Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope talks 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
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Mark Pope has roster spots to fill, and transfer portal season for the Kentucky Wildcats has now been fully engaged.
The biggest name to watch Wednesday will be Mackenzie Mgbako, a former five-star recruit who played his first two years of college ball at Indiana and is looking for a new home going into the 2025-26 season. Will he find it in Lexington?
The UK coaching staff is set to host Mgbako — a 6-foot-9, 222-pound forward from Gladstone, New Jersey — for a recruiting visit Wednesday after multiple conversations with the former McDonald’s All-American since the transfer portal opened last week.
Mgbako, who turns 21 years old in November, was once viewed as a potential one-and-done NBA draft pick after being ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite list. He played on the same Nike league team as former UK players Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner before heading to Indiana.
His career with the Hoosiers was largely underwhelming, relative to expectations, though he started 64 games and averaged 12.2 points in each of his two seasons in Bloomington. As a sophomore, Mgbako also averaged 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 32.9% from 3-point range (with 47 makes in 32 games).
Mgbako was not known for his defensive ability at Indiana, but he possesses the length and athleticism to improve in that area, and it’s possible a change of scenery after two seasons under Mike Woodson — no longer the coach of the Hoosiers — could bring more out of his game. Mgbako also seemingly has the ability to improve as a 3-point shooter, especially in an offensive system such as Pope’s.
On Tuesday, the UK coaching staff scheduled former Florida State forward Taylor Bol Bowen as the first on-campus visitor since the portal opened last week. Bol Bowen — a versatile 6-10 forward — will visit Alabama next.
Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako defends Purdue point guard Braden Smith during a game this season.
Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako defends Purdue point guard Braden Smith during a game this season. Robert Goddin USA TODAY
Magoon Gwath stays put
Kentucky got its first major surprise of portal season late Tuesday night, when San Diego State big man Magoon Gwath announced that he would stay put with the Aztecs for next season.
Gwath — a 7-footer with unique two-way skills that seemed a perfect fit for Pope’s approach — had emerged as a major UK target, and there was buzz throughout college basketball circles Tuesday that he was on the verge of committing to the Wildcats.
By Tuesday evening, that buzz prompted several national analysts to log public predictions in favor of Kentucky for Gwath, who ultimately pulled a stunner by announcing just before midnight his intention to stick with San Diego State for another season.
The move was so surprising that followers of the situation wondered if it was an April Fool’s Day joke. It wasn’t. And now Kentucky is still in search of at least one more big man to play alongside Brandon Garrison, assuming he returns for another season — which has not yet been announced — and incoming McDonald’s All-American post player Malachi Moreno.
Yaxel Lendeborg watch
Former UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg is one of the top players in the transfer portal — 247Sports and On3.com both rank him No. 1, actually — and Kentucky is among his suitors.
Mark Pope flew to Chicago this week to meet with Lendeborg, who averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game for the Blazers last season.
The 6-9, 240-pound forward from Pennsauken, New Jersey, still has two seasons of NCAA eligibility remaining, though he’s also considering a jump to the NBA draft. The latest list of the top 100 NBA draft prospects from ESPN has Lendeborg at No. 28, within first-round territory.
Lendeborg also has a long list of suitors in the portal, if he does return to college basketball for another season. Auburn, which is playing this weekend in the Final Four, has been viewed as a possible favorite over the past few weeks.
There’s not much to indicate, at this time, that Kentucky is at the top of the list for Lendeborg, but there’s obviously interest on the Wildcats’ end, and things are moving fast in the portal, so he’ll be one to watch in the coming days.
Aaron Bradshaw is leaving Ohio State after just one season with the Buckeyes.
Aaron Bradshaw is leaving Ohio State after just one season with the Buckeyes. Joseph Maiorana USA
Former UK forward Aaron Bradshaw will play for his third school in three seasons.
Bradshaw — a 7-1 player from Rahway, New Jersey — got off to a late start to his freshman year at Kentucky due to a foot injury and then transferred to Ohio State for his sophomore season. There, the former five-star recruit averaged 6.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game.
Bradshaw scored in double figures only four times this past season. One of those instances occurred with his 11-point performance in the Buckeyes’ 85-65 win over Kentucky in Madison Square Garden.
Bradshaw’s unique upside will likely lead to a lengthy list of possibilities for next season.
Louisville making transfer moves
One of the biggest winners of transfer portal season so far has been Louisville coach Pat Kelsey, who has already built what should be one of the best backcourts in college basketball for the 2025-26 campaign.
The Cardinals have picked up commitments this week from former Xavier guard Ryan Conwell and former Kennesaw State guard Adrian Wooley, both generally ranked among the top 15 overall players in the portal.
As quickly as commitments happen in the transfer portal, this will change with the hour, but — as of Wednesday morning — Louisville has the No. 1 transfer class in the country, according to the 247Sports rankings. And Kelsey still has spots to fill for next season.
In Kelsey’s first season as U of L’s head coach, the Cardinals finished 27-8 with an 18-2 record in the ACC before losing to Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Is Braden Smith next?
It hasn’t happened yet, but there has been talk for weeks that Purdue point guard Braden Smith — a first-team All-American this season — will enter his name in the transfer portal this spring.
The 6-foot playmaker from Westfield, Indiana, has one more season of NCAA eligibility remaining.
Smith averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game for the Boilermakers this past season, leading them to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. In his final game of the season, Smith dished out 15 assists in a loss to Houston.
The point guard spot is arguably the biggest area of need for Kentucky this offseason, with starter Lamont Butler out of NCAA eligibility and backup Kerr Kriisa already in the transfer portal.
If Smith does decide to explore his options, he would instantly become the biggest name in the transfer portal. Both Kentucky and Duke have already been linked as possible favorites, but, for now, Smith has not made any announcement on his basketball future.
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