Kentucky
Kentucky Announces Promotion of Derek Shay as Tight Ends Coach
Mark Stoops did not wait around to find a replacement for Vince Marrow. A little more than 24 hours after his move to Louisville became official, Kentucky announced that Derek Shay will be the Wildcats’ next tight ends coach.
“We are fortunate to have someone already on our staff who has coached tight ends at a high level and led those rooms successfully,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said in a statement.
“He is familiar with Coach (Bush) Hamdan’s system and I’m very confident in his abilities. His versatility, football IQ, and on-field toughness will be a valuable addition to our offense.”
Shay is familiar with Hamdan’s system because it’s not the first time the two have coached together. They first interacted when Shay was a member of the Missouri support staff, working alongside Hamdan. Shay is one of the only people Hamdan brought with him to Kentucky. He sat next to the offensive coordinator in the booth throughout the 2024 season.
In between stints with Hamdan, Shay served as the tight ends coach at Marshall in 2023. He also coached in the LSU tight end room as a GA. That’s where his high-major coaching career began, a year after the Tigers won the National Championship.
“Derek is a very knowledgeable coach with an outstanding work ethic. Our players and coaches at LSU loved him—not just as a coach, but as a man,” said former LSU head coach Ed Oregeron.
“He’s an outstanding recruiter with tireless energy and a passion for developing young talent. Additionally, he’s a great family man who brings character and integrity to everything he does. The University of Kentucky is getting a great one. He’s a great hire.”
Shay has a lot of talent to work with this fall. The Wildcats took two transfers, Henry Boyer (Illinois) and Elijah Brown (UCF), who can be road-graders in the run game. Willie Rodriguez showed a ton of promise during his freshman season and true freshman Mikkel Skinner was the highest-ranked player in the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class. Rodriguez and Josh Kattus have worked with Shay for the last 16 months, and the latter is fired up to see Shay in a more prominent role.
“We get to see every day how Coach Shay operates and the intensity he brings, and we are excited to have him leading our room. He knows our system inside and out, and he’s incredibly passionate about the game and coaching. Adding him to our room is a seamless transition.”
You can hear more from other players and coaches who worked with Shay as he takes the next step in his coaching career.
Derek Shay Coach Record
| Year | Position | School | Bowl Games |
| 2011-13 | Student Assistant / Tight Ends / Offensive Line | Eastern Illinois | |
| 2014-15 | Graduate Assistant / Tight Ends | Bowling Green State | |
| 2015-17 | Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line | Warren Central High School | |
| 2017-19 | Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line | IMG Academy | |
| 2019-20 | Tight ends/Offensive Tackles | McNeese State | |
| 2020-22 | Graduate Assistant / Tight Ends | LSU | Texas Bowl (2021) |
| 2022-23 | Senior Offensive Analyst | Missouri | Gasparilla Bowl (2022) |
| 2023-24 | Tight Ends | Marshall | Frisco Bowl (2023) |
| 2024 | Senior Offensive Analyst/Run Game Specialist | Kentucky | |
| 2025-present | Tight Ends | Kentucky |
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
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.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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