What’s happening this weekend with UK basketball and the transfer portal?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball continues to recruit players from the NCAA transfer portal.
- So far, the Wildcats’ only portal commitment is from Washington guard Zoom Diallo.
- Mark Pope’s UK team has seven players projected on its roster for the 2026-27 season.
Mark Pope’s got plenty of work left to do to complete his 2026-27 roster at Kentucky.
Entering this weekend, the Wildcats have only seven players expected to be on next season’s team. Only one of those players will be an arrival from the NCAA transfer portal. That’s Washington sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, who committed Wednesday night to the Cats out of the portal.
While Diallo is UK’s only portal commit so far, he’s far from the only portal target Kentucky has homed in on. UK has hosted several players on recruiting visits to Lexington, and additional commitments could arrive at any moment.
Entering the weekend, here’s the latest transfer portal news concerning the Cats.
Kentucky is on commitment watch for Donnie Freeman, Alex Wilkins
The Wildcats are on commitment watch for a pair of transfer portal players who made recruiting trips to Lexington this past week.
Syracuse sophomore forward Donnie Freeman and Furman freshman guard Alex Wilkins are two players near the top of UK’s wishlist, and both are still yet to announce their moves from the portal.
Freeman — a skilled 6-foot-9 player who averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this past season for the Orange — was a highly anticipated portal visitor for the Wildcats. Alabama and UConn previously posed threats to Kentucky in Freeman’s recruitment, but the Crimson Tide and Huskies have moved on.
However, other schools such as St. John’s are making a late push for Freeman.
UK is hoping a past basketball connection with Freeman will help the Cats’ recruiting efforts. Freeman was coached by UK assistant Mikhail McLean on the Bahamas national team when it attempted to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
Wilkins — a high-scoring 6-5 guard who averaged nearly 18 points per game during the 2025-26 season — also recently visited Pope’s program. Kentucky flew to visit Wilkins in South Carolina earlier during portal season, before hosting him for an on-campus visit.
While Wilkins operated as Furman’s point guard this past season, he’s expected to fit well alongside Diallo in a potential backcourt pairing for Kentucky. Alabama also has serious interest in Wilkins, according to 247Sports.
Freeman is ranked as the No. 15 transfer portal player by 247Sports, while Wilkins is No. 41 on that list.
UK also hosted Colorado sophomore forward Sebastian Rancik for a recruiting visit this past week. The 6-11 Rancik, who is from Slovakia, averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this past season. Rancik is the No. 96 player in the portal.
Rancik has also visited Florida State.
Former UK transfer portal targets are considering other schools
Some players who were previously linked to Kentucky in the transfer portal are beginning to advance their recruitments.
Utah junior guard Terrence Brown — who averaged nearly 20 points per game for the Utes this past season — was set to take a Friday visit to Kentucky. According to On3, that visit was postponed due to a person situation with Brown’s family.
The Tar Heels are considered the leader in Brown’s recruitment. New UNC head coach Michael Malone has only landed one player from the portal so far. That’s Virginia Tech freshman guard Neoklis Avdalas, who was also a former UK target.
VCU sophomore guard Terrence Hill Jr. took trips to Kansas and Tennessee this past week. Hill, the No. 18 portal player, averaged 15.0 points and 2.8 assists during the 2025-26 season and scored a career-high 34 points in the Rams’ NCAA Tournament upset win over North Carolina.
Hill isn’t expected to visit any more schools.
Robert Morris sophomore forward DeSean Goode has taken recruiting visits to Kansas, Louisville, Miami and St. John’s. Goode is the No. 70 player in the transfer rankings and averaged 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this past season. Goode started his college career at IU Indianapolis.
A leader emerges in the recruitment of ex-Cat Jasper Johnson
Several schools have been linked to former UK guard Jasper Johnson during transfer portal season.
The freshman guard struggled during his debut college season in Lexington, averaging just 4.9 points and 1.6 assists in 12.0 minutes per game for the Wildcats.
It was an especially disappointing season relative to Johnson’s high school recruiting hype: Johnson was a five-star prospect who was ranked as the No. 21 overall recruit in the 2025 class by the 247Sports Composite. According to that service, Johnson is the highest-ranked high school player to commit to play for Pope in college.
While several SEC schools — including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma — were connected to Johnson during his portal recruitment, a new leader has emerged for the Kentucky native.
On Friday afternoon, 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham logged a “crystal ball” prediction for Johnson to land at Oregon.
The Ducks went just 12-20 this past season, and Dana Altman’s program also lost starting guard Jackson Shelstad to the transfer portal (and Louisville) this offseason.
Johnson is ranked as the No. 151 player in the transfer portal.
Texas basketball is enjoying a strong transfer portal season
While Kentucky still needs to make some additions from the transfer portal, other SEC schools have made quick work of building their rosters for the 2026-27 season.
Perhaps no school has done a better job than Texas.
The Longhorns’ first season with Sean Miller as head coach was, ultimately, a success. After going 18-13 overall during the regular season, Texas caught fire in March. The Longhorns won three games in the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed — a First Four triumph over North Carolina State, a first-round upset win over 6 seed BYU and a second-round upset win over 3 seed Gonzaga — before losing on a buzzer-beater to 2 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16.
Miller didn’t waste any time reloading ahead of his second season in charge.
So far in the portal, the Longhorns have commitments from three players who are expected to be significant contributors next season: TCU sophomore forward David Punch (No. 8 in the transfer rankings), Colorado freshman guard Isaiah Johnson (No. 13) and Tennessee freshman guard Amari Evans (No. 80).
Even with this, Texas’ best work of portal season has been retention. The Longhorns are returning sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, a 7-foot Lithuanian who averaged 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this past season.
Texas is also bringing in four high school recruits for next season, led by a trio of four-star prospects in combo guards Austin Goosby and Joe Sterling and small forward Bo Ogden.
From the 2025-26 Texas team, junior guard Dailyn Swain (17.3 points per game) is entering the 2026 NBA draft, but he could return to college. Senior guards Tramon Mark (14.0 points) and Jordan Pope (13.1 points) are both out of college eligibility.
This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
