John Calipari guesses all six Kentucky seniors will leave in offseason

John Calipari has six seniors on his roster, but thanks to an extra year of eligibility that was granted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, every single one of them can return for one more college year. Now that Kentucky’s 2022-23 season is officially in the books, those decisions will be the most important stage of what comes next for the program.

Those six seniors include Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, Antonio Reeves, Sahvir Wheeler, CJ Fredrick (redshirt senior), and former walk-on Brennan Canada. With five talented freshmen coming in during the summer, there is expected to be plenty of roster turnover between now and the start of next season. But who exactly might return and who might move on? Even though Kentucky’s season ended just hours ago, Calipari is already assuming it’ll be all six.

“My guess is they will all leave. That’s my guess, but I have not talked to them all,” Calipari said after Kentucky lost to Kansas State 75-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. “You know, I think you start winding down this COVID stuff where that’s your extra year, but these kids have accomplished a lot. We’ll sit down. Now’s not the time. I hugged them all after the game, told them I loved them and appreciated everything they’ve done. But those conversations will be for a little later date.”

None of the six are currently projected as clear-cut 2023 NBA Draft picks, but Tshiebwe and Toppin could feasibly make it to the next level, especially with impressive pre-draft workouts. Reeves, Wheeler, and Fredrick aren’t at the NBA level quite yet while Canada will be expected to graduate after spending all of his four seasons in Lexington as an end-of-the-bench piece. Assuming Tshiebwe, Toppin, and Canada are the most likely to depart, that would leave Reeves, Wheeler, and Fredrick as possible returners.

Shortly after Calipari made his remarks, KSR’s Matt Jones tweeted that he thinks Reeves returns out of the six seniors, with the other five all heading elsewhere.

Fwiw, I think Reeves comes back. I suspect the other five will go.

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 19, 2023

Aside from the seniors, plenty of other current Wildcats will have tough decisions to make regarding their future in Lexington. It’s been widely assumed that five-star freshman Cason Wallace, who is a projected NBA lottery pick, will go one-and-done with Kentucky. Fellow freshman Chris Livingston was at one point expected to join him in the league next season, but an up-and-down year has his stock up in the air. Livingston’s decision could be one of the more important ones for Kentucky.

Then there are two role players out of the frontcourt, junior Lance Ware and sophomore Daimion Collins, who could come back for larger roles next season with Kentucky but could just as easily make a move out of the program for even more clock somewhere else. Two more freshmen, Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso, have been considered locks to return for a second year since they arrived on campus. Both are in line for a generous jump in playing time if they continue to develop throughout the offseason.

It’ll likely be some time before we learn anything definitive regarding decisions for next season.