Kentucky basketball 2024–25 roster: the most recent information about the UK’s Mark Pope era first squad
LEXINGTON: Now in full swing is one of the most remarkable offseasons the UK basketball team has had this millennium.
It’s the first time the program hasn’t been led by John Calipari since February 2009. On April 9, the coach who had led the Wildcats for the previous 15 seasons announced his resignation. He was unveiled as Arkansas’s new coach a day later.
Mark Pope, a former member of the UK team and captain of “The Untouchables,” the 1995–96 national championship squad, took over in his place.
A number of players had already made announcements about their plans for the upcoming season before Calipari left. On March 28, forward Adou Thiero made his way onto the transfer site. Later on, Thiero made things clear by releasing a statement outlining his intentions: While he has left open the potential of playing for Kentucky in the upcoming season, he will take a look at the NBA draft. Freshman Justin Edwards, another Wildcat who may have contributed experience in 2024–2025 declared for the draft on April 4. Rob Dillingham, a fellow freshman, followed suit on April 9. Since then, six more players from the UK have announced their intentions: Joey Hart, Reed Sheppard, D.J. Wagne, and Aaron Bradshaw, all seven feet tall, along with Zvonimir Ivisʯić, Ugonna Onyenso, and Aaron Bradshaw.r.
All scholarship players from the 2023–24 squad have committed to play elsewhere for the upcoming season as of April 22.
Two players have committed since Pope took over: former Drexel forward Amari Williams and Collin Chandler, who had previously signed with BYU.
Save this page to your bookmarks as The Courier Journal follows UK’s 2024–25 roster offseason news.
Which basketball players from Kentucky used the NCAA transfer portal?
F At 7 feet 1 inch and 226 pounds, Fr. Aaron Bradshaw: The New Jersey native, who ranked fourth overall in the 247Sports Composite, was one of the nation’s best prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. But during his one and only season in Lexington, he occasionally showcased those skills despite suffering a foot ailment that kept him out of action for the entirety of the preseason and the start of the 2023–24 campaign. And it happened after a lot of draft experts and Kentucky supporters questioned if he would ever play for the Wildcats. Bradshaw signed up for the transfer site on April 9; in 26 games the previous season, he averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. On April 15, he declared his intention to attend Ohio State on his personal Instagram profile.
