Kentucky

Kentucky basketball roster 2025-26 watch: Latest on second team of UK’s Mark Pope era

Published

8 months ago

April 1, 2025

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Kentucky basketball roster 2025-26 watch: Latest on second team of UK’s Mark Pope era

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope must replace seven seniors from the 2024-25 roster.
The Wildcats have three high school prospects signed for the 2025-26 season: Jasper Johnson, Acaden Lewis and Malachi Moreno.
Five players from last season could return, but none have made official announcements about their plans.

LEXINGTON — After assuming the reins of his alma mater, coach Mark Pope had to build the Kentucky basketball roster from scratch. The dozen scholarship players who were part of the 2023-24 team? All of them left. Some because their college eligibility was up. Others departed for the NBA draft or transfer portal.

Pope shouldn’t have quite as much heavy lifting heading into Year 2.

That’s because five players could return from last season.

The only certainties: The Wildcats have signed three high school prospects in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

And they must replace their seven-member senior class. Only one of them could still be playing college hoops during the 2025-26 campaign, though: Kerr Kriisa revealed March 31 he would enter the transfer portal.

But Pope and his staff already have one portal player in the fold for next season: Former Tulane wing Kam Williams committed March 28.

Bookmark this page as The Courier Journal tracks offseason news related to UK’s 2025-26 roster.

G Kerr Kriisa (6-foot-5, 185 pounds, Fifth-year Sr.): Kriisa appeared in UK’s first nine games of the 2024-25 season … and that was all she wrote for the Estonian. A foot injury suffered in the team’s overtime win over Gonzaga on Dec. 7 simply never healed to the point he was cleared to return to the floor. While he said March 31 he’d put his name into the transfer portal, 11 days before that, Kriisa pondered the possibility of heading back overseas to start his professional career. Kriisa averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Wildcats; his assist average ranked No. 2 on the team behind fellow point guard Lamont Butler (4.3). Should he enroll at another university, it will be his fourth team in six seasons. He started his college career at Arizona (2020-21 through 2022-23) before moving on to West Virginia (2023-24) and then Kentucky.

Here are the six Kentucky seniors who have played their final collegiate games:

F Ansley Almonor (6-foot-7, 244 pounds)
G Koby Brea (6-foot-7, 215 pounds)
G Lamont Butler (6-foot-2, 208 pounds)
F Andrew Carr (6-foot-11, 235 pounds)
G Jaxson Robinson (6-foot-6, 192 pounds)
C Amari Williams (7 foot, 262 pounds)

This section will be updated as Kentucky players announce whether they plan to return to Lexington for the 2025-26 season.

Here are the five players who might be back with the Wildcats:

G Collin Chandler (6-foot-5, 202 pounds)
F Brandon Garrison (6-foot-11, 250 pounds)
G Trent Noah (6-foot-5, 220 pounds)
G Otega Oweh (6-foot-4, 215 pounds)
G Travis Perry (6-foot-1, 188 pounds)

What to know: While no member of the above quintet has made an official proclamation regarding their intentions for next season, each offered differing takes following Kentucky’s season-ending loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

A rising senior, Oweh simply shook his head when asked whether he’d given thought to the 2025-26 campaign.

Garrison, who would be a junior next season, said he would head back to Oklahoma and huddle up with his family and agent before deciding what’s next.

Chandler, Noah and Perry, the three signees in UK’s 2024 recruiting class, are set to be sophomores. Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball history, said he “certainly” plans to suit up for his home state program next season. Chandler said that with the team so focused on winning the program’s ninth national title, he “hadn’t really talked much about” next season with the coaching staff.

Noah made the most definitive statement of any potential returnee.

“Kentucky, this is my dream school,” he told The Courier Journal. “I don’t want to put on any other jersey besides this one. So, yeah, (being back next season) is the plan, for sure.”

G/F Kam Williams (6-foot-8, 195 pounds): Williams became the first transfer commitment for the Wildcats’ 2025-26 squad on March 28, hours before the team’s Big Dance battle versus Tennessee. An uber-athletic wing, Williams averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game for Tulane during the 2024-25 season. He also was an All-American Athletic Conference Freshman Team selection after pacing the Green Wave in 3-point percentage (41.2; 63 for 153).

G Jasper Johnson (6-foot-4, 174 pounds): Johnson, a Lexington native, is a UK legacy. His father, Dennis Johnson, once starred for the Wildcats’ football team along the defensive line. (The elder Johnson now is Woodford County’s athletics director and head football coach.) Jasper Johnson committed to Kentucky on Sept. 5 during a ceremony at Woodford County High. Jasper led Woodford County to the KHSAA Sweet 16 in 2023 — the school’s first appearance in the event since 1986 — before transferring to national prep powerhouse Link Academy. He finished his last season of high school basketball competing in the Overtime Elite league in Atlanta. Johnson is considered a five-star prospect by ESPN, while Rivals, 247Sports and On3 gave him four stars. Per the 247Sports Composite, Johnson ranks No. 18 nationally — and No. 5 among shooting guards — in the 2025 cycle.

G Acaden Lewis (6-foot-2, 170 pounds): Lewis gave his pledge to Kentucky on Nov. 2. He picked UK over his two other finalists, Duke and UConn. A star in the nation’s capital, Lewis was the Gatorade District of Columbia Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2023-24 after averaging 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game for Sidwell Friends School. He also lifted the team to the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference title and the District of Columbia State Athletic Association Class AA championship. Lewis is the No. 30 recruit in the country for 2025, per the 247Sports Composite, slotting in as the fifth-ranked point guard.

C Malachi Moreno (6-foot-11, 230 pounds): Moreno got the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class off the ground Aug. 19, announcing his commitment during a ceremony at Great Crossing High in Georgetown. Now a McDonald’s All-American, Moreno was named Kentucky’s 2025 Mr. Basketball after averaging 21.5 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 3.5 assists per game during the regular season. He then propelled the school to its first state title in boys basketball, tallying 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks against Bowling Green in the championship game of the UK HealthCare Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena. Not surprisingly, Moreno won the Sweet 16 MVP award. Moreno entered the Sweet 16 with 2,392 points and 1,896 rebounds during his high school career, which began when he still was an eighth grader. Moreno clocks in as the No. 27 player nationally in 2025, per the 247Sports Composite — and the No. 2 center.

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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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com

Published

9 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com

Dec. 10 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican serving a House district in Kentucky, introduced legislation for the United States to pull out of NATO.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, posted on X that she would be a co-sponsor of the Not a Trusted Organization Act, or NATO Act. Utah Republican Mike Lee introduced the same legislation in the Senate earlier this year.

“NATO is a Cold War relic,” Massie said in a statement Tuesday. “We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries.

“NATO was created to counter the Soviet Union, which collapsed over 30 years ago. Since then, U.S. participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk U.S. involvement in foreign wars.”

He added: “Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against. America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense.”

NATO was founded in 1949 by 12 members as a military alliance involving European nations, as well as the U.S. and Canada in North America. There are now 32 members, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.

The NATO Act would prevent the use of U.S. taxpayer funds for NATO’s common budgets, including its civil budget, military budget and the Security Investment Program.

Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty allows nations to opt out.

“After the Treaty has been in force for 20 years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation,” the treaty reads.

During the last NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, President Donald Trump told reporters he agrees with NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense treaty.

“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”

Article 5 was invoked for the first time after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, leading to NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.

The Kentucky Republican, who calls himself a “fiscal hawk” and a “constitutional conservative,” has been at odds with Trump on several issues, including fiscal spending, foreign policy/war powers, government surveillance and transparency.

Trump has also been critical of NATO.

During his 2016 election campaign, Trump called the alliance “obsolete.”

He urged nations to spend at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defense needs by 2035.

In June, NATO allies agreed to a new defense spending guideline to invest 5% of GDP annually in defense and security by 2035.

Five nations were above 3% in 2024: Poland at 4.12%, Estonia at 3.43%, U.S. at 3.38%, Latvia at 3.15% and Greece at 3.08%. In last is Spain with 1.28% though Iceland has no armed forces and Sweden wasn’t listed.

Some Republican senators want stronger involvement in the alliance, including Joni Ernst of Iowa and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

For passage, a House majority is needed, but 60 of 100 votes in the Senate to break the filibuster and then a majority vote. Trump could also veto the bill.

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Officials: Evansville man fatally shot student at Kentucky college

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

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Officials: Evansville man fatally shot student at Kentucky college

Police in Frankfort, Kentucky say an Evansville man shot two Kentucky State University students on campus Tuesday afternoon, killing one and injuring another.

City officials identified the alleged shooter as 48-year-old Jacob Lee Bard in a news release Tuesday evening. Franklin County Regional Jail records showed Bard has been arrested on preliminary charges of murder and first-degree assault.

The two victims hadn’t been identified as of Tuesday night. Authorities didn’t divulge Bard’s relationship to the victims, why he was on campus, or what may have transpired leading up to the shooting, which took place about 175 miles from Evansville. Bard isn’t a student at the university.

According to a Frankfort news release, officers were dispatched to a campus dorm just before 3:15 p.m. EDT after a report of a shooting.

“Two individuals suffered gunshot wounds and were transported to a local hospital by Frankfort Fire and EMS,” the release states.

One of the victims died at the hospital. A release from KSU stated that the second student remained in stable but critical condition as of Tuesday night.

KSU officials are suspending all classes, final exams and campus activity for the rest of the week.

“Students may return home if they choose,” the release states. “… Counseling and support services continue to be available for students, faculty, and staff who may be impacted by this event.”

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Kentucky native George Clooney nominated for 83rd Golden Globe Awards

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

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Kentucky native George Clooney nominated for 83rd Golden Globe Awards

Kentucky native George Clooney is in the running for a 2026 Golden Globe Award for his leading role in the feature length film, “Jay Kelly.”

For his role as an aging megawatt movie star searching to add meaning to his life beyond the silver screen, Clooney was nominated in the category for Best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy).

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced nominees for the 83rd Annual Golden Globes on Dec. 9.

Also nominated in the category are Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon,” Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia,” Lee Byung-hun for “No Other Choice,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another” and Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme.”

Clooney’s recognition for “Jay Kelly” is his 14th Golden Globe nomination, which includes three wins for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “Syriana,” and “The Descendants,” plus a Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

In “Jay Kelly,” Clooney’s agent is played by Adam Sandler, who is also nominated for a 2026 Golden Globe in the category “Best performance by a male actor in a supporting role in any motion picture.”

The 83rd Golden Globe Awards will be held Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. The event will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Comedian Nikki Glaser is returning as host for the second consecutive year.

Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

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