Kentucky
Kentucky basketball roster 2025-26 watch: Latest on second team of UK’s Mark Pope era
Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope reacts to March Madness loss
Following a 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament, Kentucky coach Mark Pope expressed pride for his players. “We’ll be talking about these guys 10 years from now,” Pope.
LEXINGTON — After assuming the reins of his alma mater, coach Mark Pope had to build the Kentucky basketball roster from scratch. The dozen scholarship players who were part of the 2023-24 team? All of them left. Some because their college eligibility was up. Others departed for the NBA draft or transfer portal.
Pope shouldn’t have quite as much heavy lifting heading into Year 2.
That’s because five players could return from last season.
The only certainties: The Wildcats have signed three high school prospects in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
And they must replace their seven-member senior class. Only one of them could still be playing college hoops during the 2025-26 campaign, though: Kerr Kriisa revealed March 31 he would enter the transfer portal.
But Pope and his staff already have one portal player in the fold for next season: Former Tulane wing Kam Williams committed March 28.
Bookmark this page as The Courier Journal tracks offseason news related to UK’s 2025-26 roster.
G Kerr Kriisa (6-foot-5, 185 pounds, Fifth-year Sr.): Kriisa appeared in UK’s first nine games of the 2024-25 season … and that was all she wrote for the Estonian. A foot injury suffered in the team’s overtime win over Gonzaga on Dec. 7 simply never healed to the point he was cleared to return to the floor. While he said March 31 he’d put his name into the transfer portal, 11 days before that, Kriisa pondered the possibility of heading back overseas to start his professional career. Kriisa averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Wildcats; his assist average ranked No. 2 on the team behind fellow point guard Lamont Butler (4.3). Should he enroll at another university, it will be his fourth team in six seasons. He started his college career at Arizona (2020-21 through 2022-23) before moving on to West Virginia (2023-24) and then Kentucky.
Here are the six Kentucky seniors who have played their final collegiate games:
- F Ansley Almonor (6-foot-7, 244 pounds)
- G Koby Brea (6-foot-7, 215 pounds)
- G Lamont Butler (6-foot-2, 208 pounds)
- F Andrew Carr (6-foot-11, 235 pounds)
- G Jaxson Robinson (6-foot-6, 192 pounds)
- C Amari Williams (7 foot, 262 pounds)
This section will be updated as Kentucky players announce whether they plan to return to Lexington for the 2025-26 season.
Here are the five players who might be back with the Wildcats:
- G Collin Chandler (6-foot-5, 202 pounds)
- F Brandon Garrison (6-foot-11, 250 pounds)
- G Trent Noah (6-foot-5, 220 pounds)
- G Otega Oweh (6-foot-4, 215 pounds)
- G Travis Perry (6-foot-1, 188 pounds)
What to know: While no member of the above quintet has made an official proclamation regarding their intentions for next season, each offered differing takes following Kentucky’s season-ending loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
A rising senior, Oweh simply shook his head when asked whether he’d given thought to the 2025-26 campaign.
Garrison, who would be a junior next season, said he would head back to Oklahoma and huddle up with his family and agent before deciding what’s next.
Chandler, Noah and Perry, the three signees in UK’s 2024 recruiting class, are set to be sophomores. Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball history, said he “certainly” plans to suit up for his home state program next season. Chandler said that with the team so focused on winning the program’s ninth national title, he “hadn’t really talked much about” next season with the coaching staff.
Noah made the most definitive statement of any potential returnee.
“Kentucky, this is my dream school,” he told The Courier Journal. “I don’t want to put on any other jersey besides this one. So, yeah, (being back next season) is the plan, for sure.”
G/F Kam Williams (6-foot-8, 195 pounds): Williams became the first transfer commitment for the Wildcats’ 2025-26 squad on March 28, hours before the team’s Big Dance battle versus Tennessee. An uber-athletic wing, Williams averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game for Tulane during the 2024-25 season. He also was an All-American Athletic Conference Freshman Team selection after pacing the Green Wave in 3-point percentage (41.2; 63 for 153).
G Jasper Johnson (6-foot-4, 174 pounds): Johnson, a Lexington native, is a UK legacy. His father, Dennis Johnson, once starred for the Wildcats’ football team along the defensive line. (The elder Johnson now is Woodford County’s athletics director and head football coach.) Jasper Johnson committed to Kentucky on Sept. 5 during a ceremony at Woodford County High. Jasper led Woodford County to the KHSAA Sweet 16 in 2023 — the school’s first appearance in the event since 1986 — before transferring to national prep powerhouse Link Academy. He finished his last season of high school basketball competing in the Overtime Elite league in Atlanta. Johnson is considered a five-star prospect by ESPN, while Rivals, 247Sports and On3 gave him four stars. Per the 247Sports Composite, Johnson ranks No. 18 nationally — and No. 5 among shooting guards — in the 2025 cycle.
G Acaden Lewis (6-foot-2, 170 pounds): Lewis gave his pledge to Kentucky on Nov. 2. He picked UK over his two other finalists, Duke and UConn. A star in the nation’s capital, Lewis was the Gatorade District of Columbia Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2023-24 after averaging 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game for Sidwell Friends School. He also lifted the team to the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference title and the District of Columbia State Athletic Association Class AA championship. Lewis is the No. 30 recruit in the country for 2025, per the 247Sports Composite, slotting in as the fifth-ranked point guard.
C Malachi Moreno (6-foot-11, 230 pounds): Moreno got the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class off the ground Aug. 19, announcing his commitment during a ceremony at Great Crossing High in Georgetown. Now a McDonald’s All-American, Moreno was named Kentucky’s 2025 Mr. Basketball after averaging 21.5 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 3.5 assists per game during the regular season. He then propelled the school to its first state title in boys basketball, tallying 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks against Bowling Green in the championship game of the UK HealthCare Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena. Not surprisingly, Moreno won the Sweet 16 MVP award. Moreno entered the Sweet 16 with 2,392 points and 1,896 rebounds during his high school career, which began when he still was an eighth grader. Moreno clocks in as the No. 27 player nationally in 2025, per the 247Sports Composite — and the No. 2 center.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet has released new information regarding the release of the man convicted in the death of Logan Tipton.
Ronald Exantus, 42, will be released from the Kentucky State Reformatory on July 29. Still, before that, he may be subject to involuntary hospitalization due to his not being found guilty by reason of insanity on one count of murder and one count of burglary.
According to a letter sent on June 5 by the cabinet to Chief Circuit Court Judge Jeremy Mattox, Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelli Kearney, and Department of Public Advocacy Directing Attorney Josh Miller, the court has the opportunity to begin involuntary hospitalization proceedings against Exantus, as mentioned in the judgment against him.
READ THE LETTER BELOW
Per Kentucky law, when a defendant is found not guilty by reason of insanity, the court shall order an involuntary hospitalization; the court may also order a 10-day detention period to allow proceedings to be initiated.
The cabinet states in the letter that it does not have the authority to initiate the proceedings because Exantus was found guility but mentally on three counts of assault.
WKYT has reached out to the Woodford County Commonwealth’s Attorney and the Department of Public Advocacy to ask whether involuntary hospitalization procedures are being initiated in this case. We have yet to hear back.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Kentucky state lawmakers held a town hall Wednesday night at the South Central Regional Library in south Louisville to hear directly from residents about concerns over hyperscale AI data centers — one of several public meetings on the issue in recent months, but the first organized by legislators themselves.
State senators and representatives convened the meeting on their own time, during the legislative off-season, ahead of January’s session.
“This is a time to bring people together, allow community to have their voice heard, and us take that information back so when it does come time for January, we have the right information in order to create policy that is going to be good for our constituents,” said Sen. Keturah Herron.
Residents, advocates, and organizers packed the library to raise concerns about energy demand, water use, noise, transparency, and whether costs would be passed to everyday utility customers.
Rep. Lisa Wellner cautioned that the legislative fight ahead would be difficult.
“The utilities lobby is very, very powerful in Frankfort…These are going to be the same powerful moneyed forces we’re going to be up against with these hyperscale data centers,” Wellner said.
Sen. Gary Clemons, a 30-year chemical industry veteran, drew a comparison between the potential impact of AI data centers and the effects of factories already bordering some Louisville neighborhoods.
“I negotiate with multi-million, billion dollar companies every day. I’m ready to go toe-to-toe with them now, if we’re ready to do it,” Clemons said.
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey also attended the meeting.
“I am sick and tired and done with out-of-state corporations coming into our state, our home, our community — and using our resources, wasting and exploiting our people for their gain,” McGarvey said.
Attendee Virginia Bush, who came with a list of concerns about the city’s draft regulations, said halting data centers entirely was not realistic but that inaction was not an option.
“We know it’s not realistic to stop all of them, because people use the data in their everyday life…but they need to be regulated so that these things aren’t causing damage to the communities and to the environment,” Bush said.
Copyright 2026 WAVE. All rights reserved.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Health officials are warning residents about a rise in Cyclospora cases, a parasite that causes an intestinal illness known as cyclosporiasis and can leave people sick for weeks.
The Kentucky Department for Public Health reported 67 cases between June 14 and July 2 — nearly double the approximately 35 cases the state typically sees in an entire year. While cases normally rise in the spring and summer months, Kentucky is among several states seeing a larger-than-typical increase.
Cases likely undercounted, health official says
Cassie Prather of the Woodford County Health Department said the reported numbers are likely an undercount.
“At this point, we have an underreported number of cases because a lot of people will deal with this and their immune system can kick it in a few days,” Prather said. “For those with a suppressed immune system it can lead to quick dehydration or even a hospital visits if they’re dealing with symptoms that don’t go away for 3-5 days.”
How the parasite spreads
People can become infected after eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Fresh produce has been linked to outbreaks in the United States, but the CDC says it is still working to pinpoint the cause of the current increase.
Symptoms and timeline
Symptoms often begin about a week after exposure but can appear as soon as two days or more than two weeks later. The most common symptom is watery diarrhea. People may also experience stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue, bloating, and weight loss. Symptoms can last weeks and sometimes return after improving.
“You’re going to endure stomach cramps, nausea, sometimes you can have a low-grade fever with that,” Prather said.
Prevention guidance
Public health experts urge people to follow food-safety guidelines to reduce the risk of cyclosporiasis and other intestinal illnesses. That includes washing hands with soap and water before and after handling raw fruits and vegetables, and refrigerating cut, peeled, or cooked fruits and vegetables within two hours.
Health officials say people whose symptoms last more than a few days, keep returning, or cause signs of dehydration should contact a healthcare provider for evaluation and possible testing.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
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