Kentucky
Kentucky Transfer Portal Class Defined by All-Conference Talents
Mark Stoops prioritized production over potential in the transfer portal. Kentucky had to undergo one of the largest roster overhauls in power conference football this offseason. To mitigate the risk, the Wildcats pushed all their chips in on players who have already proved they can perform, albeit at a lower level.
Of the 18 incoming transfers, only seven most recently played for a power conference program. The rest cut their teeth in the MAC, Conference-USA, or the FCS ranks, and most of them were all-conference performers.
Productive Offensive Lineman to Kentucky
It doesn’t matter if you’re 6 or 66, you knew that the top priority for Kentucky this offseason was fixing the offensive line. Offensive line coach Eric Wolford has secured four signees so far who were all-conference players at their previous stops.
Evan Wibberley received Conference-USA Honorable Mention honors after his first season as Western Kentucky’s full-time starter at center. Right tackle Alex Wollschlaeger has 40 career starts. He was a Third-Team All-MAC selection in 2023, then a first team selection last fall. Offensive guard Josh Braun started his career at Florida and was a Second-Team All-SEC selection for Arkansas in 2023.
There could be another joining them soon. Shiyazh Pete was a First-Team All-C-USA left tackle for New Mexico State in 2023. An injury sidelined him at the start of the 2024 season that prevented him from repeating. Now he’s looking for a new home and Kentucky desperately needs a left tackle. For a moment, it looked like it was going to be either Michigan or Nebraska, but Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong report that Kentucky has made a major move to bring Pete to Lexington.
The pieces need to fit together for the Big Blue Wall to be successful, but it’s clear Kentucky will have some good pieces from the transfer portal.
Two Conference Players of the Year
The biggest signings on each side of the line of scrimmage were among the best players in the FCS in 2024.
Mi’Quise Grace was a Second-Team All-American who was named Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year. The explosive defensive lineman had 18.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks en route to a national semifinal appearance in the FCS playoffs.
Quarterback Zach Calzada was eliminated in an earlier round of the playoffs, but not until after he put up some silly numbers. The Southland Conference Player of the Year completed 65% of his passes for 3,791 yards (No. 5 in FCS), 35 touchdowns (No. 2 in FCS), and 9 interceptions. He also had 540 non-sack rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Next fall he’ll be throwing passes to Tru Edwards, who was a First-Team All-C-USA wide receiver at Louisiana Tech last fall. The 6-foot-3 pass-catcher led the league in receptions (84) and finished second in receiving yards (986).
You may be skeptical of this strategy. Not every Group of Five or FCS All-Conference player is built to perform in the SEC. Even so, it’s clear that Kentucky successfully signed some of the most talented players from the lower ranks.
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GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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