Kentucky
Kentucky football hires Derek Shay as tight ends coach: What to know about new assistant
Kentucky football: Mark Stoops addresses the team’s need for consistency
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops addresses the Wildcats’ need for consistency and is excited to see continuity with his players.
LEXINGTON — Mark Stoops didn’t take long to find his new tight ends coach. Nor did he have to look far.
Stoops, entering his 13th season as Kentucky football’s coach, named Derek Shay to the position Friday. The announcement came one day after Vince Marrow, who had served in the role for the first 12 years of Stoops’ tenure, switched sides in the Bluegrass rivalry, becoming Louisville’s executive director of player personnel and recruiting.
Stoops didn’t need to leave the Joe Craft Football Training Facility to find Marrow’s replacement: Shay already was part of the Wildcats’ staff.
Here’s what to know about Shay, UK’s newest assistant coach:
Shay has been part of UK’s support staff since March 2024. He worked as a senior offensive analyst/run game specialist the last 16 months.
Prior to joining Kentucky, Shay was Marshall’s tight ends coach (2023-24).
He also has worked for Missouri (senior offensive analyst; 2022-23), LSU (graduate assistant/tight ends; 2020-22), McNeese State (tight ends/offensive tackles; 2019-20), IMG Academy (co-offensive coordinator/offensive line; 2017-19), Warren Central High School in Indianapolis (co-offensive coordinator/offensive line; 2015-17), Bowling Green (graduate assistant/tight ends; 2014-15) and Eastern Illinois (student assistant/tight ends/offensive line; 2011-13).
An Illinois native, Shay started his college career at Western Illinois, where he played on the offensive line. He later transferred to Eastern Illinois. Shay received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois in 2013 and earned his master’s degree from LSU in 2021.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity that coach Stoops and (offensive coordinator) coach (Bush) Hamdan have given me,” Shay said in a statement. “There is a good mix of experience and young talent in the tight end room and I’m looking forward to coaching them. Additionally, being a part of the Big Blue Nation is truly an honor and I’m ready to get to work and represent this incredible fanbase in this new role.”
“We are fortunate to have someone already on our staff who has coached tight ends at a high level and led those rooms successfully,” Stoops said. “He is familiar with coach 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.”
“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.”
— Josh Kattus, Kentucky senior tight end
“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. 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.”
— Ed Orgeron, former LSU head football coach
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the approval of nearly $23 million in funding to support natural disaster recovery throughout the Southeast.
Kentucky is among several states receiving funds for state-managed recovery programs after Hurricane Helene and other past disasters hit the Southeast, a news release from FEMA said.
According to FEMA, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee will administer more than $2.1 million for disaster unemployment assistance to help those who may not be able to work as a direct result of a disaster.
Kentucky, alongside Georgia and Tennessee, was also awarded $2.4 million to fund crisis counseling and mental health support.
The funds will help pay for counselors and other services to help people with disaster-related stress and trauma, according to FEMA.
More information about state-managed recovery programs funded by FEMA can be found on the agency’s website.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
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During his recent radio show, Pope offered a sobering reality check regarding the timeline for the rest of his staff overhaul.
“We’re going through a little bit of a hiring process that will be ongoing—probably for the next six weeks,” Pope explained. “We could have some closure on some things quickly, but I can’t really talk in detail about anything until it gets through the whole HR process.”
In a vacuum, a six-week HR timeline is standard corporate procedure. But in the modern landscape of college basketball, that timeline is a massive hurdle because of the newly accelerated Transfer Portal window instituted by the NCAA.
The 15-Day Transfer Portal window
Players cannot officially enter their names into the Transfer Portal until April 7th. However, anyone paying attention knows that backdoor deals are already being orchestrated, and agents are prematurely announcing their clients’ intentions to leave. It is an unregulated mess, but it is the reality of the sport.
That April 7th opening is the first major date to circle on your calendar.
Once the portal opens, it remains active for exactly 15 days. When that window slams shut, no new names can enter. There are no graduate exemptions or special loopholes for late decisions. If a player plans on transferring, they must formally notify their current school before that 15-day window expires on April 21st at 11:59 PM. If they miss the deadline, they are stuck.
Mark Pope has to have his staff aligned, his evaluations complete, and his recruiting pitches perfected before that window opens. It is indeed a very short clock as the coaching staff looks to change drastically.
Once the dust from the transfer portal finally settles, the new-look Wildcats will quickly hit the floor.
Official mid-June practices will tip off the summer schedule, but Pope recently hinted that an international offseason trip is currently in the works. Per NCAA rules, college basketball programs are only allowed to take these foreign exhibition tours once every four years.
If the trip gets finalized, BBN will get a highly anticipated, early look at this brand-new roster competing against actual opponents long before Big Blue Madness in the fall.
Needless to say, it is going to be an incredibly busy, high-stakes few months in Lexington.
Any guesses on where Pope and company plan on going? And do you like the new Transfer Portal window?
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