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Avery Skinner, who starred for Kentucky Wildcats, wins silver with Team USA volleyball

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Avery Skinner, who starred for Kentucky Wildcats, wins silver with Team USA volleyball


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The first Olympics appearance of Avery Skinner’s career was a memorable one. As well as a successful debut.

Skinner, the first former Kentucky volleyball player to ever compete in the Olympic Games, won silver with Team USA on Sunday in Paris. The U.S. lost to Italy, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17, in the championship match. Skinner finished the gold-medal match with seven points on a team-leading 22 attacks.

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Starring as an outside hitter for the Wildcats from 2017 to 2021, Skinner was a key cog for UK’s national title-winning squad in 2020, which was held in 2021 after the coronavirus pandemic delayed NCAA championship events in fall sports to the spring.

She won SEC championships all four seasons at Kentucky, earning first-team All-America laurels from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) during her senior season after hitting .366 with 3.77 kills per set. She also was an All-SEC and AVCA Southeast All-Region selection that season. In her maiden campaign with the Wildcats in 2017, Skinner landed on the SEC All-Freshman Team after notching 363 kills, averaging 3.32 kills per set.

A native of Katy, Texas, the 6-foot-1 Skinner comes from a family of athletes.

Her father, Brian Skinner, spent 14 seasons in the NBA. Skinner’s younger sister, Madi Skinner, was part of Kentucky’s volleyball program for two seasons — including winning the NCAA championship with Avery in 2020 — before transferring to Texas.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

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Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report

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Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report


Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.

One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.

Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.

The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.

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Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.



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Kentucky football spring game offers early look at Will Stein’s Cats

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Kentucky football spring game offers early look at Will Stein’s Cats


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LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.

The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.

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Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.

Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.

“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”

While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.

“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.

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“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”

New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.

And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.

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This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.



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Kentucky has reportedly moved on from top-10 transfer Paulius Murauskas

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Kentucky has reportedly moved on from top-10 transfer Paulius Murauskas


NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round-Texas A&M at Saint Marys

Mar 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Saint Mary’s (CA) Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas (23) takes a shot during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images



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