Kentucky

Adou Thiero shares goodbye message with Kentucky and BBN

Published

1 year ago

October 16, 2024

Adou Thiero shares goodbye message with Kentucky and BBN

Adou Thiero didn’t know what he wanted once his sophomore season at Kentucky wrapped up with a first-round loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament. John Calipari‘s departure to Arkansas hadn’t happened yet, but he knew a fresh start could be ideal for all parties involved — particularly for himself. He hit the portal on March 28, the first Wildcat to make a decision on his future. Calipari entered the coaching portal just over a week later on April 7.

Thiero calls that spring period a lonely time, one that had him fighting off the clutter while figuring out what was best for his future. He didn’t know who he could trust with so many people pulling him in different directions.

“It was real — I don’t know. I don’t want it to actually mean lonely, but it was kind of like that,” he told KSR at SEC Media Day. “I was trying to figure everything out with a whole bunch of outside noise. I was trying to cut that out, just trying to do what’s best for me.”

It took a week for the portal earthquake he was living in to calm down with potential options starting to emerge. He cut his list down to five schools: North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Indiana and, yes, Arkansas and Kentucky. The athletic forward, now listed at 6-8, 220 pounds, spoke with first-year coach Mark Pope to discuss a potential return to Lexington. Then Coach Cal set up a meeting in Kentucky, hoping to get back on the same page with his former three-star diamond in the rough.

Then Calipari met with him back home in Pennsylvania, followed by an official visit to Fayetteville. And a commitment.

“I talked to him while I was in Kentucky, went home, had a conversation when I was at home, and he talked to my parents too. That made them more comfortable,” he said, adding that the follow-up trip sealed the deal.

But how does one go from wanting to explore his options away from Coach Cal at Kentucky before joining him at Arkansas? Thiero felt the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side.

“I had to realize he helped me become the player I was from my freshman to sophomore year,” he said. “He helped me make that big jump and I was already comfortable with the whole staff and everything. It was like, why go somewhere new with people you don’t know rather than being with someone you’ve known your whole life? And they’re a Hall of Fame coach on top of it.”

Then came the next steps, getting used to his new home where “everything was just grinding from there, getting in the gym, getting better, getting to know everybody on the team with the facility, the university, just everything. It was about meeting new people and just being comfortable with the area.”

How quickly did he get used to wearing red?

“When I first got there, everything was different, seeing a whole bunch of red going from seeing a whole bunch of blue,” Thiero said. “But I like the color red, too [laughs].”

It was certainly an adjustment, but having two former teammates — beyond the handful of coaches and staffers — with him in Fayetteville helped soften the landing. Zvonimir Ivisic and DJ Wagner are navigating the same things he is, just as the rookies who originally committed to play for Calipari at Kentucky are, to a lesser extent.

“That makes it better because whenever I ask questions, we’re all in the same boat,” Thiero said. “We’re all confused together. We’re all figuring it out together and that helps us grow as a team, figuring out everything we have to do.”

How are the familiar faces doing in Fayetteville?

“Z, he’s getting a lot more comfortable. Last season, he wasn’t able to start until midway through the season. Now he has the same amount of time as everyone else in the country. That’s gonna be really good for him, I’m pushing him every day,” the former Wildcat added. “DJ, he’s getting better. He’s already a phenomenal player and a leader for us on the floor. That’s our point guard, he talks, everything. Defensively, he’s helped Boogie (Fland) out a lot.”

That’s the next chapter in his life and basketball career, turning the page on his two years in Lexington as a Wildcat. When reflecting on that part of his journey and the impact that time made on who he is today, Thiero struggled through his words, choked up as the memories came flooding back. He picked the Alabama home win where the Cats beat the Tide at their own game en route to a 117-95 blowout as his favorite.

“That was a good game, very energetic,” he said. “Crowd was into it, our whole team was into it. It was a great game.”

That’s one of many, though. It’s a period of his life he’ll always cherish.

“It was a great experience. It was something I wanted to do ever since I was a kid, playing at the University of Kentucky,” he told KSR. “Being able to live out that dream was a real blessing. I’m just grateful for it, grateful for all of BBN. Thank you for all of your support. It was… dang. It’s real — man, I forgot the word. I appreciate it. Thank you.”

What will it be like being on the opposing bench on February 1? He actually feels he has an advantage coming into the road matchup, but the emotions are going to get to him either way.

“For me, I don’t think it’s gonna be like enemy territory. I’ve got a lot of home games on there,” he added. “I’ll probably have the most home games on that court, so I’ll just be out there letting my game do the talking for me. The emotions will definitely come out for that game, for sure.”

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Kentucky

No. 12/13 Kentucky Tops Wright State on Friday

Published

9 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

No. 12/13 Kentucky Tops Wright State on Friday

Clara Strack scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds as No. 12/13 Kentucky thumped Wright State 96-53 on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Three other Cats also scored in double figures. Tonie Morgan had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Freshman Kaelyn Carroll made six threes on her way to a career-high 18 points. Asia Boone hit five threes en route to a 17-point night.

Wright State scored first on a three, but Kentucky got baskets from Strack and Morgan to lead 4-3. After WSU scored, Amelia Hassett drained a three and the Cats led 7-5. Wright State tied the game at 7-7 before Morgan and Strack scored to give UK an 11-7 lead. However, Wright State scored the next four to tie the game again.

Strack made two free throws, and Morgan made one, to give the Cats a three-point lead. A Boone three extended the lead to 17-11. Strack scored two more buckets and the Cats had a double-digit advantage. A Morgan three-point play capped the 13-0 run that gave UK a 24-11 lead. Kentucky would lead 31-13 after one quarter.

Wright State opened the second quarter with an 11-4 run to cut the Kentucky lead to 35-24. However, the Cats responded in a big way. Threes from Josie Gilvin and Boone gave UK a 17-point lead. A Morgan layup, two Strack free throws, and threes from Strack and Carroll (three times) compiled a 22-0 run that ended the half. Kentucky led 57-24 at the break and Strack led all scorers with 18 in the first 20 minutes.

In the third quarter, WSU scored first on a free throw but a Strack basket gave the Cats a 59-25 lead. After three Wright State points, UK got layups from Morgan and Jordan Obi to lead 63-28. After a Raiders’ three, Kentucky went on an 11-4 run, sparked by another three from Carroll, to lead 74-35. The Cats would lead 74-37 after three quarters.

Kentucky scored first in the final stanza on a Strack basket. After WSU scored twice, Carroll hit another three to make it 79-41. Kentucky would build the lead to as many as 46 (96-50) before settling for the 43-point victory.

The Cats now take a break for the holidays before hosting Hofstra on December 28. Tipoff for that game is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.

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Kentucky

Kentucky will have Flexible Recruiting Operation in New Territories

Published

21 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky will have Flexible Recruiting Operation in New Territories

Will Stein‘s play-calling mantra is simple: Feed the Studs. It only works if you have studs. Kentucky must acquire talent to be competitive. It starts in the upcoming transfer portal, but there are long-term deficits that must be remedied by high school recruiting. Stein is building a staff that has cut its teeth on the trail.

One of the first things we learned about Joe Price, the new Kentucky wide receivers coach, is that he is known in the Lone Star State as East Side Joe. That is a reference to his hometown of Houston, a talent hotbed in the state of Texas. Safeties coach Josh Christian-Young just spent a couple of years at Houston after four years in New Orleans at Tulane.

New offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich first called Denton, Texas, home. He played college football in Louisiana at McNeese State, and spent time coaching at UTSA and North Texas. Kentucky’s two new coordinators each cultivated reputations as excellent recruiters and are coming to Lexington via the state of Texas and Louisiana.

Are you picking up the geographical theme yet?

Texas and Louisiana produce some of the most talented football players in America, not only in terms of quality, but quantity. In the 2025 On300 rankings, Texas led the way with 42 players, while Louisiana contributed a dozen, tied for the sixth-most. The issue is that Kentucky hasn’t gotten a lot of those players over the years. Might a tide finally be turning?

Sloan has Adaptable Recruiting Pitch

Within his first 24 hours on the job, Joe Sloan flipped four-star wide receiver Kenny Darby from LSU to Kentucky. Sloan’s connections in the state of Louisiana quickly paid dividends. He cultivated those connections for more than a decade in the Boot, but those weren’t always there for the former East Carolina quarterback from Virginia.

“I was 26 years old when Skip Holtz hired me at Louisiana Tech, and I had never been to Louisiana. He said, ‘Hey, what do you think about recruiting Baton Rouge?’ I said, ‘All right, that sounds good to me,’” Sloan recalled on Wednesday.

“He gave me, it was really nice a Crown Vic. The first one, it was a light baby blue. The second one was red, cherry red. It was nice; rolled down there and we started just developing relationships.”

You can expect Stein’s staff to lean on prior relationships to bring players to Kentucky. Jay Bateman has plenty of those in the DMV, the same region where the Wildcats recruited Josh Paschal. However, Kentucky can’t just rely on Texas, Louisiana, and the DMV to build a roster. Sloan believes this staff has the tools to adapt and find the best players from near and far to suit up in Kentucky blue.

“Recruiting it’s a people business. Coaches, mentors, and family members, they want to know that you have a plan for their son, on and off the field, to develop them to their fullest potential. What I look forward to is the opportunity to develop relationships right in all the areas that we’re going to recruit. I think that’s what it’s going to be,” said Sloan.

“That’s what it’s about, having open doors, answering the phone, creating relationships, and developing a trust with the people around the players that we’re going to recruit, that we’re going to take care of those young men. That’s what I’m going to do, that’s what I’ll continue to do, and that’s what we’ll do here at Kentucky as an entire program. So in terms of, I don’t know that it’s just one area, it’s more about the ability to develop those relationships and the excitement to do that, and I’m fired up.”

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Kentucky

Kentucky outlasts Wisconsin 3-2 in five-set thriller

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky outlasts Wisconsin 3-2 in five-set thriller

No. 1 Kentucky outlasted No. 3 Wisconsin 3-2 in the five-set thriller to earn a trip the the NCAA national championship. The Wildcats clinch their first national final appearance since winning the title in the Spring of 2021 and second in program history.

In front of a sold-out T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO., Big Blue rallied in a dramatic fashion after a devastating 25-12 loss in Set 1. Kentucky was able to punch back in Set 2, earning the 25-22 victory before dropping the next set 25-21 to the Badgers.

With their backs against the wall, the Cats fought off a rallying Wisconsin team for the 26-24 Set 4 victory to push the match to five.

With momentum on their side, Kentucky took back what it lost in the first and fired on all cylinders in the fifth. The Cats raced out to a 6-1 lead early in the fifth before clinching the 15-13 win, hitting a match-best .409.

Outside Eva Hudson powered 29 kills on .455 hitting with seven digs, two blocks and a service ace to power the Kentucky winm while Brooklyn DeLeye tallied 15. The Big Blue defense made the difference, registering eight big-time blocks against a career-night by Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer.

With the Wildcat win, Kentucky clinches a spot in the national championship to face No. 3 Texas A&M for the first ever all-SEC final in NCAA women’s volleyball history.

KENTUCKY TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER A FIVE-SET THRILLER 😱#NCAAWVB x 🎥 ESPN / @KentuckyVB pic.twitter.com/RJNIv2eumg
— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 19, 2025