Andrew Carr celebrates a play during Kentucky’s win over Illinois in the NCAA Tournament – Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

This afternoon in Virginia, former Kentucky forward Andrew Carr will play his third game in three days at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

Suiting up for Portsmouth Sports Club, Carr will lead his squad against Portsmouth Partnership at 5:00 p.m. ET. After an unproductive debut in this event on Thursday, which saw the 6-foot-10 stretch forward finish with just two points (1-7 FG) and five rebounds, he elevated his performance in game two. Carr went for 19 points (8-14 FG; 3-6 3PT), five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in 23 minutes in a tight 82-80 loss to Jani King on Friday night.

In Saturday’s matchup against Portsmouth Partnership, Carr will go up against a familiar face in Tennessee’s Jahmai Mayshack. Also on the other side of the floor are a couple of talented bigs in Oumar Ballo (Indiana) and Great Osobor (Washington). In a fun twist, Carr is teammates with former Louisville guard Chuck Hepburn.

Carr is one of 64 Division I seniors participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.), which was established in 1953 and tips off the NBA Draft process. Representatives from every NBA team will be in attendance at the four-day, 12-game event in hopes of finding the next under-the-radar star. Another big-time outing on Saturday could get Carr on more Big Boards.

Hamilton has heard from a slew of Division I programs.

The Kentucky Wildcats already have a slew of transfer portal players committed for Mark Pope’s second season in Lexington, and they aren’t stopping there.

The Cats still have to round out their roster, and they’ll need to add more production in their backcourt. Kentucky has quite the incoming recruiting class as well with guard Jasper Johnson, Pope’s first 5-star talent with the Wildcats, and high 4-star forward Malachi Moreno.

Kentucky has already received commitments from Mo Dioubate, Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance, and Croatian forward Andrija Jelavic.

A new name to monitor is High Point transfer Kimani Hamilton, who has been contacted by the Cats, among several other top programs.

Hamilton is a 6-foot-7 forward who grew up in Clinton, Mississippi. He was elected to the All-Big South team two seasons in a row after transferring to High Point from Mississippi State, where he saw limited time as a freshman.

This past season, Hamilton started all 35 games and shot a career-best 52% from the field. He has the range to step out from behind the arc, but that isn’t his strength, knocking down just 32.2% of his attempts from deep. He averaged 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a junior.

It’s no surprise the Kentucky native will be back in Lexington for a second season.

Kentucky Wildcats forward Trent Noah (9) reacts after making a three point basket during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Kentucky Wildcats forward Trent Noah (9) reacts after making a three point basket during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Kentucky is getting one of their own back next season to suit up in the blue and white again. On Friday, Trent Noah announced he would be returning to Kentucky for another season in Lexington and it comes to no surprise to Kentucky fans, with the caption ‘Still chasing 9’ on the social media post. Noah showed flashes on the court last season, but that and his charisma for representing Kentucky really adds to why he is such a fan favorite.

The 6-5 guard and Harlan County, KY native showed up when the team needed him the most last season. When Kentucky was faced with injuries to Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa, Mark Pope knew the bench would step up, and Noah was one who stepped up the most in an expanded role when he was called to do so. In his freshman season, Noah averaged 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, shooting 45.1 percent overall and 33.3 percent from three-point range. He played double-digit minutes in 14 of his 24 games played last season.

Noah’s best game came against Tennessee in Rupp Arena, where he had 11 points on 3-4 shooting, all from beyond the arc, adding 2 rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes played. He stepped up in his expanded role when the team needed it, and he is bringing that attitude back to Lexington for his sophomore campaign.

His love for Kentucky showed last season on and off of the court, and it rubbed off on his teammates, a squad full of representing the name across their chest in Mark Pope’s first season as head coach at Kentucky. Noah is bringing back exactly that for another season.

Mark Pope has a war chest to work with, and the Kentucky Wildcats are one of the top names in college hoops. In the era of NIL, those things often go together as those that can pay the most will attract the top talent.

The Wildcats have been one of the blue blood programs for over a decade now, but since the exodus of John Calipari, one that really coupled with the start of the paying of college athletics, the landscape has slightly shifted. Kentucky has maintained a strong reputation and is a top option for many recruits.

Pope and company proved their system this past season, having main transfer portal players on their roster, and they should be able to top that next year. He will have his first incoming five-star prospect in Jasper Johnson.

That said, in a recent report of the $10 million club, Kentucky was named by CBS Sports as one of the “golden” tier programs. Duke, Arkansas, BYU and several others were listed as well. You can see the full rundown in the CBS Sports column here.

The exact numbers of each program were not provided, but many that have covered those teams, like in the instance of Duke having $8-10 million heading into the offseason, are somewhat known.

Fans like to see the Big Blue Nation good at basketball, and in this era, they can virtually pay for that. However, Pope will still be tasked with making sure this team can put a product on the court that can win games in the most competitive conference in college basketball.

Kentucky missed out on its biggest remaining target for the 2025-26 men’s basketball season this week.

That doesn’t mean Mark Pope and his coaching staff are finished in their search for an impact shooter.

With Lamar Wilkerson’s commitment to Indiana on Tuesday — less than 24 hours after wrapping up his visit to UK — the Cats’ projected 2025-26 roster still sits at 12 players. And while Kentucky is widely viewed as a top 15 team for next season — with some national outlets ranking Pope’s team inside the top 10 — there’s still room for improvement.

The biggest need remains outside shooting, and just because Wilkerson — a seemingly ideal fit to fill that void — popped for the Hoosiers doesn’t mean that Pope will abandon his search.

UK also hosted 6-foot-8 wing Braydon Hawthorne — a top 100 recruit in the 2025 class — for a visit Wednesday, but even if he ultimately commits to the Cats, the quest for roster additions won’t be over.

The program is working under the assumption that there will be 15 scholarships available for the 2025-26 season, an increase expected to result from the House vs. NCAA settlement that should be finalized soon. College basketball programs are currently permitted to have up to 13 scholarship players, and Pope had 12 on his first UK roster.

If all five players eligible to return from that 2024-25 group do indeed stick with the Wildcats — and that remains the expectation — then UK would still have up to three additional spots to fill.

As of now, the 2025-26 Kentucky player with the most made 3-pointers in college this past season is 6-8 wing Kam Williams, who made 63 long-range shots at a 41.2% clip as a freshman for Tulane. Former Pittsburgh player Jaland Lowe — the presumed starting point guard for the Cats next season — is next at 41 makes (with just a 26.6% hit rate). And then comes Otega Oweh, who made 27 3-pointers for UK this past season, fewer than one per game.

There will certainly be other shooters on next season’s team, even without more additions. Collin Chandler emerged as a reliable 3-point threat toward the end of Pope’s first season, and incoming freshman Jasper Johnson — a five-star recruit — is expected to get plenty of opportunities from beyond the arc, too.

And that might be enough.

But the pursuit of Wilkerson — coinciding with persistent buzz around the program — is evidence of Kentucky’s continued need for a shooter, with plenty of good options remaining.

As of Thursday morning, accomplished and promising perimeter threats such as Ian Jackson, Rodney Rice

and Cedric Coward — all players listed inside the top 40 of the transfer rankings from both 247Sports and The Athletic — remained uncommitted. Former North Dakota guard Treysen Eaglestaff — another high-level shooter — backed off of his commitment to transfer to South Carolina on Wednesday morning and reopened his recruitment.

That’s not to say that any of those particular players will end up at Kentucky next season. Some have already narrowed their list of options. (And St. John’s has emerged as a favorite for Jackson.) But it is an example of the talent that’s still out there, with other capable shooters sprinkled further down those rankings and additional players certain to jump into the portal in the coming days.

UK has also been linked to former St. John’s guard Jaiden Glover, a top 100 recruit in the 2024 class who played sparingly for Rick Pitino’s team this past season but holds major promise for the future. Glover entered the transfer portal Tuesday.

The deadline for college players to put their names in the transfer portal won’t hit until Tuesday night, and — as long as Kentucky still has that need for a shooter — it’s worth watching to see which players add their names to the list of possibilities.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is almost finished building his roster for the 2025-26 season. Ryan C. Hermens rhermens@herald-leader.com

New transfer portal rankings

Speaking of the transfer rankings, The Athletic updated its list this week, expanding it to 100 players.

All four of Kentucky’s portal additions are ranked inside the top 40.

The Athletic ranks former Pittsburgh point guard Jaland Lowe as the best player in the Wildcats’ incoming group, placing him at No. 16, making him the top-ranked portal commitment in the SEC.

Former Arizona State big man Jayden Quaintance is just behind him at No. 18 in those rankings. Kam Williams is No. 34, and former Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate is ranked 40th.

No other school has four players in the top 40 of The Athletic rankings.

Otega Oweh, the leading scorer from Kentucky’s 2024-25 team, declared for the NBA draft this week. That was not an unexpected move.

Even before the season ended, the expectation on UK’s end was that Oweh, who has one season of college eligibility remaining, would test the NBA draft waters. While players can get basic written feedback from NBA teams without formally declaring for the draft, taking the step that Oweh did this week will allow him to get more detailed, firsthand information from decision makers at the pro level.

The junior guard will now be permitted to work out for NBA teams and possibly earn an invitation to the league’s Combine in Chicago next month.

Oweh is still expected to return to Kentucky and help anchor the 2025-26 Wildcats. He is not projected to be among the 59 picks for this year’s NBA draft, and — even if he does work his way into draft range this spring — he could still stand to make more in NIL compensation next season at UK than he might as a second-round draft pick.

His announcement Tuesday that he would declare for the draft was simply the latest step in his offseason process, one that is still more likely than not to end with him back in Lexington for another season.

Florida lands a star point guard

The national champion Florida Gators will be losing Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin in the backcourt this offseason, but they landed a major commitment Wednesday night.

Former Princeton point guard Xaivian Lee, one of the top perimeter players in the transfer portal, announced that he will play the 2025-26 season at Florida, which is once again expected to be a force in the SEC, with Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and possibly Alex Condon all returning for another run with Todd Golden’s program.

Lee was one of the point guards linked to Kentucky before the Wildcats landed Jaland Lowe to fill that spot, and he’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 26 overall player in the portal this spring. Lee, a 6-4 guard with one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this past season, shooting 36.6% from 3-point range.

Daimion Collins finds a new college

Former McDonald’s All-American forward Daimion Collins, who spent two seasons at Kentucky before transferring to LSU, committed to South Florida on Wednesday night.

Collins played only six games in his first season with the Tigers due to injury, but he was able to get on the court for a career-high 30 appearances — with 22 starts — at LSU during the 2024-25 campaign. He averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 20.4 minutes per game.

The 6-9 forward scored 125 points in 52 games with Kentucky over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Neither 247Sports nor The Athletic has him ranked among the top 100 transfers during this cycle.

Auburn adds intriguing juco player

His name isn’t in the transfer portal rankings from the major college basketball outlets, but that doesn’t mean Emeka Opurum won’t have a big impact at the highest level of the sport next season.

Opurum — a 7-footer from Nigeria — committed to the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday as coach Bruce Pearl looks to fill a frontcourt void left by departing mainstays Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.

The 7-footer from Nigeria averaged 9.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game for Butler Community College in Kansas, and — while his jump up from the juco ranks makes him a bit of an unknown for next season — it’s clear there’s plenty of talent and upside with Pearl’s latest pickup.

Indiana and St. John’s were among the other schools that extended scholarship offers this spring.

Auburn has also added former Mississippi State big man KeShawn Murphy (11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this past season) for its 2025-26 frontcourt.

Kentucky basketball’s Otega Oweh declares for NBA draft but maintains college eligibility

Ryan Black Louisville Courier Journal

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Otega Oweh is leaving open the door for a return.

Expected to be the centerpiece of Kentucky basketball’s roster next season, Oweh announced Tuesday he’s entering the NBA draft — but he will maintain his college eligibility. His potential return would give coach Mark Pope a go-to option offensively with Oweh heading into his senior season.

“To the best fans in the nation, the Big Blue Nation — getting to play the game I love each day, knowing I have your support alongside my family and friends, has truly been a dream come true, and I am incredibly blessed.

I’m taking the next step and have declared for the 2025 NBA Draft, while maintaining my NCAA eligibility,” Oweh wrote, ending the statement by using his nickname, “Double O,” a reference to the initials of his first and last name as well as his jersey number (00).

Name the scoring category and Oweh likely led the way in 2024-25 for UK.

Times scoring in double figures: 33 (in 36 games);

Consecutive games with 10-plus points: 26 (each of Kentucky’s first 26 contests; longest streak by any SEC player in 2024-25 and best by a Wildcat since Malik Monk posted double figures in 30 consecutive outings in 2016-17);

Times leading the team in scoring: 16 (twice as many as his next-closest teammate, Koby Brea, with eight).

Oweh’s season and career high occurred against his former team, Oklahoma, on Feb. 26, when he poured in 28 points — including the final 18, highlighted by the go-ahead bucket with 6.1 seconds remaining to lift Kentucky to an 83-82 road victory.

(The only Wildcat to score more in a game last season was Lamont Butler, who had a perfect night in the Battle of the Bluegrass, going 10 for 10 from the field — 6 for 6 on 3s — to tally 33 points in a win at Rupp Arena.)

Aside from his scoring prowess, Oweh also was one of UK’s best defenders, averaging 1.6 steals per game, tying Butler for tops on the team.

Sarr would be a major pickup for any college, but the NBA is also a threat.

Jason Marcum has been covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Cincy Jungle since 2014 and the University of Kentucky for A Sea Of Blue since 2015.

With transfer portal options starting to dry up, the Kentucky Wildcats could look to the international ranks for a last-minute addition to the backcourt.

According to NBA Draft analyst and high school hoops reporter Krysten Peek, Kentucky has contacted shooting guard Dame Sarr (no relation to former Wildcats center Olivier Sarr). BYU and Illinois are also in the mix.

“There have been some schools that have entered with his name: Illinois, Kentucky, BYU,” said Peek on a recent episode of Locked on NBA Big Board, later adding she believes Sarr should go to college.

Set to turn just 19 years old in June, Sarr has been playing for FC Barcelona, which is an intriguing storyline in itself. Sarr recently played in the 2025 Nike Hoops Summit after Barcelona had denied his request to do so. It appears likely that he’ll be playing for a new team this fall, which could be a college program, though he’s going to test the NBA Draft process, so this recruitment could take a bit before a final decision is made.

This past season, the 6-foot-8 Sarr averaged 5.8 points on 52.1% shooting (42.9% from deep on 1.8 attempts per game) and 1.7 rebounds across 12.8 minutes per contest in 12 games for Barcelona in the Liga ACB, the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system.

Sarr also played 15 games for Barcelona in the EuroLeague, which is viewed as the top-tier men’s league in Europe. There, he averaged 1.8 points on 57.9% shooting (50% from deep on 0.5 attempts per game) and 0.7 rebounds across 5.2 minutes per game.

In the recent Nike Hoops Summit, Sarr racked up 17 points on 5/9 shooting (1/2 from deep) and four rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

Sarr hails from Italy and represented his country in the 2022 U16 European Championship, the 2023 U18 European Championship, and the 2024 U18 EuroBasket.

Kentucky recently came out of nowhere to land international prospect Andrija Jelavic. Could Sarr be another surprise addition to the 2025-26 roster?

One to watch for.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news and views. And as always, Go CATS!

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope and players Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr talk to the media after the Wildcats’ 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament on March 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. By NCAA| John Clay

In our In the Spotlight stories, Herald-Leader journalists bring you continuing coverage of news and events important to our Central Kentucky community. Read more. Story idea?

Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball have missed out on their top target from the NCAA transfer portal.

On Tuesday afternoon, former Sam Houston guard Lamar Wilkerson committed to Indiana.

Wilkerson, a 6-foot-5 guard from Arkansas, took recruiting visits to both Indiana and Kentucky become opting to commit to the Hoosiers over the Wildcats.

Last season at Sam Houston, Wilkerson averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 47.7% from the field and 44.5% from 3-point range. That was his third season with the Bearkats’ program.

A high-scoring senior who began his career at the community college level, Wilkerson is listed by the 247Sports basketball transfer portal rankings as the No. 42 player in the portal.

In each of the last two seasons, Wilkerson has been a first-team All-Conference USA selection at Sam Houston.

Wilkerson went 109-for-245 on 3-pointers last season, which gave him the 13th-most made 3-pointers in all of NCAA Division I men’s hoops. He’s also a career 82.6% shooter from the foul line.

Wilkerson was one of the most consistent scorers in all of college basketball during the 2024-25 season. Only five players scored at least 10 points in all of their teams’ games last season. That list includes ex-Cat Devin Askew (Long Beach State), Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Sam Hines Jr. (Southeastern Louisiana), Kam Jones (Marquette) and Wilkerson.

Wilkerson is the fourth transfer portal addition of the offseason for Indiana. So far, new IU head coach Darian DeVries will be bringing former Davidson forward Reed Bailey, former Drake and West Virginia guard Tucker DeVries and former Drake and DePaul guard Conor Enright to Bloomington.

Bailey was an early transfer portal target for UK.

Wilkerson and the Hoosiers are set to face Kentucky on Dec. 20 at Rupp Arena, in a renewal of the men’s basketball rivalry series between the schools. This will be the first in a four-game, four-year series between Indiana and Kentucky.

UK leads the all-time series between the schools, 32-25. The schools last faced each other in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when Indiana beat Kentucky 73-67 in the second round.

Lamar Wilkerson averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 44.5% from 3-point range at Sam Houston during the 2024-25 season.

Lamar Wilkerson averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 44.5% from 3-point range at Sam Houston during the 2024-25 season. Trevor Ruszkowski USA TODAY NETWORK

What does the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball roster look like?

What’s next for Pope and the Wildcats?

The good news is that the bulk of Kentucky basketball’s roster for next season is already in place.

Currently, UK projects to have 12 scholarship players in place for the 2025-26 season.

This group includes five expected returnees from last season’s UK squad. Those players are freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.

Kentucky has already announced the additions of four players from the transfer portal this spring. Those future Cats are sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), sophomore guard Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), freshman big man Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State) and freshman wing Kam Williams (Tulane).

Despite a recent decommitment from high school recruit Acaden Lewis, Kentucky will still be bringing in at least three first-year college basketball players next season. Two of these players — guard Jasper Johnson and in-state center Malachi Moreno — will arrive via the traditional high school recruiting pathway.

Johnson is a left-handed guard and the No. 18 national recruit in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American this year.

UK also recently got a commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a soon-to-be 21-year-old big man from Croatia. The 6-foot-11 Jelavic has played the last two seasons for Mega MIS, also known as Kosarkaski klub Mega Basket and Mega Superbet, a professional team based in Serbia.

Kentucky is still involved in the recruitment of high school senior Nate Ament, a five-star power forward from Virginia. Ament is down to five schools in his college recruitment: Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Tennessee.

Moving forward, the expectation is still that Pope and the Wildcats will be looking to add one more guard for next season’s UK roster.

Kentucky’s veteran sharpshooter Koby Brea takes next step after standout grad season.

Koby Brea, a graduate transfer who made a significant impact during his lone season at Kentucky, has officially declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. ESPN’s updated mock draft, released Tuesday, projects the skilled guard to be selected 54th overall by the Indiana Pacers.

Brea’s path to the NBA isn’t built on hype or headlines, but on growth, grit, and elite shooting. After four seasons at Dayton, he took on a new challenge with the Wildcats, one he embraced fully while becoming one of college basketball’s most efficient perimeter threats.

Koby Brea (4)

Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shows fake tears after the game against the Missouri Tigers at Mizzou Arena.

Shooting Efficiency and Offensive Impact

During the 2024–25 season, Brea averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game over 36 contests, including 16 starts. He quickly established himself as one of Kentucky’s most reliable scorers, shooting 47% from the floor, 43.5% from three-point range, and 91.4% from the line.

Brea’s consistency from deep was a major asset. He hit at least one three-pointer in 35 of 36 games, made multiple in 27, and knocked down three or more in 16 outings. His 93 total three-pointers tied for the seventh-most in a single season at Kentucky, trailing only a handful of the program’s legendary scorers.

His shooting prowess was instrumental in helping the Wildcats set a school record with 341 made threes, while the team also ranked seventh nationally in scoring at 84.4 points per game. Kentucky featured six players averaging double figures for the first time in program history, and Brea’s spacing helped open the floor for others to thrive.

Koby Brea (4)

Mar 13, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) dunks the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Bridgestone Arena.

Brea saved some of his best work for the spotlight. In Kentucky’s SEC opener, he erupted for 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from deep in a 106–100 win over No. 6 Florida, the eventual national champions. He later matched that total in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, scoring 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in a win over Illinois.

Though the Wildcats’ season ended in the Sweet 16, Brea’s value as a mature, high-IQ scorer was clear throughout the year.

A New Chapter Begins

Reflecting on his college career, Brea expressed gratitude and excitement for what’s ahead. “Every step of my journey has shaped me into the person I am today,” he said. “While this moment is bittersweet, I’m excited for the next chapter of my life.”

Brea now joins a long line of Kentucky players leaping to the NBA. With his shooting and experience, he brings a skill set built for the modern game, one that could earn him a role in the league for years to come.