Kentucky basketball players' jersey numbers are here

My stupid-human trick is being able to tell you the jersey number of every rotational Kentucky basketball player of every team going back to the mid-1990s. Ready? Ramon Harris: #5, Bobby Perry: #13, Rodney Dent: #4. Okay, it’s more impressive in person, but jersey numbers have always fascinated me and are one of the things I most look forward to being unveiled in the slow news days of summer.

The 2025-26 season roster is stacked with talent, and if the Internet is to be believed, we now have the number each of Mark Pope’s high-caliber players will be wearing. Of course, all of these are subject to change (or be wrong). This time last year, Amari Williams was going to wear #21 before he presumably convinced Walker Horn to let him wear his preferred #22 instead. But as of today, this is what to anticipate:

Otega Oweh #00

As if there weren’t enough to love about Kentucky’s returning scoring leader, Otega Oweh choosing to wear a number that matches the initials of his name propels him to GOAT status. It is perfect. No notes. Keep doing you, Double Zero.

Denzel Aberdeen #1

Kentucky will have a reigning national champion on the team this season in Denzel Aberdeen. The former Florida Gator wore #11 in Gainesville, and with Travis Perry now sporting those same digits for Ole Miss, I thought Aberdeen would scoop it up. Instead, it looks like he is going the single-digit route and wearing #1.

Jasper Johnson #2

Kentucky’s smooth-shooting lefty freshman will stay true to the number he wore as a high school player at Woodford County and Overtime Elite. Not to be confused with the professional wrestler, Double J Jasper Johnson will wear #2 for the Wildcats.

Kam Williams #3

The first player to commit to the Wildcats in the transfer portal got first dibs on numbers. Kam Williams will wear #3, the same digit he sported at Tulane, where he shot better than 41 percent from behind the arc.

Andrija Jelavic #4

One of Kentucky’s most mysterious commitments comes from overseas. Andrija Jelavic, fresh out of a professional Serbian league, will continue to wear #4 as he did with Mega Superbet. The good news is that it will look much better on a blue jersey than it did on Mega’s pink ones.

Collin Chandler #5

Did you know that Collin Chandler took a two-year mission before coming to Kentucky? You did? Oh, ok, well, it should also not be a surprise that he will don #5 once again for the ‘Cats. The 21-year-old sophomore looks to take a big leap in his second season.

Trent Noah #9

Trent Noah chose to wear the #9 for Kentucky to represent the fact that he is chasing the school’s 9th title. I can’t wait until next year when he changes his number to #10. He is also the only player this season to pick a number with a digit greater than 5, which honestly hurts me a bit. The NCAA relaxed its previous restriction on this rule, and I’m dying for more guys to take advantage of it.

Brandon Garrison #10

Brandon Garrison‘s return to Kentucky was a huge get for Mark Pope. Sure, there were times he had some frustrating plays, but it is great to see #10 back for the ‘Cats. Fans will also get to fawn all over his cute baby boy in the occasional press conference once again.

Jaland Lowe #15

Jaland Lowe wore #15 his first two years at Pittsburgh, and why change up what’s working? He’ll follow in the steps of Reed Sheppard and wear #15 for the Wildcats in his new Kentucky home. Let’s hope his 3-point shooting numbers mimic Reed as well.

Jayden Quaintance #21

Happy Chandler and Steve Zahn say that true Kentuckians are always coming back home. Jayden Quaintance originally committed to the ‘Cats, and after a quick out-of-state hiatus to Arizona State, he is coming home. He’ll wear the same #21 he did during his one year at ASU.

Braydon Hawthorne #22

He might be the 14th man on the roster, but Braydon Hawthorne is the 64th player in On3’s recruiting rankings, and #22 for your Kentucky Wildcats. He wore #2 in high school, but added another 2 because Jasper Johnson claimed #2 first. You know who else wore #22 at Kentucky because #2 was taken? NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Just saying.

Mouhamed Dioubate #23

When someone else has a number a player wants, they usually don’t stray too far from their original. Mouhamed Dioubate wore #10 at Alabama, but considering that belongs to Brandon Garrison, Dioubate is channeling his inner LeBron James (or Michael Jordan to all you MJ truthers) and going to wear #23.

Malachi Moreno #24

It’s not often a team can bring in a McDonald’s All-American and he be your 10th or 11th man off the bench, but such might be the case with Malachi Moreno. The Kentucky native will wear the same number he did at Great Crossing, where he won a State Title in Rupp Arena, #24.

Reece Potter #33

The fact that Mark Pope can bring in a 7-foot Kentucky native just because is kind of awesome. Reece Potter wore #34 at Lexington Catholic, #35 at Miami of Ohio, and now appears to be switching it up ever so slightly to #33 for the Wildcats.