Kentucky
Friday Headlines: Dawayne Galloway Day
Greetings, BBN. We here at A Sea Of Blue hope you’re having a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!
The work never stops for Mark Stoops and Co. as they look to keep Kentucky Football competitive with the ever-daunting SEC. A big piece of their 2025 class comes off the board today when 4-star recruit Dawayne Galloway is expected to announce his college decision today.
The standout cornerback out of Ohio is a consensus top-250 recruit ranked as high as 112th nationally by Rivals. He’s the kind of prospect you feel good about making an impact in the SEC, especially with Stoops’ history of developing high-level defensive backs.
Tweet of the Day
Get Galloway, and Kentucky is starting to flirt with a potential top-10 class…
Headlines
Athletic OT Jermiel Atkins commits to Kentucky – Cats Pause
Kentucky gets a commitment from a top offensive tackle target in Jermiel Atkins, who continues the Wildcats’ recruiting success in Ohio and with massive tackles with considerable upside.
ESPN is wrong about Kentucky basketball’s starting lineup – Wildcats Today
Who will start for the Kentucky Wildcats this season?
Swimming & Diving Places 22 Individuals on CSCAA Scholar All-America Team – UK Athletics
Men’s and women’s teams also earn collective Scholar All-America distinction.
Kentucky breaches ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 – Cats Pause
The Wildcats are one of nine SEC teams in the top 25.
Film Room: Jermiel Atkins – KSR
New Kentucky tackle commit Jermiel Atkins is a developmental prospect who’s bringing a high ceiling to Lexington.
Andrew Stargel Commits To UCF – 247 Sports
Kentucky, NC State, and Ohio State made big pushes to land Stargel, who will now head to the Big 12.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls out NASCAR on Kyle Busch ruling – On3
Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t understand NASCAR’s ruling of Kyle Busch being put in the top five of the Cup Series race in Nashville.
Best and worst NFL diets: Rams, Bengals, Dolphins dish it all – ESPN
Oh Bengals…
Like father, like son – LaVar Arrington II to Penn State – ESPN
In this week’s edition of let’s feel old, LaVar Arrington II, son of former Penn State All-American and seven-year NFL veteran LaVar Arrington, announced his commitment to Penn State.
State of the Tennessee Titans: Brian Callahan era begins after transformative offseason – NFL
How will the Brian Callahan era begin? Can the new head coach develop second-year QB Will Levis?
88-year-old ‘Proud’ Foster Mom Retires After Raising Over 40 Children – GNN
Emma Patterson is one of the foster parents in the county who has housed the most children long-term and one of the longest-serving foster parents.
U.S. Marshals Find 200 Missing Children Across the Nation During 6-Week Special Operation – GNN
It resulted in the recovery and removal of 123 children from dangerous situations. An additional 77 missing children were located and found to be in safe locations.
Kentucky
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.
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.
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
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.
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.
“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.
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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