Travis Perry opens up on Kentucky departure, Ole Miss transfer

Raised in the state of Kentucky, Travis Perry got to play for his hometown team as a true freshman. Mark Pope brought him to UK and even carved Perry a role during the 2024-2025 season. However, the two went in different directions once the year ended, and Perry put his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

Moving on from the Wildcats was not an easy decision for Perry. But at the end of the day, he knows making the best decision for himself should be top priority. Putting his name out on the open market accomplished that, giving him options.

“It’s a difficult decision for anybody to get in the portal,” Perry said. “Just felt like, at the end of the day, you’ve got to make the best decision for yourself and your basketball career. You only get so much time to do it, only so much time to play basketball. So, felt like I made the decision that myself and my family felt like was best for my basketball career.”

Multiple schools were instantly interested in Perry, including those in the SEC. Among those was Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels. Looking to reload after making the NCAA Tournament last season, Ole Miss presented a great opportunity to Perry.

“Whenever I got in the portal, I felt like Coach Beard’s vision was exactly what I was looking for,” Perry said. “I felt like we had a lot of guys coming here that wanted to win, wanted to compete at a high level. I feel like I could come in and impact that.”

Perry got a great first-hand look at Beard’s team during his lone season at Kentucky. Ole Miss welcomed them to Oxford and wound up big winners. In 14 minutes played, Perry recorded five points, two rebounds, two assists, and even a block.

He remembers how hard Ole Miss played throughout the entire game, though. Perry appears excited to play the same way under Beard.

“They definitely play super hard,” Perry said. “You can tell that — they got us pretty good last year. Played a great game against us. But just the way they competed against us all year, competed in the SEC all year if you’re playing in it. Just the way they competed whether they were up 20, down 20, whatever it was. That’s something I think that carries over, carries over from Coach Beard.”