 this season and 10-8 in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Bashir’s twin brother — Abdul Bashir — is an Auburn basketball commit who spent the last two seasons playing for Casper College, a junior college in Wyoming.
Taylor Bol Bowen
Class: Sophomore.
Position: Forward.
Past school: Florida State (two seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 steals, 41.4% 3-point shooting, 24.9 minutes.
Notable: Bol Bowen started 27 games last season for Leonard Hamilton’s final Florida State team, which went 17-15 overall and 8-12 in ACC games.
The 6-foot-10 Bol Bowen was the team’s runaway leader in shots blocked and was third on Florida State in rebounds per game. His 41.4% 3-point shooting also led the Seminoles. Bol Bowen scored in double figures in eight games for Florida State this past season.
Originally a member of the 2023 high school recruiting class, Bol Bowen was a four-star prospect in that recruiting group.
Bol Bowen is reportedly on campus at UK on Tuesday to visit the Wildcats. According to On3, Bol Bowen will also be taking a recruiting visit to Alabama.
According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, Bol Bowen is a top 25 defensive player available in the transfer portal.
Silas Demary Jr.
Class: Sophomore.
Position: Guard.
Past school: Georgia (two seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 13.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 80.4% free-throw shooting, 37.4% 3-point shooting, 31.5 minutes.
Notable: Kentucky has dipped into the NCAA transfer portal before to pick up a standout guard from Georgia (Sahvir Wheeler), and Pope is targeting another one in the 6-foot-5 Demary, who has started 69 of Georgia’s 70 games over the last two seasons.
Demary made across-the-board improvements in every category except field-goal shooting percentage from his freshman to sophomore seasons. The most notable improvement came from behind the 3-point line, as Demary jumped from a 30.3% distance shooter to a 37.4% from deep, while increasing his per-game number of 3s attempted (1.8 as a freshman to 4.7 as a sophomore).
Pope’s first Kentucky team broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a single season.
Demary had 14 points, four rebounds and two assists while going 8-for-8 from the foul line Jan. 7 when Georgia beat Kentucky in Athens. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament this season for the first time in a decade, but Georgia was blown out by Gonzaga in the opening round of March Madness.
Demary is a former four-star recruit in the 2023 high school recruiting class. According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, Demary is the No. 17 player available in the transfer portal.
Josh Dix
Class: Junior.
Position: Guard.
Past school: Iowa (three seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 42.2% 3-point shooting, 50.7% field goal shooting, 32.3 minutes.
Notable: A 6-foot-6 guard who is from Iowa, Dix averaged career bests in points, rebounds and assists per game for the Hawkeyes this season.
Among regular players, Dix was Iowa’s best 3-point shooter and was tied for the team lead in free-throw shooting percentage at 76.6%.
Dix was the third-leading scorer, fourth-leading rebounder and fourth-leading assist man on an Iowa team that went 17-16 in 2024-25 and finished 12th in the 18-team Big Ten Conference.
Dix scored at least 21 points in six games for the Hawkeyes this past season. He hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to defeat Northwestern in December.
Dix was a three-star prospect when he arrived at Iowa as part of the 2022 high school recruiting class.
College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa has Dix ranked as the No. 15 available player in the transfer portal.
Alvaro Folgueiras
Class: Sophomore.
Position: Forward.
Past school: Robert Morris (two seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.2 blocks, 41.3% 3-point shooting, 54.8% field goal shooting, 29.4 minutes.
Notable: A 6-foot-9 forward from Spain, Folgueiras was a dominant two-way presence this season for a Robert Morris team that made its first NCAA Tournament trip in a decade.
Folgueiras was Robert Morris’ leading rebounder, second-leading scorer and second-leading assist man. He was also second on the Colonials in blocks per game and steals per game, while also leading the team in field goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage.
All of this amounted to Folgueiras being named the Horizon League Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season. Robert Morris went 26-9 this season and was a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, pushing No. 2 seed Alabama all the way in an opening-round loss. Folgueiras had a double-double against Alabama, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes against the Crimson Tide.
College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa has Folgueiras ranked as a top 50 player available in the transfer portal, as of Tuesday morning.
Magoon Gwath
Class: Redshirt freshman.
Position: Forward.
Past school: San Diego State (one season).
2024-25 statistics: 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 37.8% 3-point shooting, 50.6% field goal shooting, 25.0 minutes.
Notable: A 7-foot forward from Texas, Gwath started all 26 games he played for the Aztecs this season. Gwath led San Diego State in rebounding and blocks.
Note: On Tuesday night, Gwath announced that he will be returning to San Diego State for the 2025-26 season.
By averaging more than 2.6 rejections per game, Gwath ranks in the top 10 in the nation this season. His 68 total blocks are also a top-20 mark nationally.
Kentucky is just one year removed from striking gold in the transfer portal with another former Aztec: Point guard Lamont Butler was previously a four-year standout at San Diego State before he transferred to Lexington to play for Pope’s first UK team.
This season, San Diego State was blown out by North Carolina in a First Four play-in game for the NCAA Tournament.
College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa has Gwath ranked as the fourth-best defensive player available in the transfer portal.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
