Kentucky
Kentucky could use another shooter for the 2025-26 roster — here are 3 options
Mark Pope appears to be inching closer and closer to putting the finishing touches on his second roster as Kentucky men’s basketball’s head coach.
Pope already has the Wildcats up to 12 scholarship players for the 2025-26 season. Considering he was still three days away from even taking the job this time last year, the offseason couldn’t be off to a better start. Pope has added pure talent with Jayden Quaintance and a handful of four-star freshmen, more physicality and athleticism with Kam Williams and Mouhamed Dioubate, and an established point guard with Jaland Lowe.
Assuming all five of Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison, Travis Perry, and Trent Noah return for next season (which is not a given), there won’t be many glaring holes in the roster going into Pope’s second season. But if we had to nitpick, one area of need is another top-end outside shooter, or at the very least, someone who can stretch the floor.
Kentucky has reached out to a trio of guards who fit this mold: Wesley Yates (Southern California), Lamar Wilkerson (Sam Houston State), and Jaron Pierre Jr. (Jacksonville State). Keep in mind these likely aren’t the only three shooters the UK staff has eyes on, but they are all clearly on the Big Board and have been publicly confirmed as targets. There’s plenty to like about all three.
Wesley Yates (Southern California)
Yates’ relationship with cousin Quincy Pondexter might override any pitch Kentucky can make. Pondexter was an assistant coach at Washington during Yates’ redshirt freshman season before the two linked up at Southern California this past season. Pondexter won’t be back at USC in 2025-26 and signs are pointing toward a return to Washington’s staff, where it would not be a shock to see him bring Yates with him once again.
However, if that ends up not being the case and Kentucky manages to land Yates, he would instantly fill up the missing shooting role. As a redshirt freshman in 2024-25, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Yates averaged 14.1 points on 43.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc (3.7 attempts per outing). As a full-time starter for the Trojans over his final 24 games, he shot 48-101 (47.5 percent) from deep. Yates graded out as a top 40 three-point shooter in all of Division I hoops. Firing off long-range shots is his bread and butter.
If Yates is willing to come on board, he’d be an easy take for Pope and the Kentucky staff.
Lamar Wilkerson (Sam Houston State)
After starting his career at JUCO and spending the next three seasons at Sam Houston State, Lamar Wilkerson is looking to put his name in the national conversation. He’s earned it, too. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, Wilkerson averaged 20.5 points per outing on 44.5 percent shooting from deep (7.7 attempts per game) in 2024-25.
While considered more than just a shooter, his three-point capabilities appeal to a school like Kentucky. He could immediately fill the hole left by Koby Brea. You won’t find many better sharpshooting options in the portal this offseason than Wilkerson.
Jaron Pierre Jr. (Jacksonville State)
Jaron Pierre Jr. was a breakout star at Jacksonville State this past season, winning Conference USA Player of the Year in his debut season with the league. His next school will be his fifth in six seasons. Pierre was mostly inefficient his first three years in college, but a year-long break in 2023-24 led him to shine at Jacksonville State. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard led the CUSA in scoring last season at 21.6 points per outing on shooting splits of 42.4/38.2/81.
Across his first three seasons in a relatively high-usage role, Pierre shot just 37.2 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from deep. But something clicked in 2024-25. His 777 points were more than anyone else scored in the country. He shot 104-272 from deep on the season. Playing over 1,300 minutes as a full-time starter, the sample size is more than big enough to indicate this development is real.
The thing about Pierre though, more so than the two mentioned above, is he’s someone used to having the ball in his hands at all times. He ranked among KenPom’s top 50 players last season in percentage of possessions used and percentage of shots taken. Pierre is more than just an outside shooter: he’s an all-around pure scorer. While clearly talented, Kentucky might not be able to offer the touches and shots he desires, especially with how deep the roster already is. But there’s no denying his ability to get buckets from anywhere on the floor.
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Kentucky
Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say
MUHLENBERG, Ky. (WFIE) – Kentucky officials says there are multiple people injured in a three-car accident on Western Kentucky Parkway.
According to a post made by the Central City Fire Department, three vehicles were involved in a crash between the 64 and 65 mile markers eastbound of the parkway.
They say both the eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at this time. The closure should last around 3 hours.
Two people were extricated from a vehicle. Four adults and three juveniles are being taken to the hospital. No update has been given on their conditions.
They say a mass casualty incident was declared, and Ohio County Fire and EMS were called to the scene due to the number of patients.
We will update you when we learn more.
Copyright 2025 WFIE. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
2027 top in-state prospect talks about his Kentucky unofficial visit on Tuesday
Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in the 2026 class have hit a current rough patch, but things are looking promising in the 2027 class, as the staff has already casted a very wide net in the class, with a number of top targets in the fold. As they’re continuing to pursue mostly national targets, a local star is now on the staff’s radar.
2027 in-state guard Braxton Keathley, one of the state’s top prospects even regardless of class, took an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Tuesday for the game against NC Central. Keathley is native of Martin County, KY, and has took the state by storm as he has really stuffed the stat sheet. Just recently, he dropped a triple-double of 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds last weekend.
The Kentucky staff has certainly seemed to take notice really quickly. He’s also getting plenty of other interest, too, including having frequent contact with Louisville, LSU, Purdue, South Carolina, and Florida State, plus offers from Eastern Kentucky, UT Martin, Ohio, and Bowling Green, among others. Keathley sat down with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to talk about his recent visit to Kentucky. What were his impressions of the staff? He shared a conversation he had with them before Tuesday’s game. He also had some interactions with others, too.
“They really talked about how well I scored it and how they’ve been hearing about me for a long time,” Keathley said of his conversation with the Kentucky staff. “One of the (Kentucky) assistants mentioned he had a coaching friend tell them that they better jump on me quick cause I was really good. I had several fans come up to me and take pictures. Jack Givens welcomed me and talked to me for a little bit and said he’s highly impressed with my game and plans on coming to a game soon. A couple of other UK players came up, they were really nice and said they been keeping up with me.”
As a Kentucky kid, Keathley says he been a fan of the Wildcats since he was little, even getting to train with Tyrese Maxey this summer, and he also had some great things to say about what he saw from fellow Kentucky natives and current Wildcats Trent Noah, Jasper Johnson, and Malachi Moreno. “I looked up to players like Tyler Herro, SGA, Tyrese Maxey, Devin Booker, Malik Monk and Reed Sheppard. I got lucky that I got to train with Maxey for a week in August,” Keathley said. “I saw Trent Noah last night having great energy and keeping a smile on his face during warmups. You could tell he loved every minute wearing that Kentucky uniform. He cares and it shows. I saw Jasper and Moreno warming up hard. The one thing about it, and my dad always told me, it’s a different place. You got to be special to play there and be willing to accept everything that comes with wearing that jersey.”
Interestingly enough, Keathley’s dad coached former Kentucky greats Anthony Epps and Wayne Turner after their time at Kentucky, so Keathley has a family history of being around all that comes with the passion of Kentucky basketball. What did Keathley’s dad learn about the two former Wildcats he got the privilege to coach? “He said they carried a chip on their shoulder and were great leaders always humble but tough. and I have to do the same.” Now, for Keathley, it’s about climbing the ranks nationally. “A couple (recruiting services) don’t have me ranked yet and that’s ok. I’m going to walk in the gym every night and know I outworked you and I’m going to outplay you,” he said. “I’m going to compete like every game is a championship. I’m going to to play with the same passion that the fans have. I’m always all in there’s no going back or in-between.”
Keathley has so much passion for his community in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, and he has plans of doing big things at Martin County. He also shared a message Trent Noah’s dad had for him during their interaction at Tuesday’s Kentucky game. “Something he said that really stuck out. ‘Us mountain people have got to stick together.’ He’s right, Eastern Kentucky has great people and basketball players. Kentucky basketball as whole, we got to stick together through the highs and lows. That’s what we do.”
That’s a great message from a parent of a current Wildcat who was in his shoes before, being a fellow native of that part of the state. The Kentucky staff is certainly going to keep an eye on him as he continues the impressive run he is on so far this season, because he just continues to catch more and more people’s attention with his play.
Kentucky
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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