In Mark Pope’s first two seasons as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, he has largely built his rosters through the transfer portal rather than recruiting. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t looking to add top high school players going forward.

The Wildcats coaching staff has been in contact with multiple highly rated recruits in the 2026 class. One of the more recent names to pop up is Jalen Montonati, who has spoken with assistant coach Alvin Brooks III.

Montonati is a 6’7″, 175 lb small forward out of Oklahoma. He is currently rated four stars, and is the number 24 overall player in the 2026 class according to 247Sports. Some outlets have him as a top 20 player.

A number of programs have already made offers to Montonati, including Kansas, Houston, Arkansas, and the Tennessee Volunteers. Kentucky hasn’t officially made an offer yet, but that could be coming.

Visit UKWildcatsWire for continuing coverage of recruiting, and follow @UKWildcatsWire on X for more Kentucky sports news.

A former Kentucky superintendent was sentenced May 7 at the federal courthouse in Owensboro on charges related to sexual exploitation of children.

U.S. District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Matthew D. Constant, the former Owensboro Public Schools superintendent, to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime supervised release for:

• Two counts of online enticement of a minor
• Three counts of receipt of child pornography
• Two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
• Two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor

Court records state Constant “knowingly received child pornography” on or about Dec. 3, 2019. The nine charges span events from that day until April 26, 2023.

Constant, who served as superintendent in Owensboro from 2020 to May 2023, was arrested by Kentucky State Police in July 2023 after KSP received a tip about an inappropriate relationship between the school administrator and a student.

Owenboro’s Board of Education voted unanimously in June 2023 to suspend Constant without pay, then began to terminate his contract “for conduct unbecoming of a superintendent,” according to the Owensboro Times.

While criminal charges had not yet been filed in June 2023, the school board told the Owensboro Times it had been informed by police that Constant “did engage in a relationship with an adult-aged student enrolled in another school district.”

A grand jury indicted Constant in August 2024 on charges related to three separate minors. The case was quickly sealed under state law.

Court records show it was unsealed within a week, while Constant was being held in the Henderson County Detention Center. On Aug. 22, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to a court order.

Due a protective order brought forward by U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, many of the details of the case remain under seal.

Constant withdrew his guilty plea on Feb. 11, instead pleading guilty to all counts. He did not enter a plea agreement, according to court records.

A sentencing memorandum filed May 5 and written by his attorney, Bryce L. Caldwell, states: “Mr. Constant makes no excuses for his actions and fully accepts the consequences of his catastrophic, illegal choices.”

Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter, with a focus on the health and safety of athletes. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.

At the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season, Kentucky basketball had a national high of 29 former players on opening-day rosters.

With the 2025 NBA Draft approaching, the Wildcats hope to extend their streak of 15 years (2010-24) with a player selected in the first round.

The last Louisville basketball player to be selected in the NBA draft was David Johnson, who was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in the second round (47th pick overall) of the 2021 NBA Draft.

Former Wildcats Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham were selected in the first round last year. Former UK star Antonio Reeves was a second-round pick in 2024.

As of April 29, 106 early-entry candidates were in the 2025 NBA Draft. Kentucky junior Otega Oweh is the only player from the commonwealth on that list. He has until 5 p.m. June 15 to withdraw his name from the draft.

The NBA draft is scheduled June 25-26.

Three players with ties to the commonwealth are listed in mock drafts by NBA draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.

• Bleacher Report: Oklahoma City Thunder, 44th overall (Wasserman)
• The Athletic: Indiana Pacers, 54th overall (Vecenie)
• 2024-2025 stats: 11.6 points per game, shooting 43% from beyond the arc, averaging 2.1 3-pointers per game.

• Bleacher Report: Houston Rockets, 59th overall (Wasserman)
• The Athletic: N/A
• 2024-2025 stats: Oweh earned second-team All-SEC honors, averaging a career-high 16.2 points per game.

• Bleacher Report: N/A
• The Athletic: Houston Rockets, 59th overall (Vecenie)
• 2024-2025 stats: Amari Williams led the Wildcats in rebounds (8.5 per game) and averaged 10.9 points.

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.