Kentucky

First Down Kentucky: Power Ranking the SEC

Published

2 years ago

May 20, 2024

First Down Kentucky: Power Ranking the SEC

If recruiting is the lifeblood of a college football program, power rankings are the lifeblood of Talking Season. It’s not the best tool to figure out exactly where your favorite program stands. As the standings shake out near the end of the year, programs will be clumped together in tiers. “Tiering the SEC” doesn’t slap the same as “Power Ranking the SEC,” which is why we’ll save where Kentucky stands in the former until later in Talking Season.

As for today, On3’s Jesse Simonton gave us a snippet of what’s to come later this summer when the league converges upon Dallas for SEC Media Days. Oklahoma and Texas will take up a ton of oxygen in the division-less, 16-team SEC, while Kentucky flies under the radar near the bottom of a group of teams who enter the year with plenty of uncertainties. Simonton ranks Kentucky No. 11, sandwiched in between Florida and Auburn.

“The Wildcats have fully leaned into passing the QB baton to the latest transfer addition, going from Will Levis to Devin Leary and now Brock Vandagriff in as many seasons. Mark Stoops continues to turn over the OC position, too, with Bush Hamdan ideally around for more than just 12 games come the fall. The ‘Cats did pick up a key piece in the secondary this spring (DJ Waller from Michigan) and Vandagriff reportedly meshed quickly with wideouts Dane Key and Barion Brown.”
Jesse Simonton, On3

One could argue easily fair or foul from Kentucky’s standpoint, but one thing is clear when scrolling through the teams, wins will come at a premium in the new-look SEC.

One-Time Kentucky Target to Louisville

Kentucky kicked the tires on a few defensive linemen in the spring transfer portal without producing any dice. Brandon Lane was one of those players. For a time it looked like the FCS product would end up at Michigan State. Instead, Lane made the move from Stephen F. Austin to Louisville. The Cards are big fans of using that portal to pick up players. Time will tell what sort of impact he can make in their defensive line rotation.

Kentucky Transfer to the MAC?

WR Ardell Banks made the move to the MAC this spring when the wide receiver transferred from Kentucky to Kent State. A former foe from the practice fields may join him in the state of Ohio. Former Louisville PRP three-star prospect Elijah Reed entered the portal in December. We had not heard much from the cornerback until Monday morning when he shared that he is officially visiting Akron this week.

NFL OTAs are Underway

There’s no spring practice in the NFL. Instead, they stagger organized team activities (OTAs) through various parts of the calendar to keep the guys in shape. Voluntary workouts began on Monday for 21 different teams and Wan’Dale Robinson looks ready to roll.

More NCAA Settlement Talks

The settlement that will redefine college athletics is far from being settled. As the NCAA negotiates with attorneys on an agreed-upon dollar figure and restructured institution, some of its members are pushing back. A letter from Big East commissioner Val Ackerman was obtained by every newsbreaker in college athletics, essentially stating, “We aren’t paying for the sins of Power Five football.”

In the original proposed settlement, the new Power Four conference members would fit 40% of the settlement bill, while the rest of Division I would handle 60%. She believes it should be flipped, and she has a good point. The Power Four are making the most money and are the primary culprits behind these significant changes to college athletics. Why wouldn’t they take on the brunt of the payments? Ross Dellenger has all of the details.

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Kentucky

Kentucky Lottery Cash Ball, Pick 3 Evening winning numbers for Feb. 23, 2026

Published

4 hours ago

February 24, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky Lottery Cash Ball, Pick 3 Evening winning numbers for Feb. 23, 2026

The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 winning numbers for each game.

Cash Ball

01-12-15-32, Cash Ball: 08

Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 3

Evening: 6-1-9

Midday: 3-9-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

Evening: 5-6-1-9

Midday: 3-0-2-0

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Powerball

05-11-23-29-47, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Powerball Double Play

15-20-27-31-58, Powerball: 14

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.

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Kentucky

Kentucky Homeland Security warns of synthetic drug more potent than fentanyl detected in central Kentucky

Published

2 days ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky Homeland Security warns of synthetic drug more potent than fentanyl detected in central Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security is warning the public about a synthetic drug detected in central Kentucky called cychlorphine, which the agency says is 10 times more potent than fentanyl.

First responders and healthcare workers are asked to use extreme caution when encountering any unknown substances. The warning has also put recovery workers on high alert.

Recovery workers respond

Staff at Recovery Cafe Lexington say the drug’s potency is not the only concern — limited available information about cychlorphine is also a factor.

“Everything gets stronger. Marijuana’s stronger than it used to be, crack is more addictive than cocaine, heroin users graduated to fentanyl users and so I’m not really that surprised to see something four to ten times stronger than fentanyl,” said Joshua Vanover, a recovery worker at Recovery Cafe Lexington.

Vanover said his own research into cychlorphine raised concerns that medications like Narcan may not be effective if someone is overdosing on the drug.

“Everybody that works here is trained in CPR. We can do everything that we can, but it is kind of daunting to know that we may not be able to help somebody or save somebody,” Vanover said.

Drug often mixed with other narcotics

The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security says cychlorphine is often mixed with other illegal narcotics, placing users at risk of accidental exposure.

Vanover said staff are working to inform people in recovery and those in active addiction about the drug’s dangers.

“Whenever I encounter that may be still using, to inform them that, ‘hey, there’s something else going around, narcan may not affect it,’ but its just something for people to be careful of. If you’re gonna use, use with somebody else; somebody that can call 911,” Vanover said.

The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security also advises first responders and healthcare professionals to treat all suspected cychlorphine-related overdoses as medical emergencies.

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Kentucky

Notre Dame, Highlands highlight Kentucky girls state swimming meet

Published

2 days ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

Notre Dame, Highlands highlight Kentucky girls state swimming meet

The 2026 Kentucky high school swimming and diving season concluded on Saturday, Feb. 21, with the girls state meet at the University of Kentucky.

Notre Dame sophomore Clare Herfel was the only swimmer with a title to defend, and she did so successfully as the Pandas also took second place in the girls team race. The combined team race was a different story as Highlands attempted to dethrone Ryle’s two-year reign.

Here are the biggest storylines.

Complete results can be found here.

Savannah Bien vaults to fourth place on dive podium with stellar final round

The Notre Dame Academy junior sat in seventh place after six dives, accruing 239.7 points. Her one subpar dive was a forward 1.5 somersault 1 twist that scored only 33 points.

Thanks to her final six dives all scoring at least 36 points, she leapfrogged Cooper’s Chris Nowak, Highlands’ Addie Tinkler and Lafayette’s Sophie Kroggel into fourth place, finishing with 488.8 points. Her top dive was her back 1.5 somersault pike with a 2.3-degree of difficulty, scoring 47.15 points.

“I don’t really look at the scores because it always stresses me out. I try to do my best based on what my coach is telling me. If I am behind and not where I want to be sitting, I do focus more on every little detail,” Bien said.

Following in her father’s footsteps, Bien is a West Point commit and plans to dive there. She can earn a third straight top-five finish as a senior in 2027 after taking third place as a sophomore in 2025.

Nowak earned her second consecutive fifth-place finish, continuing a strong diving tradition at Cooper after Peytton Moore won three titles in four years.

“It means a lot. I’m glad I can. I know (freshman) Megan (Vogeler) and she’s getting really good so I hope she can continue that when I leave,” Nowak said.

She led all Northern Kentucky divers after the first round with 241 points and accrued 246.05 points in the final.

Tinkler burst out of the gates in the first round, setting herself up well with a score of 47.3 on her forward 2 somersault tuck dive, which came with a 2.2-degree of difficulty. She was set up to finish as high as fourth, but her 12th dive, a forward 1.5 somersault 1 twist, was awarded just 28.6 points.

Still, Tinkler earned high praise from her fellow competitors and coaches. Ryle coach Jeff Floyd said it was the best he’d seen her dive all year.

“I’m just glad to be here with my friends for my last year. This has been amazing,” Tinkler said. “I’ve known Jeff for five years and he’s been a really compassionate coach to me and has coached me even though it’s not his job.”

She improved from a 10th-place finish at the 2025 state meet.

Nowak and Tinkler’s coach, Kristina Jenny, was named the Kentucky girls diving coach of the year, securing a sweep of the award after Simon Kenton coach Austin Hall won on Friday.

“It shows that we pride ourselves on training our kids well and focusing on technique. Making sure they have fun is ultimately the best thing,” Jenny said.

In its pursuit of the combined team title, Ryle placed two divers in the top 16 as Anna Kopser took ninth and Emmalee Albertson took 10th.

Campbell County’s Abby Schuchter rounded out the Northern Kentucky divers in the finals with a 13th-place finish.

“I was definitely surprised at how well the girls did. They came in strong and they stayed steady the whole time. I was really proud of how they stayed focused and didn’t get the jitters,” Jenny said.

Clare Herfel is Northern Kentucky’s lone state champion

The sophomore and defending 500-yard freestyle state champion had no problem defending her title, cruising to a nine-second margin of victory, touching the wall in 4:51.44.

“At the start of this season, I wanted to win the 500 freestyle, so I was really happy about that,” Herfel said.

She leads a deep freestyle squad for the Pandas that included Danaka Tucker’s third-place finish in the 500 and seventh-place finish in the 200 and Liv Wallace’s eighth-place finish in the 200. Herfel also finished third in the 200 and led Notre Dame to a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay and a runner-up finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Northern Kentucky was well-represented in the longest freestyle race. Conner’s Ella Thomas took fourth place and Highlands’ Taryn Ripley took seventh place.

“I feel like our club teams are really good. Clippers, the Y, the Marlins, they all have pretty good coaching staffs,” Tucker said.

Highlands takes combined team title, Notre Dame finishes second in girls race

In 2024 and 2025, the Ryle Raiders took home the combined team title, just another marker of how far the program has come under Floyd.

But Highlands, thanks to a third-place finish in the girls 400-yard freestyle relay compared to Ryle’s seventh-place result in the same event, overtook the Raiders to win the combined team title with 272.5 points. The Bluebirds edged out Louisville Eastern, which finished with 268 points. Ryle had 265 points.

“Boys and girls, if you look, they actually both scored in the 130s. We’re a very balanced team. We knew we were going to try and chip away at their lead because Ryle’s boys and Eastern’s boys were better than ours,” Highlands head coach Kevin Kampschmidt said.

The Highlands boys scored 139.5 points to take fourth place in that team race and set the girls up for success. While Taryn Ripley was the only individual to swim in a championship final, all three girls relays earned top-six finishes, just as the boys had done on Friday.

“I’m super proud of them. That last relay, they let it all hang out, gave it everything they had,” Kampschmidt said.

The biggest factor to point to is Ryle’s boys 400-yard freestyle relay. The Raiders entered the state championship with the No. 3 seed but faltered in the prelims and failed to make the championship final.

The Notre Dame Pandas finished as the girls team runner-up for the second straight year, scoring 236 points on Saturday night. As mentioned before, the freestyle events anchored the Pandas, but head coach Jamie Kelly knows his team is expanding its abilities.

“This year, I think we’ve kind of spread out into other events and done real well across the board,” Kelly said.

Abby Carnes took fifth place in the 200-yard individual medley and sixth place in the 100-yard backstroke. McKenna Bien scored points in the consolation final of the 100-yard butterfly.

The Pandas graduated Sadie Hartig and Ava Deegan, who contributed to last year’s runner-up finish. Kelly was just as proud of how this year’s senior class stepped up, especially in the postseason.

“They had an incredible meet and were great leaders for the team,” Kelly said.

Which Northern Kentucky girls swimmers and divers finished on the 2026 state podium?

1-meter dive: 4. Savannah Bien, Notre Dame; 5. Chris Nowak, Cooper; 6. Addie Tinkler, Highlands

200-yard medley relay: 4. Notre Dame (Abby Carnes, Reaghan Connelly, McKenna Bien, Danaka Tucker); 6. Highlands (Margaret Meyers, Taryn Ripley, Keira Kobida, Vivian Winkler); 8. Ryle (Gabriella Stephens, Lydia DiVita, Annie Lucas, Haley Yauger)

200-yard freestyle: 3. Clare Herfel, Notre Dame; 7. Danaka Tucker, Notre Dame; 8. Liv Wallace, Notre Dame

200-yard individual medley: 4. Gabriella Stephens, Ryle; 5. Abby Carnes, Notre Dame

100-yard butterfly: 6. Maddie Staley, Beechwood

500-yard freestyle: 1. Clare Herfel, Notre Dame; 3. Danaka Tucker, Notre Dame; 4. Ella Thomas, Conner; 7. Taryn Ripley, Highlands

200-yard freestyle relay: 3. Highlands (Taryn Ripley, Keira Kobida, Ella Kate Reynolds, Ragan Moore); 5. Notre Dame (McKenna Bien, Liv Wallace, Peyton Quinn, Clare Herfel)

100-yard backstroke: 6. Abby Carnes, Notre Dame; 8. Alexis Fassbender, St. Henry

100-yard breaststroke: 5. Freya Reil, Dixie Heights

400-yard freestyle relay: 2. Notre Dame (Clare Herfel, Liv Wallace, Danaka Tucker, Abby Carnes); 3. Highlands (Ragan Moore, Taryn Ripley, Ella Kate Reynolds, Keira Kobida); 7. Ryle (Lydia DiVita, Haley Yauger, Evelyn Panko, Gabrielle Stephens)

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