Kentucky
Kentucky basketball: 5-star 2025 Indiana sharpshooter no longer considering Wildcats
Kentucky coach Mark Pope on how team can find the joys in basketball
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope discusses how players should care about something more than themselves to find the joys in basketball with their team.
LEXINGTON — Cross one potential candidate off the list for coach Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball’s 2025 recruiting class.
Braylon Mullins, one of the top shooters in the 2025 cycle, cut his list of finalists to three Tuesday. UK was not among that trio.
Mullins will choose among Indiana, North Carolina and UConn.
The Wildcats once were considered one of the leading contenders — if not the odds-on favorites — to land Mullins. Instead, he’ll play his college ball elsewhere.
When Mullins trimmed his list to 10 schools, Kentucky was one of them along with Alabama, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee and UConn. An official visit to UK had been planned for the weekend of Oct. 26; the trip would have coincided with the football team’s home game versus Auburn. Now, that OV is off Mullins’ itinerary.
Per the 247Sports Composite, Mullins is a five-star recruit, ranked No. 23 in the 2025 class. His ranking among the major recruiting databases has been on a meteoric rise after superlative showings in AAU play this past summer. Earlier this year, Mullins was No. 73 nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings — 50 spots below his current placing.
Mullins is viewed as one of the best pure shooters in the 2025 cycle.
Per Kentucky Sports Radio, Mullins connected on “47.3% of his shots from deep across 17 games played during the spring/summer.” And he achieved that efficient percentage while averaging 7.7 3-point attempts per game for Indiana Elite, which plays on the Adidas 3SSB circuit.
One of his Indiana Elite teammates is Malachi Moreno, a five-star center who on Aug. 16 became Kentucky’s first 2025 commitment. After Moreno’s pledge, he made a spirited pitch for Mullins to join him in Lexington.
“We did have that in mind,” Moreno told KSR. “I knew he was going to be great after — I mean he blew up the last three summers, I just knew he was going to be great. Once we had similar offers I was like, ‘Yo, we actually have an opportunity to be college teammates.’ … I’m gonna make sure he puts this (Kentucky shirt) on.”
Moreno’s dream will remain just that.
The Wildcats have numerous offers out to 2025 prospects. Only one has committed elsewhere (point guard Darius Acuff Jr. to Arkansas), while others (Mullins, AJ Dybantsa, Koa Peat, Darryn Peterson, Eric Reibe, Meleek Thomas and Tounde Yessoufou) don’t have UK as a finalist.
But Pope and his staff have begun to focus their energy on a select group.
Five-star power forward Caleb Wilson was in Lexington earlier this month for an official visit. After that, the Wildcats’ staff visited Wilson at his school, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal in Atlanta.
Wilson has made no bones about wanting to team up in college with another 2025 prospect UK is actively pursuing: four-star guard Acaden Lewis.
According to KSR+ reporter Jacob Polacheck, five-star point guard Mikel Brown will reportedly be in town for an official visit later this week. Five-star center Chris Cenac also will be in Lexington this weekend for an official visit.
The other 2025 recruits Kentucky still is in the running with include:
Jasper Johnson, who became UK’s second 2025 pledge earlier this month, was one of 30 players who showcased his skills in Overtime Elite’s fall combine Tuesday in Atlanta.
About 90 college coaches and NBA scouts observed the session.
Here are Johnson’s numbers from the combine:
Shooting drills
- Pull-up jumpers: 16 for 30 (53.3%)
- Movement 3s: 44 for 70 (62.9%) — Best percentage of all combine participants
- Catch-and-shoot 3s: 37 for 50 (74.0%) — Best percentage of all combine participants
TOTAL: 97 for 150 (64.7%) — Third-best shooting percentage among participants; one of only three to post a percentage above 60%
Measurements
- Standing reach: 8 feet, 5 inches
- Wingspan: 6 feet, 9 inches
- Height (with shoes): 6-foot-4 ½
Athletic drills
- Approach vertical: 32 inches
- Standing vertical: 25 inches
- 3/4 court sprint: 3.44 seconds
- Lane agility: 11.46 seconds
- Reaction shuttle: 3.21 seconds
Watch the entirety of the OTE combine in the embedded video below.
Miikka Muurinen is one of the country’s top players in 2026. And he plans to make an official visit to Lexington in the future.
Just not the near future.
Per KSR+, Muurinen likely won’t be on UK’s campus until the calendar flips to 2025.
“I’m probably not going to do it this year,” Muurinen told KSR+. “I have to be with my team and spend time with them.”
Ranked as the No. 12 overall player in the 2026 cycle, per the 247Sports Composite, Murrinen already has taken OVs to Arkansas, Michigan and Utah.
But the Wildcats are squarely in the mix for the second-ranked power forward in his class.
“We’re going to make something happen,” Muurinen told KSR+. “Kentucky is, for sure, one of my favorites, as of right now.”
Muurinen is one of eight prospects Kentucky has offered in the 2026 class.
Other tidbits of note about UK men’s basketball with the 2024-25 season fast approaching:
- The Wildcats started preseason practice Monday. The annual Big Blue Madness event is set for Oct. 11, followed by the Blue-White preseason scrimmage Oct. 18. UK’s first preseason exhibition is Oct. 23 against Kentucky Wesleyan at Rupp Arena. Kentucky opens the 2024-25 campaign at home versus Wright State on Nov. 4.
- Former Wildcat Daimion Collins is ready to take the court once more. Collins, who spent two seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23) at Kentucky, transferred to LSU ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. But he appeared in just six games for the Tigers last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against North Florida. Now, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Collins “has been fully cleared for all basketball related activities.” He played in 47 games for the Wildcats over two seasons but made just two starts. Collins has averaged 2.6 points and 2 rebounds per contest (58 games) in three seasons as a collegian, making 52.8% (57 for 108) of his field-goal attempts.
- Two people with connections to UK were enshrined Monday in the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 induction class. One was Kentucky basketball great Tony Delk, who netted first-team All-American honors en route to leading the program to the national championship in 1996. The other was Oscar Combs, who founded The Cats’ Pause in 1976. The Cats’ Pause was the first independent publication devoted to solely covering the athletics program at one university.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
Power forward has been one of the positions that Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have to fill with Andrija Jelavic and Mo Dioubate gone. The two players that Pope has had on campus at the power forward position are Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman and Colorado’s Sebastian Rancik. Both are really good players, but Freeman is better by a wide margin.
It has felt that entire time that Kentucky wanted Rancik as the backup to Freeman or a backup plan if they weren’t able to land Freeman. Well, Rancik just picked Florida State, so perhaps this is a sign that the Wildcats will land Freeman.
Big Blue Nation was torn on Rancik, but I do believe he would have been a really solid backup power forward. I personally didn’t want him to be the starting four for this team. It is clear that he wanted to go somewhere where he could be the guy at the four, so he will be heading to the ACC to play for FSU.
Now that Kentucky has missed on Rancik, it is very important that the Wildcats land Freeman soon. The problem with waiting on some of these players is the fact that the portal isn’t slowing down. If Pope targets two power forwards and misses on both of them, most of the good fours in the portal will be gone.
There will be some panic in Lexington if the Wildcats are not able to land Freeman, but I do believe the Wildcats are in a good spot to land the elite power forward. From the beginning, Freeman has been my top player for Kentucky in the portal, as he, plus Malachi Moreno, will give the Wildcats an elite frontcourt.
If Pope is able to land Freeman and Tyran Stokes to pair with Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Moreno, and Kam Williams, this could be the start of a really good team in Lexington. Hopefully, an announcement for where Freeman will transfer comes soon, and hopefully, this will be to play for Pope at Kentucky.
Fans of rival teams will say Pope “whiffed” on Rancik, but if this whiff was because the Wildcats are set to land Freeman soon, then it was more than worth it for Kentucky. If the Wildcats are able to land Freeman, it will officially be time for Big Blue Nation to start getting excited about the 2026-27 season. I expect a decision from Freeman to come within the next day or two.
Rancik would have been a solid backup four in Lexington but Freeman has been the guy from the beggining for this staff so if Kentucky lands him all is well. If the staff misses on Freeman not landing Rancik will look bad.
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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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