Kentucky Basketball has filled out its staff nicely after hiring Mark Pope as the new head coach.

Since the hiring of Pope, Kentucky has hired former Georgia head coach Mark Fox, former BYU assistant Cody Fueger, former G-League Ignite/USC assistant Jason Hart, and former Baylor assistant Alvin Brooks.

With all of those hirings, Kentucky still needs to hire one more assistant coach for the staff.

Although fans are eager to finish out the staff along with getting a completed roster, it may take some time to find the last staff member for the team, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

Remember, there are now five assistant spots for handling on-court coaching, but only three of them can recruit off campus, those being Brooks, Fueger, and Hart. This final hire is one of the spots for a coach who can’t recruit off campus.

Early on in the process of filling out the staff, many media members and fans thought Keegan Brown could make his way from BYU to Kentucky, but that never came to fruition, along with Orlando Antigua possibly wanting to stay. He has since taken a job at Illinois.

Kenny Payne was an option, but he has since accepted a job at Arkansas to team up with John Calipari. Of course, there were some talks of former Kentucky basketball players joining the staff, including Jeff Sheppard, Scott Padgett, Derek Anderson, Rajon Rondo, Tyler Ulis, and others.

With the staff being basically completed, Pope and Co. will now start to finish the roster for this upcoming year’s team, with a lot of openings to fill and not too much time to do so.

Some owners invest heavily and chase the Kentucky Derby dream for a lifetime without ever experiencing the electricity of competing on the first Saturday in May. In stark contrast, Albaugh Family Stables is getting there with remarkable regularity.

Catching Freedom is set to be the eighth Derby starter since 2016 for the Iowa-based operation, one that stands apart from other major players by keeping its numbers relatively small and bucking the current trend by generally avoiding partnerships.

Racing manager Jason Loutsch, son-in-law to 74-year-old family patriarch Dennis Albaugh, reflected on the start of the run with Brody’s Cause in 2016 and J Boys Echo in 2017. “The first couple of years, I was thinking, ‘We’re the luckiest ever. How can we be so lucky?’ But as I look back at it, a lot of credit goes to our team and our system,” Loutsch said.

They are open to other sales, but they concentrate most of their effort on Fasig-Tipton’s sale of select yearlings each August in Saratoga and Keeneland’s September yearling sale. As soon as those catalogs become available, Loutsch and boyhood friend Ryan Pezzetti go to work on the pedigree side with a laser focus on colts who have the bloodlines to handle two turns.

As for the system they employ, that always will remain a family secret. In discussing the evaluation of each prospect en route to the annual purchase of 12 to 15 yearlings, Loutsch would say only, “there are hoops we need to get through.” Their willingness to be painstaking as they evaluate hundreds of yearlings is no secret.

“We prepare for months before the sales. We’re the first to get there and the last to leave the sales,” the racing manager said. “We work hard. I can’t thank our team enough for all of the hard work they put into it.”

Barry Berkelhammer, who plays a key role as their bloodstock agent, describes the evaluation of yearlings as an “art form.”

“Obviously, to get to the first Saturday in May you have to win some races to qualify,” he noted. “So you have to have 2-year-olds that have got some precocious nature about them.”

Angel of Empire serves as a prime example of the thoroughness of Albaugh’s approach. The Pennsylvania-bred son of Classic Empire was purchased for a relatively modest $70,000 at the Keeneland September sale.

With the scratch of 2-year-old champion Forte, the Arkansas Derby winner went off as the favorite in last year’s Derby and ran an impressive race, missing by a length and a half to upstart Mage for Albaugh’s strongest finish.

Dennis Albaugh’s affinity for Constitution led them to step out while going it alone for Catching Freedom. They went to $575,000 to secure him at Keeneland’s September yearling sale and eventually turned him over to Brad Cox, a Louisville native who has won the Eclipse Award twice as North America’s top trainer.

Catching Freedom stamped himself as one of the ones to beat when he staged a prolonged rally for jockey Flavien Prat to defeat Honor Marie by one length in the March 23 Louisiana Derby (G2). In handling the 1 3/16-mile contest with aplomb, he earned his third victory in five starts and hiked his earnings to $877,350.

Catching Freedom might be the 3-year-old that breaks through for Albaugh. “Any time you win a prep race like the Louisiana Derby, you go in with a lot of confidence because you beat quality, quality horses,” Loutsch said. “He’s done really well since the Louisiana Derby, so it’s really exciting.”

Catching Freedom showed his readiness for the biggest race of his life when he zipped five furlongs in 59.2 seconds April 27 at Churchill Downs. He ranked second of 58 workers at the distance in his final Derby drill.

Loutsch expects the Kentucky Derby to play out very differently from what transpired in Louisiana, where Catching Freedom was left with much to do. “I think we’re going to break a lot sharper than we did in the Louisiana Derby. That wasn’t the plan to stay that far back,” he said. “I think he will sit mid-pack. Hopefully, we’ll get a clear run. When he’s asked to go, I think he’ll make a big run.”

As for the critical question of whether Catching Freedom can last the testing mile and a quarter, Loutsch said, “that is one thing we don’t have to worry about.”

Albaugh is that sure of its system and its process.

Mark Pope continues to grind away in the transfer portal. The new Kentucky head coach has added a fifth piece to his roster for the 2024-25 season.

On Saturday, Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh announced through Instagram his commitment to the Wildcats. He joins San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler, Drexel transfer Amari Williams, former BYU signee Collin Chandler, and four-star high school senior Travis Perry as players locked in for the upcoming season.

Oweh was in Lexington on Thursday for a visit and wasted little time committing to Kentucky.

Nicknamed “Otega-Tron”, the Wildcats have picked up another unbelievable defender. There won’t be many guards next season in college basketball that can defend the perimeter like the 6-foot-2, 215-pound rising junior.

“We used to call him ‘Otega-Tron’ because he was like a Transformer for us,” Rob Brown, who is the program director for Team Final (Oweh’s AAU team), told KSR. “Whatever we needed him to do, he did. If we needed him to defend bigs, defend wings, defend guards, he did it. … He defends a lot of positions.”

Oweh took visits to Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Oregon. In the end, it came down to the ‘Cats and Ducks. He averaged 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, one assist, and 1.5 steals in 24.9 minutes per outing last season with the Sooners. 

GONE (GRADUATED/NBA DRAFT): Antonio Reeves, Tre Mitchell, Justin Edwards, Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard

TRANSFER PORTAL: Adou Thiero*, Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State), Joey Hart (Ball State), Zvonimir Ivisic (Arkansas), DJ Wagner, Jordan Burks, Ugonna Onyenso

* Also testing NBA Draft waters

IMPORTANT DATES

• April 27: NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
• May 1: Transfer Portal Closes
• May 12: NBA Draft Lottery
• May 13-19: NBA Combine
• May 29: NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline (11:59 pm ET)
• June 16: NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5 p.m. ET)
• June 26: NBA Draft 2024 First Round
• June 27: NBA Draft 2024 Second Round

Want more Kentucky Basketball roster intel? Join the KSR Club for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

UPDATES

April 27: Otega Oweh, you are a Wildcat

• Committed to Kentucky over Oregon after visiting Lexington earlier in the week.
• Nicknamed “Otega-Tron” for his ability to transform into whatever kind of defender his team needed.
• The fifth player on board for Kentucky’s 2024-25 roster.

April 27: Andrej Stojakovic commits to California

• With a final three of Kentucky, North Carolina, and California, the West Coast native elected to stay close to home, choosing the Golden Bears.
• A visit to Kentucky was reportedly in the works, but Stojakovic committed to California before he could make it to Lexington.

April 26: Lamont Butler commits to Kentucky

• Another significant defensive piece for Mark Pope going into year one. Along with Williams, UK has five conference Defensive Player of the Year awards between them.
• A trip to Las Vegas from Pope and Co. sealed the deal.
• One year of eligibility remains for the point guard.

April 25: Saint Mary’s transfer Aidan Mahaney arrives in Lexington

• Posted picture on Instagram Story outside of Rupp Arena on Friday night.
• 6-foot-3 guard has taken a recent visit to Creighton and was at Virginia on April 22.
• Averaged 13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.3 minutes per game for Saint Mary’s this past season, starting all 34 games.
• A two-time First Team All-WCC performer.

April 25: Miami’s Wooga Poplar added to contact list

• 6-foot-5 guard averaged 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 31.1 minutes this past season.
• Reported by Dushawn London of 247Sports.
• St. John’s, Kansas, Villanova, Temple, Ole Miss, Florida State, and Arizona State have also reached out.

April 25: Wake Forest forward Andrew Carr joins this weekend’s visitors

• According to Travis Branham of 247Sports, the 6-foot-11 Carr is “expected” to be at Kentucky this weekend.
• Averaged 13.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 32.5 minutes per outing for the Deamon Deacons in 2023-24. Started all 35 games played.
• Visited Texas Tech earlier this week, will head to Villanova after UK visit.

April 25: Kentucky cracks Top 3 for Stanford’s Andrej Stojakovic

• 6-foot-7 rising sophomore wing down to California, North Carolina, and Kentucky.
• Was finalizing a visit to Lexington for this weekend, per On3’s Joe Tipton.
• Averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per contest. He shot 40.9 percent from the floor, 32.7 percent from deep, and 52.8 percent from the line.
• Son of longtime NBA veteran and three-time All-Star Peja Stojakovic.

April 25: Utah’s Deivon Smith reportedly visiting this weekend

• According to Travis Branham of 247Sports, Smith is expected to be in Lexington this weekend for an official visit.
• The 6-foot point guard averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in 29.5 minutes per game.
• Smith started his college career at Mississippi State (2020-21) before transferring to Georgia Tech for two seasons (2021-23) and then to Utah last season.
• Posted five triple-doubles in 2023-24.

April 23: BYU’s Jaxson Robinson declares for draft

• Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year this past season after posting per-game averages of 14.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per game.
• Long believed to be a possible Kentucky target if he entered the transfer portal, but focusing on the NBA Draft for now.
• Has until May 11 to enter his name into the portal.

April 23: Kentucky reaches out to Duke’s TJ Power

• Played sparingly as a freshman last season, averaging just 2.1 points and 0.7 rebounds in seven minutes per outing across 26 appearances.
• Arkansas, Michigan, BYU, Wake Forest, Southern California, Miami (FL), Notre Dame, West Virginia, Boston College, and Iowa have also reached.
• Third Duke transfer contacted by Kentucky (Sean Stewart, Jeremy Roach – Baylor).

April 23: Utah State’s Great Osobor locks in 4 visits

• Osobor, who shares the same agent as Amari Williams, locked in an official visit with Kentucky for April 29-31.
• Also visiting Louisville (May 1-3), Texas Tech (May 4-6), and Washington (May 7-9).
• Mountain West Player of the Year in 2023-24 with averages of 17.7 points, nine rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 33.6 minutes per contest.

April 22: Kentucky contacts Minnesota’s Elijah Hawkins

• 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 assists per game in 2023-24, tied for the most in the Big Ten.
• Last year he shot 37.6% from three and scored in double figures 18 times on a Minnesota team that finished with 19 wins.
• Started college career at Howard for two seasons.

April 22: Collin Chandler signs with Kentucky, Travis Perry reaffirms commitment

• Chandler committed to Kentucky on April 16 but was not announced as signed until almost a week later. The former BYU signee is officially a Wildcat.
• The same day, Perry confirmed that he would join Kentucky for the 2024-25 season.

April 21: Amari Williams is a Wildcat

• Defense was not a strength of Mark Pope’s teams at BYU. Defense is what his first significant transfer portal addition does best. Williams was a three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year for Drexel.
• Williams picked Kentucky over Mississippi State.
• The 6-foot-10 big man made the decision after officially visiting Lexington this weekend.

April 20: Kentucky contacts Duke’s Sean Stewart

• Kentucky joins Kansas State, Indiana, Arkansas, USC, Florida State, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Arizona State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Cal, Stanford, South Carolina, Washington, Howard, UCSB and Harvard to express interest
• Was the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle
• The 6-9 freshman out of Windermere, Florida averaged 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in just 8.4 minutes per game this season for the Blue Devils

April 20: Drexel star Amari Williams begins official visit to Lexington

• The 6-10, 265-pound forward will make the trip to Lexington from April 20-22
• Kentucky is a finalist, joining St. John’s and Mississippi State
• Mark Pope met with Williams on Thursday

April 19: Jordan Burks enters the transfer portal

• Averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per outing as a freshman
• Was a three-star recruit in high school out of Overtime Elite
• The 6-8 forward only saw at least 10 minutes in seven of his 20 games played

April 19: Adou Thiero cuts list to five, includes Kentucky

• Previously entering the portal on March 28, the 6-8 forward is now considering Kentucky, North Carolina, Pitt, Indiana and Arkansas

April 19: Kentucky makes final six for Villanova’s TJ Bamba

April 19: Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo hears from the Wildcats

April 18: Reed Sheppard declares or the NBA Draft

• The star guard is the No. 7 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best available draft prospects
• He has decided to forgo the remainder of his college eligibility
• “I’m going all-in,” Sheppard told ESPN. “The opportunity I have is great. I’ve gotten really good feedback showing where I can be in the draft. I had an unbelievable year at Kentucky. It was such a fun year. It’s not easy leaving the fans and the school I dreamed of playing at. I need to do what’s best for me, and that’s heading to the NBA.”

April 18: BYU’s Aly Khalifa commits to Louisville over Kentucky

• The 6-11, 270-pound center out of Alexandria, Egypt announced three finalists on Sunday: Kentucky, Louisville and BYU
• Khalifa averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game on 38.6/31.5/62.1 shooting splits
• Originally entered portal on April 12 with a ‘do not contact’ tag, visited Louisville this week
• He will be redshirting in 2023-24 while rehabbing a knee injury

April 18: Kentucky reaches out to Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs

April 18: Former McDonald’s All-American Brandon Garrison plans visit to Lexington

April 17: Kentucky “will be involved” for Duke’s Jeremy Roach

• Roach has appeared in 130 games throughout his career at Duke, including 108 starts. He was a team captain as a junior and senior.
• He averaged 14 points, 3.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 32.7 minutes per outing this season on 46.8/42.9/84.4 splits
• Jeff Goodman reports Baylor is the favorite to land his commitment

April 17: Belmont’s Cade Tyson hears from Mark Pope

• One of the top shooters in the portal
• Averaged 16.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG on 49.3% FG, 46.5% 3PT this year
• Tyson previously heard from Kentucky’s staff under John Calipari

April 16: Utah State’s Great Osobor contacted by Kentucky

• On3’s Joe Tipton reports that Osobor has been in contact with the Wildcats
• Checks in at 6-foot-8, 250 pounds. Averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in 2023-24
• Was tabbed the Mountain West Player of the Year this past season

April 16: Oklahoma’s Otega Oweh hears from Pope

• Pope reached out to Oweh this week, according to KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck
• The 6-foot-4, 210-pound combo guard averaged 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, playing in 32 games for Oklahoma as a sophomore in 2023-24
• He started in 28 games and averaged 24.8 minutes per contest
• Oweh is set to visit Oregon on April 19 and Texas A&M on April 23

April 16: Kentucky contacts Dayton transfer Koby Brea

• Pope reaches out to Brea on Tuesday evening, the combo guard tells Jacob Polacheck of KSR+.
• 6-foot-5, 175-pound combo guard who averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 33 games as a junior in 2023-24.
• Started four games while averaging 29.1 minutes per outing. Shot 49.8 percent from deep on 201 attempts this past season.
• Also heard from the likes of Kansas, UConn, Duke, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisville, and many more.

April 16: Pope reaches out to Stanford’s Andrej Stojakovic

• The son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic has heard from Kentucky, he told KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck
• Stojakovic averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 40.9% from the field and 32.7% from three as a freshman at Stanford
• He is currently scheduled to visit Cal this weekend

April 16: Collin Chandler commits to Kentucky

• The 6-4 scorer is rated as the No. 34 overall prospect and No. 6 combo guard in the final 2022 On3 Player Rankings
• Chandler spent two years on mission ahead of his college basketball debut in 2024-25
• 2022 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, averaged 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals as a senior in high school
• Committed to BYU over Arizona, Gonzaga, Oregon, Stanford and Utah, among others

April 15: Ugonna Onyenso declares for the NBA Draft

• “I’m ready to go to the next level,” Onyenso told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “I’m not thinking about coming back to play college basketball. I’m 100% focused on the NBA.”
• Onyenso averaged 3.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 19 minutes per contest this past season
• The 7-foot center is the No. 47 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best available draft prospects
• He signed with an agent, but did not officially shut the door for a return to college, despite making it clear he has no interest in coming back to school

April 15: Zvonimir Ivisic transfers to Arkansas

• “I made the lifetime decision to come to college for a few reasons,” Ivisic announced. “Main one’s to win a national championship and go to the NBA. Monumental part of that decision was Coach Cal, and no one does both of those at the same time than him. That’s why I am excited to announce that I am committing to Coach Cal and the Arkansas Razorbacks!”
• Ivisic racked up 15 total appearances in Lexington, averaging 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 57.7% from the field and 37.5% from three.

April 15: Aaron Bradshaw commits to Ohio State

• Bradshaw took an official visit to Columbus over the weekend and announced his commitment to open the week on Monday.
• The former top-five recruit was the first portal entry for the Wildcats to commit elsewhere
• He originally entered the transfer portal on April 8 while also testing the draft waters
• The 7-foot-1 freshman averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting 57.6% from the field.

April 15: DJ Wagner enters transfer portal

• The 6-foot-3 former five-star recruit averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game for Kentucky this past season
• 247Sports’ Travis Branham says Wagner will consider a return to Kentucky and meet with Mark Pope while also considering entering the 2024 NBA Draft

April 15: Northern Illinois transfer David Coit hears from the Wildcats

• Kentucky joins TCU, Louisville, Utah, Washington State and Oregon State as schools to reach out, according to The Portal Report
• Averaged 20.8 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game
• 40.7% FG, 33.7% 3PT, 88.5% FT

April 14: Kentucky schedules visit with Drexel transfer Amari Williams

• Williams is a three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-CAA member in 2023-24
• He averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game as a senior, shooting 51.7% from the field and 65.5% at the line
• He is considered the 18th-best available player in the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings and will have one year of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer

April 14: Kentucky reaches out to Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small

• Kansas, Miami, Indiana, Texas and Louisville are other schools with mutual interest, sources tell KSR
• Averaged 15.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.1 APG, shooting 44% overall last season
• Set to take official visit to Miami this week

April 12: BYU’s Jaxson Robinson becomes name to know for Kentucky

• The 6-7 guard averaged a team-high 14.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per outing.
• He shot 42.6 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from deep (6.9 attempts per game), and 90.8 percent from the free throw line.
• KSR has learned Robinson is a potential portal addition with Kentucky seen as the likely destination should he enter, following Pope to Lexington

April 9: Rob Dillingham enters the NBA Draft, forgoes remaining eligibility

• Dillingham’s time in Lexington comes to a close with a season average of 15.2 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 44.4% from three.
• He is currently the No. 4 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best-available players in the 2024 draft

April 8: Joey Hart enters the transfer portal

• The 6-5 sharpshooter out of Linton, IN plans to transfer as a redshirt freshman after playing just ten minutes in his debut season as a Wildcat.
• He scored three points in Lexington — a made 3-pointer in Kentucky’s win over Marshall back on November 24.

April 4: Justin Edwards enters the NBA Draft

• The former five-star wing becomes the first player to forgo his time at Kentucky and enter the NBA Draft
• He is currently rated as the No. 30 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best available players in the draft pool, good for third on the team behind Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard

March 28: Adou Thiero enters transfer portal, will test NBA Draft Waters