It’s too soon to render final judgement on Mark Pope’s transfer portal recruiting
Fast-break points from the closing of the transfer portal:
21. Donnie Freeman. The Syracuse forward’s decision Monday to choose St. John’s over Kentucky as his transfer portal destination unleashed a fresh wave of UK men’s basketball fan discontent.
20. Mark Pope. Recruiting players in the current era — with the portal, unrestricted player transfers, NIL, revenue sharing and player agents playing such a large role — is more complicated than it has ever been. Even so, it has often seemed harder for UK in the Pope era to attract priority recruits than it should be for a Kentucky coach.
19. The primary truth of transfer-portal recruiting. For all the emphasis on Kentucky’s “whiffs” in portal recruiting under Pope, what matters is who you get, not who you don’t get. When the 2026-27 UK roster is complete, Pope’s recruiting efforts can be fairly judged.
18. Gabe Dynes. The 7-foot-5, 214-pound senior-to-be is in the transfer portal out of Southern California. A Simon Kenton High School alumnus, Dynes averaged 2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and one blocked shot while shooting 78.8% on field goals this past season.
17. Big-time programs pursuing. Valued as a rim protector, Dynes was slated to visit Xavier on Tuesday, followed by trips to Kentucky (Wednesday), Louisville (Thursday), NC State (Friday) and Kansas (Sunday).
16. A product of Kentucky high school hoops. As a senior at Simon Kenton in 2022-23, Dynes averaged 12.5 points, 9.8 boards and shot 74% on field-goal tries. He signed with Youngstown State out of high school.
15. A strong sophomore season. Prior to transferring to USC, Dynes averaged 6.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots as a Youngstown State sophomore in 2024-25.
14. Would be the tallest Wildcat. If Dynes and UK reach an accord, the center would be the 15th 7-footer to play for Kentucky. At 7-5, he would claim the mantle of “the tallest UK player ever” from the 7-3 Shagari Alleyne.
13. Jerone Morton. The Washington State guard, the MVP of the 2022 Kentucky boys Sweet 16 after leading George Rogers Clark to the state championship, is in the transfer portal and expected to visit UK on Friday. The 6-4, 180-pound Morton, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Morehead State, averaged 7.8 points and hit 38.7% of his 3-point shots for WSU in 2025-26.
12. Kensley Feltner. Kentucky’s fourth all-time leading high school girls basketball scorer (4,189 points) at Lawrence County, the 5-11 junior guard is reportedly transferring from Belmont to Morehead State.
11. Peyton Bradley. Kentucky’s second all-time leading high school girls basketball 3-point shooter (510 made treys) at Meade County, the 5-9 sophomore-to-be guard is transferring from Louisville to UAB.
10. Martels Carter. The UK football safety from Paducah Tilghman is the most interesting story to follow in the run up to Will Stein’s first season as Kentucky head football coach. During spring practice, the Cats brain trust had Carter working as a running back, too.
9. A permanent switch? After Saturday’s Blue-White Spring Game, I asked Stein if Carter’s move to offense was going to stick. “He’s got natural running back ability,” Stein said of the 6-foot, 205-pound redshirt freshman. “He catches the ball well and he’s got good vision. I’m excited about the future of him at back.”
8. Ty Bryant. I asked UK’s incumbent starting strong safety if he was jealous when he head Carter was getting the chance to become an offensive playmaker. “I wasn’t jealous at all,” Bryant said, laughing. “But I did tell him ... you are living a lot of people’s dream. A lot of people would love to be able to tote that rock.”
7. Miquise Humphrey-Grace. It was not a surprise that the returning Kentucky starting defensive end looked disruptive in the Blue-White Game. Said new UK starting quarterback Kenny Minchey of the 6-4, 271-pound Humphrey-Grace: “He’s really good. A really good player.”
6. Kentucky’s inside linebacking questions. With last season’s interior LB starters, Alex Afari and Daveren Rayner, both having run out of eligibility, finding replacements to fill those positions may be the biggest concern facing the UK defense in 2026. After the Blue-White Game, Will Stein ran down the leading candidates.
5. Grant Godfrey. “Definitely a leader in that room,” Stein says of the 6-3, 240-pound junior, a UK returnee. “He knows the defense very well.”
4. Elijah “Bo” Barnes. Of the highly-touted, 6-1, 242-pound redshirt freshman, who transferred from Texas, Stein said “I’ve been very pleased with Bo Barnes and his continuous improvement.”
3. Antwan Smith. Another Kentucky returnee, Smith, a 6-3, 226-pound junior “had a really good spring,” Stein said. “He’s super twitchy.”
2. Tavion Wallace. The younger brother of ex-UK and current Carolina Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace, Tavion transferred to Kentucky from Arkansas. A 6-1, 241-pound sophomore, the younger Wallace is “still growing in the scheme and understanding how to play at this level, consistently.”
1. Will Stein’s verdict on the interior linebacking. “I think they’ve definitely improved,” Stein said.
Stay tuned.
