Kentucky
Jeremy Roach reveals how close he came to transferring to Kentucky
Duke guard Jeremy Roach shocked the college basketball landscape when he decided to enter the transfer portal after spending all four seasons of his college career with the Blue Devils. A two-time team captain who will take his talents to Waco, Texas next basketball season and suit up for Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears for his final year of eligibility.
The transfer portal process for coaches and players alike can be a hectic one, which Roach tried to avoid as he reopened up his recruitment this offseason. Keeping things simple and revealing to Ray McCallum from Swish Cultures that Baylor was just one of two programs he was exploring while in the portal.
“So it was really kind of a quick decision, I didn’t want to elongate my decision,” Roach said. “So when Baylor called I took maybe a day or two, I met with Kentucky too, and then it was really between those two and I think Baylor was the best decision for me.”
Roach committed to Baylor just five days after it was reported that he would be entering the transfer portal, becoming one of the most coveted point guards in the recruiting landscape once again.
Out of Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax (VA), Roach was the four-star prospect ranked the No. 22 overall player and the No. 6 point guard for the 2020 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Entering the transfer portal this offseason as the No. 2 available point guard and No. 11 ranked player regardless of position in the portal according to On3’s Industry Transfer Portal Rankings.
“For me just going in the process, I already knew it was kind of going to be crazy. I mean I’ve already been through the recruiting process already,” Roach explained. “Doing visits, doing multiple meetings, and stuff like that. So I really didn’t want to even go through that whole visiting and meeting with 50 million coaches. I wanted to kind of keep my schools tight and wanted to pick from all the schools that were calling me.”
Roach is one of the most experienced and productive guards in the country, coming off of a career year where he averaged 14 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Joining the Bears after starting in 108 of his 130 career games with 1,469 points to his name and extensive postseason experience with 11 NCAA Tournament game appearances.
There’s no question that the Wildcats and many other programs would have loved to add Roach to their roster ahead of the 2024-2025 season. With the head coach and roster turnover at Kentucky likely playing a role in his decision.
But now that Roach revealed what his top two looked like, fans in Lexington will likely reflect on what could have been for quite some time as Baylor faithful let out another sigh of relief following rumors of their own head coach jumping ship for Kentucky this offseason.
See Triple Crown winners in Kentucky Derby history
Take a look at the 13 elite thoroughbreds who have claimed the ultimate prize in horse racing: the Triple Crown.
Intrepido is one of 20 horses expected to enter the 2026 Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
Spots for the Run for the Roses are earned by gaining points through a series of Kentucky Derby prep races that began last September.
The post-position draw for the Kentucky Derby is set for Saturday, April 25. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 6:57 p.m. on Saturday, May 2.
Intrepido will enter the Kentucky Derby off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4. He currently ranks 17th on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with 38.
Buy tickets here for Kentucky Derby 152
Color: Bay.
Bred in: Kentucky.
Sire: Maximus Mischief.
Dam: Overly Indulgent, by Pleasantly Perfect.
Price tag: $385,000 at 2025 Ocala Breeders’ Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
Owners: Dutch Girl Holdings (Michele Arthur); Irving Ventures (Ruben Isla). First Derby for both.
Trainer: Jeff Mullins. He’s 0 for 4 in the Derby, best finish with Buzzards Bay (fifth) in 2005.
Jockey: Hector Berrios. First Derby.
Record: 2-1-0 in six starts.
Career earnings: $342,800.
Road to the Kentucky Derby points: 38 (No. 17).
Last race: Fourth in Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4.
Running style: Has displayed early speed but raced off pace in Santa Anita Derby.
Notes: Intrepido has done all of his racing in California, winning as a 2-year old at Del Mar and Santa Anita. This year, he finished second in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis before heading to the Santa Anita Derby. … Mullins is in the Derby for the first time since 2005 but had the morning-line favorite in 2009 with I Want Revenge. He was scratched the morning of the race because of an ankle injury. … Intrepido is a ridgling, which means he has at least one undescended testicle.
What they’re saying: “I didn’t (expect that),” Mullins said after Intrepido worked a quick 47.4 seconds for four furlongs on April 19 at Santa Anita Park. “But we often get what we don’t expect.”
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com. Follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
Kentucky
Northern Kentucky Education Council honors NKY educators with 2026 Excellence in Education Awards
Sadiqa Reynolds was removed from the University of Louisville board of trustees last week, as the Kentucky Senate did not confirm her appointment before they adjourned the 2026 legislative session.
Reynolds, the former president of the Louisville Urban League, was appointed to a six-year term on the board last April by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Under state law, gubernatorial appointees to boards must be confirmed by the state Senate during the subsequent legislative session in order to stay in that position. While the Republican supermajority filed and passed more than 50 resolutions to confirm appointees, none were filed to confirm Reynolds.
Reynolds told Kentucky Public Radio this week that she was not given any reason for why the Senate failed to confirm her, but suspected Republicans wanted her out due to her open criticism of the attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in education by President Donald Trump and the legislature.
“Attacks on education are attacks on our democracy,” Reynolds said. “There is no honor in following the lead of Kentucky Republicans when they are hellbent on destroying any gains we have made in this country.”
Reynolds added that it was “a badge of honor” to be rejected by Senate Republicans.
“Fascists refused to confirm me,” she said. “One little woman with one voice. I have never felt more powerful.”
Asked why Republican leadership did not confirm Reynolds, a Senate GOP spokesperson replied that “there was no resolution filed by a Democrat or Republican for the Senate to consider.”
Republican senators — who make up 84% of the chamber — filed all of the 50-plus resolutions to confirm Beshear appointees. Only one Senate bill filed by a Democrat was passed into law this session.
Senate Democrats did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the chamber not confirming Reynolds.
Scottie Ellis, the spokesperson for Gov. Beshear, replied in a statement that Reynolds “is an accomplished leader and University of Louisville alumna who cares about the direction of the school and served on its Board of Trustees with pride and integrity. Her removal is the latest politically motivated move by the Republican-led General Assembly, who are ultimately hurting UofL and its students with this baseless action.”
Asked to comment on Reynolds’ removal from the board of trustees, U of L spokesman John Karman said it was “not our decision,” adding that “the university is appreciative of Trustee Reynolds for her service and grateful for her contributions as a member of the Board of Trustees.”
Reynolds was critical not just of the Trump administration’s actions targeting DEI initiatives, but legislation passed into law by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2025 to ban all DEI initiatives at public colleges. She added that she pushed the university not to “overcomply” with such efforts and challenge them legally, or “at least explain the impact of compliance to the legislators and to the public.”
“People are so afraid to ask questions and challenge them, and I was not afraid,” she said. “Republicans have heard what I said and didn’t like it.”
Reynolds was not the only Beshear appointee to not be confirmed by the Senate. Though Republicans filed a resolution to confirm Michael Abell to the Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission, they did not vote on it before the legislature adjourned.
Responding to Abell’s removal last week, Ellis said the Senate GOP “once again refused to confirm a commissioner nominated by the Kentucky sportsmen and appointed by the Governor. This is now the eighth time they have done so. Kentuckians should be very worried about the operations at Fish & Wildlife.”
Reynolds was formerly a judge and top aide to former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, until she was named CEO of the Louisville Urban League in 2015. She left that position in 2022 to become CEO of the Perception Institute, a New York City think tank that counters bias and discrimination. Reynolds stepped down from that position last fall to focus fully on the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, a West End sports complex she pushed for while at the Urban League.
The Louisville Urban League president that succeeded Reynolds in 2022 was fired after four months, then filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit alleging she was wrongfully terminated for airing concerns about its finances and allegations of conflicts of interest involving the sports complex. A mistrial was declared in that case, and a new trial was granted last month.
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