Last season, Brandon Garrison was the backup center behind Amari Williams, and at times, Garrison flashed a ton of upside for the Wildcats.

In his sophomore season playing for the Kentucky Wildcats, Garrison averaged 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 50.9% from the field and 30% from three.

The former McDonald’s All-American is a player who Kentucky fans were very excited to see play another year in Lexington, but now there seems to be some concern with whether or not the 6’10 forward will return.

Garrison removed everything Kentucky-related from his social media bio, which has fans concerned. Sometimes, fans put too much into things like this with social media, but it is definitely something to monitor.

Mark Pope has brought in bigs Jayden Quaintance and Mouhamed Dioubate via the transfer portal, and five-star center Malachi Moreno will also be heading to campus for the 2025-26 season.

In his first season at Kentucky, Garrison showed a ton of upside while playing behind Williams as a big in the post and a three-point shooter. Garrison has the type of skillset that could make him an NBA player with a good season.

There has not been anything said from Garrison when it comes to his plans for next season, but this is something Kentucky fans need to monitor closely. It would be a big loss for Coach Pope and the Wildcats if Garrison hit the portal, and if this were to happen, they would have to get another big in the transfer portal.

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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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Taking on rival Kentucky for the first leg of the annual Battle of the Bluegrass midweek series, the Louisville baseball program had to go to extras to defend their home turf, but were still able to grind out a 4-3 walk-off win on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Trailing 3-2 heading to the bottom of the 10th, Jake Munroe (2-4, RBI, 3B) tied the game on an RBI single, then Eddie King Jr. (2-5, 2 RBI) followed that up with one of his own. It marked Louisville’s fifth walk-off of the 2025 season.

The No. 11 Cardinals (25-7, 8-4 ACC) extend their winning streak to six in a row, and earn their first home win over the Wildcats (18-12, 5-7 SEC) since Apr. 19, 2022. These two teams will meet again on Apr. 22 at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, where UofL will try for their first two-game sweep of UK since 2019.

Unlike most midweek games, pitching and defense was the star of the show in this matchup. Despite allowing nine base hits and five walks, Louisville’s pitching staff still allowed only two earned runs in regulation, and struck out 12 overall.

The Cardinals also had their fair share of web gems in the field. Garret Pike (1-5) had not one, but two outfield assists from right field to third base, while Lucas Moore (1-4) robbed a home run in center field.

It made up for that fact that Louisville had a mostly pedestrian effort at the plate, as they had just two base hits in the final four innings of regulation. That being said, Alex Alicea (3-5, 2B) had a three-hit day, while King, Munroe and Zion Rose (2-5, RBI, 2B) also had multi-hit evenings.

Kentucky was the first to strike on the evening, collecting an RBI single in the second inning off of starter T.J. Schlageter (2.0 IP, 2 K, 2 BB, 3 H, 1 ER). In the bottom of the frame, Louisville tied the game up thanks to an RBI single of their own from King.

Jake Schweitzer (2.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 H) put up a scoreless outing after Schlageter’s day was done, and Colton Hartman (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 H, 1 ER) put up a zero in the fifth. This allowed the Cardinals to break the tie in the bottom of the frame, with Rose striking an RBI single.

This lead was a brief one, as Kentucky was able to tie the game back up in the very next inning. After Hartman walked the first batter of the sixth, Brennyn Cutts (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H) took over, and a single by the ‘Cats under his watch brought the runner home.

From there, the Cards were able to rebound from the mound. Ty Starke (0.2 IP, 1 K, 1 H) tossed the first two outs of the seventh, while Tucker Biven (1.1 IP, 2 K) secured the third to strand a runner on third, then went on to pitch a perfect eighth. Wyatt Danilowicz (1.2 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 H) then struck out the side in the ninth to take the game to extras.

Louisville had a chance to win in regulation, but had a pair of base running blunders in the ninth. Tagger Tyson (0-3) was picked off at second base with no outs, while Alicea was caught trying to steal third with two outs.

Kentucky took advantage of their second chance in the 10th. After the leadoff man got on base thanks to a throwing error, a sacrifice bunt and single brought him home for the go-ahead run. UK nearly plated more, but Jack Brown (0.1 IP) was able to get Danilowicz out of a two-runner jam to set up the walk-off.

Next up for Louisville, they’ll hit the road for a three-game series at NC State. First pitch of game one is slated for Friday, Apr. 11 at 6:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.

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(Photo of Eddie King Jr. via University of Louisville Athletics)

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