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.
Kentucky basketball’s roster rebuild is underway for the 2025-26 season.
While Mark Pope isn’t expected to build a brand-new roster from scratch like he did last offseason, a significant retooling of the Wildcats’ team will be taking place. The NCAA transfer portal, once again, will be heavily utilized by Pope and company.
Kentucky will lose at least seven players from Pope’s first UK squad, which saw its season end Friday night with an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee in Indianapolis.
Six Wildcats — Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams — are out of NCAA eligibility. Fifth-year guard Kerr Kriisa, who could receive a sixth year of eligibility, entered the transfer portal on Monday.
This leaves freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh as the potential returnees for Kentucky next season. Pope also has three incoming freshmen in the fold, with in-state center Malachi Moreno and guards Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis all signed to play at UK later this year.
Kentucky is also still in contention to land five-star power forward Nate Ament, the top uncommitted recruit left in the 2025 high school class.
This leaves plenty of roster space available for Kentucky to get to work in the portal. The Wildcats already have a portal pledge from Kam Williams, a former freshman wing at Tulane. Williams committed to Kentucky out of the transfer portal on Friday.
Who will join Williams as transfer additions for the Cats this offseason?
As of Tuesday morning, these are the players Kentucky is seriously pursuing in the portal.
Nov 29, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Davidson Wildcats forward Reed Bailey (1) dribbles as Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34) defends during the second half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Reed Bailey (1) was a three-year starter at Davidson who averaged almost 19 points per game in 2024-25.
Reed Bailey
Class: Junior.
Position: Forward.
Past school: Davidson (three seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 41.5% 3-point shooting, 33.3 minutes.
Notable: Bailey has started all 97 games that Davidson has played since he arrived on campus in 2022 as a three-star recruit.
A 6-foot-10 forward from Massachusetts, Bailey led the Wildcats in scoring, rebounding and assists this season. Davidson went 17-16 overall, with a 6-12 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference games. Bailey’s 41.5% success rate on 3-pointers was the best on the Davidson team, among regular players.
Bailey’s 18.8 points per game is a top-50 mark nationally.
College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa has Bailey as a top-60 player available in the transfer portal, out of more than 1,500 portal entrants.
Abdi Bashir Jr.
Class: Sophomore.
Position: Guard.
Past school: Monmouth (two seasons).
2024-25 statistics: 20.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 86.8% free-throw shooting, 38.3% 3-point shooting, 33.2 minutes.
Notable: After coming off the bench as a freshman at Monmouth, the 6-foot-7 Bashir exploded in production as a regular starter for the Hawks this season.
Bashir led the team in scoring and 3-point shooting, among regular players. Bashir’s 20.1 points per game ranks in the top 15 nationally. Shot volume certainly wasn’t an issue for Bashir either: He attempted 17.8 shots per game, with an average of 10.1 3-pointers hoisted per contest.
Bashir has attempted the fourth-most shots in the country this season. For comparison, Bashir’s 589 shot attempts are 174 more than Kentucky’s leading shooter, junior guard Otega Oweh (415), had.
Monmouth went 13-20 this season and 10-8 in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Bashir’s twin brother — Abdul Bashir — is an Auburn basketball commit who spent the last two seasons playing for Casper College, a junior college in Wyoming.