Online Home of the Big Blue Nation: Kentucky Wildcats Sports for the Discerning Fan
Three former Kentucky Wildcats have received invites to the NBA Combine. Malachi Moreno, Otega Oweh, and Jayden Quaintance are among 73 players who have been invited to the combine this year to work out in front of NBA scouts and front-office personnel. The player most Kentucky fans will be watching closely is Moreno. Moreno has […]
Good morning, BBN! The world of college athletics is quickly changing as eligibility rules start to come into focus, but it is still NIL that has the college sports world on edge. As revenue sharing has become legal, the old world of college athletics is gone, meaning you have to be innovative to get to […]
The Kentucky Wildcats have officially locked in their backcourt, unless a surprise player emerges. With the confirmed signing of Washington State transfer and Kentucky native, Jerone Morton, Mark Pope has assembled a guard trio of Morton, Washington transfer Zoom Diallo, and Furman transfer Alex Wilkins. On the surface, having three experienced, productive guards is a […]
The national media have been all over Mark Pope this offseason. You have some leaking information that other programs are cracking jokes about how Kentucky recruits. You have others openly questioning what the plan is. And now you have one saying the roster Mark Pope built may be one of the worst in the SEC. […]
Last year, Champions Blue LLC, the LLC created for UK Athletics, announced the plan to build an entertainment district near Kroger Field to create a new revenue stream. Earlier this week, the school made the next step before the district’s construction, choosing one of four proposals. On Tuesday, Kevin Locke, UK’s Associate Vice President of […]
Former Kentucky basketball star and five-time NBA All-Star John Wall has been named president of basketball operations at Howard University, returning to Washington, D.C., in a major leadership role, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Howard officials confirmed the partnership, which positions Wall at the helm of one of the nation’s top HBCU basketball programs. Wall, […]
Yesterday, we learned Mark Pope was heading to Israel to meet with Marcio Santos, a Brazilian center playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Things seem to be moving quickly in this recruitment, so today, we’re keeping an eye on Santos to see if Kentucky can lock him down and bring him to Lexington. The 23-year-old has […]
The Kentucky Wildcats staff, especially Mo Williams, has been working diligently on the recruiting trail since Williams was hired by Mark Pope as an assistant. The Wildcats have set their sights on a top player in the 2027 class. This week, Williams extended an offer to one of the top shooting guards in the class […]
The NCAA appears to be closing in on a significant change to college basketball’s postseason. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the NCAA is in the final stages of expanding both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to 76 teams, with a target start date of the 2026-27 season. A formal decision could be announced […]
Are the Kentucky Wildcats in danger of losing Malachi Moreno to the NBA Draft? When Moreno first announced he was testing the NBA waters, many assumed that he’d ultimately withdraw and return to school. While that’s still the likeliest outcome, his NBA stock appears to be higher than anticipated. The latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft […]
Is Kentucky Basketball on the verge of landing a commitment from Brazilian big man Marcio Santos? Kentucky head coach Mark Pope visited Santos in Israel, and there are some reports out there that the Kentucky coach has extended an offer to Santos. There is also another interesting note in this recruitment: Santos’ coach, Oded Kattash, […]
Kentucky Football continues to have a monstrous start to the 2027 recruiting class, the latest commitment coming on Wednesday from 4-star safety Marquis Bryant. Hayes Fawcett broke the news first on Twitter that Bryant had made his pledge to Will Stein’s program. The former North Carolina pledge decommitted from Bill Belichick’s program earlier this month, […]
Washington State point guard Jerone Morton has committed to the Kentucky Wildcats. UK Sports Network announced the news on Wednesday. A Lexington native, Morton played at George Rogers Clark and was part of their 2022 Sweet 16 Championship team and runner-up the following season. He was an unranked class of 2023 recruit who signed with […]
Kentucky Basketball head coach Mark Pope and assistant coach Mikhail McLean took a different approach to recruiting this week, traveling to Orlando to spend time fishing with the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2027, 5-star power forward CJ Rosser, according to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim. Rosser, a 6-foot-10, 195-pound standout from Orlando, is […]
Kentucky Basketball head coach Mark Pope is taking his recruiting efforts overseas, flying to Israel on Wednesday to meet with Maccabi Tel Aviv center Márcio Santos, according to Jacob Polacheck of KSR. Santos, a 6-foot-8 center, averaged 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, one assist, and 0.6 blocks during the 2025–26 Winner League season with Maccabi Tel […]
There’s a number being celebrated across college basketball right now. Seventy-one. That’s how many players entered the 2026 NBA Draft early, per the NBA. It marks the lowest total in more than 20 years. It’s being framed as a sign of progress, proof that the NIL era is keeping talent in school and strengthening the […]
Good morning, BBN! The Tyran Stokes recruitment is finally over as the No. 1 player in the 2027 class chose the Kansas Jayhawks on ESPN Tuesday night. Now that leaves Mark Pope and his staff with some huge question marks with their 2026-27 roster, especially when it comes to star power. Can they find it? […]
Kentucky basketball has officially entered the mix for one of the top players in the 2027 recruiting class, extending an offer to 5-star small forward Ryan Hampton on Monday, per his social media. Hampton, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound standout from Daytona Beach, Florida, is ranked as the No. 5 overall player and the No. 1 small […]
Everyone loves Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. They are the undisputed gold standard of sports television, well, NBA television. But for Kentucky Basketball fans, seeing the iconic Inside the NBA crew pop up on their screens during a recruiting announcement is quickly becoming a nightmare. Twice within the past year, Kentucky […]
There’s really no sugarcoating it: This was a brutal day for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Basketball program. When news broke that Tyran Stokes would announce his decision Tuesday night during ESPN’s NBA Tip-off, it was widely believed that the Kansas Jayhawks would be the choice (and, shocker, they were). That didn’t stop Pope and […]
In a major recruiting decision that shifts the landscape of the 2026 class, Tyran Stokes, the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect, has committed to the Kansas Jayhawks over Kentucky Basketball. Stokes announced the decision during Tuesday’s NBA Tip-Off show on ESPN. The 6-foot-7, 5-star small forward had long been a top target for Mark Pope, […]
Kentucky Basketball needed a win in the transfer portal, and Mark Pope just delivered one. Following a frustrating stretch of misses, the Wildcats have bounced back. Justin McBride has decided that he is committing to play for the Cats, giving the roster a high-upside offensive weapon who is coming off the best season of his […]
UK President Eli Capilouto provided a detailed update on the University of Kentucky’s athletic director search on Tuesday during the Champions Blue LLC Board of Governors Meeting, outlining progress while emphasizing that the process is still ongoing. Capilouto revealed that he has talked to more than 70 people across both sports and business sectors as […]
Decision day has arrived for Tyran Stokes, who’s long been the No. 1 recruiting target for the 2026-27 Kentucky Basketball roster. But unfortunately, it appears the Kansas Jayhawks will win this battle. Shortly after news broke of Stokes’ imminent decision, On3 recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw logged a prediction in favor of Kansas. In addition, Travis […]
As Kentucky Basketball looks to land a big fish for next season’s roster, another option is reportedly off the board, as Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou will remain in the 2026 NBA Draft, according to Recruit News. Yessoufou recently entered the transfer portal after declaring for the draft. While Kentucky was thought to be in the mix, […]