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.
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Transfer portal season has progressed to a new stage for the Kentucky men’s basketball program.
Potential additions for Mark Pope’s 2025-26 roster are starting to show up on campus.
Former Florida State player Taylor Bol Bowen is arriving in Lexington on Tuesday for an official visit, and the Herald-Leader has confirmed that he will be the first recruit to be hosted by the Kentucky coaches on campus since the transfer portal opened last week.
Bol Bowen — a 6-foot-10, 195-pound forward — played the past two seasons for the Seminoles and will have two more years of NCAA eligibility remaining. As a sophomore, he averaged 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals in 24.9 minutes per game while making 27 starts over 29 total appearances.
He also shot 41.4% from 3-point range, going 29-for-70 from long range this season.
Bol Bowen has a 7-2 wingspan and is known for his defensive ability. His individual stats placed him as one of the 10 most valuable defenders in the ACC last season, according to the metrics at EvanMiya.com.
Florida State finished 17-15 (8-12 ACC), and it was announced in February that longtime coach Leonard Hamilton would resign at the end of the season.
Bol Bowen was the No. 73 recruit in the 2023 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings that year. As of Tuesday, 247Sports ranks Bol Bowen as the No. 76 available transfer in the portal this spring.
Kentucky has already received a pledge from former Tulane wing Kam Williams, who committed to the Wildcats on Friday, without visiting UK’s campus.
The Cats lost backup point guard Kerr Kriisa to the transfer portal Monday — a move that had long been expected — but they could still return Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry from this season’s team.
UK will also bring in talented freshman recruits Jasper Johnson, Acaden Lewis and Malachi Moreno — as well as Williams — as newcomers to the 2025-26 roster.
That leaves a few more spots to fill for Pope and his coaching staff, with Bol Bowen’s visit to Kentucky on Tuesday indicating he’s among the most serious potential additions via the transfer portal.
Bol Bowen is scheduled to visit Alabama next, and more on-campus visitors for Kentucky should reveal themselves in the coming days.
Taylor Bol Bowen averaged 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game game at Florida State this season.
Taylor Bol Bowen averaged 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game game at Florida State this season. Troy Taormina USA TODAY NETWORK
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