Kentucky insider lists the first coaches Wildcats would try to replace John Calipari with

There almost wasn’t a scenario where, beyond retirement, anyone would have thought Kentucky and John Calipari could have parted ways at the start of this decade. However, that’s where the two sides may be finding themselves after Thursday’s loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament.

That begs the question of, if this does lead to the end of the Calipari era, who his successor would be.

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Following the stunning, 80-76 defeat, Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio gave his first-reaction answer in an appearance on ‘Pardon My Take’. He said that the school’s first two moves would be phone calls to a pair of coaches who are no longer on sidelines. If those ended in noes, he added a third name to the mix that is still currently coaching.

“Well, here’s what they’ll do. First of all, if Cal is gone – and I don’t think that’s certain but let’s say it was. The first thing they’ll do is I know the first two people they’ll call. They’ll call Jay Wright and they’ll call Brad Stevens. They’ll say, ‘Any chance?'” said Jones. “My guess is both of them would say no but that’s the first thing they would do.”

“Then I think there next thing would probably be Scott Drew at Baylor,” Jones said. “(He’d) be who they would try to get.”

Wright has been a name that has consistently come up across the country since his early retirement in 2022. After 28 seasons, with 21 at Villanova, he stepped away and has since become a broadcaster at CBS. That was following his accumulation of 642 wins, including 520 at a .725 percentage at ‘Nova, in his career. He also won a pair of championships with the Wildcats in 2016 and 2018.

Stevens has been out of the collegiate ranks since 2013 and hasn’t coached at all since 2021. He led Butler to 166 wins over six seasons there, including a pair of Final Four and title appearances. He then left for the NBA where he coached the Boston Celtics for eight years. With the Celtics, he had a record of 354-282, seven playoff appearances, and three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. Stevens is now an executive for Boston after stepping down from the role.

As for Drew, he is the only coach of the three that is still active. He’s in his 21st year in Waco where he has built the Bears into a big name in the sport. He has a record of 445-243 (.647) at Baylor, a dozen tournament appearances including this season, and the program’s only title in the one Final Four appearance of his tenure. However, amidst other national interest, the expectation is that Drew will remain with the Bears moving forward.

After that trio, Jones isn’t certain of where Kentucky would look next. Any option beyond those three aren’t yet clear to him at this point.

“I’ll tell you. After Scott Drew, I would ask you guys. Like, there’s not an obvious choice,” Jones said.

This may not ever even reach that point depending on how things progress in Lexington in the near future. Kentucky, regardless of what the past five postseasons have looked like and the general frustration around them, may still elect to keep Calipari for his 16th season.

If they don’t, though, Jones is circling Wright, Stevens, and Drew as names to watch that the Wildcats may potentially make a run at.