KSR's 2025 Kentucky Sports Summer Calendar

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and even though it’s the “offseason” for football and basketball, there’s still a ton happening in the world of UK sports.

In the coming weeks, the Kentucky Baseball team will compete in its third straight NCAA Tournament, and basketball and football players will arrive on campus for summer workouts. In June, basketball and football recruiting take center stage, with Mark Pope and a pair of Kentucky freshmen stepping into the USA Basketball spotlight. In July, football talking season kicks off in Atlanta at SEC Media Days. Before you know it, we’ll be at Kroger Field for Kentucky Football Media Day, and the countdown to the 2025 season will officially be on.

As we celebrate the start of summer, let’s look at the calendar to see what’s ahead. More is happening than you might think.

MAY

May 27-29: SEC Spring Meetings

SEC coaches, administrators, and presidents are headed to Destin today for the league’s annual Spring Meetings, which begin Tuesday. As Adam Luckett outlined earlier today, there’s a LOT to discuss. Among the topics expected to come up is the pending House vs. NCAA settlement, which will bring revenue-sharing to college sports and change the NIL landscape; potential College Football Playoff expansion; the Tennessee state law that will allow its schools to ignore NCAA rules for NIL; and potentially moving to nine conference games in college football.

Mark Pope will also continue to bang the drum for expanding the college basketball season to 40 games. I’d expect him to make an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show at some point. Sadly, a trip to the Emerald Coast wasn’t in the KSR travel budget this year, but we’ll be tuned in to cover it all.

May 28: NCAA’s NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline

This week, we’ll find out if Otega Oweh will be a part of next season’s roster. The NCAA’s Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline is Wednesday, May 28, at 11:59 p.m. ET, meaning that college players who have declared for the NBA Draft and want to return to school must pull their names out by then to retain their eligibility. Oweh is currently testing the waters and is not projected to be drafted by most outlets; however, he has some more workouts scheduled this week, so it may be Wednesday night before he makes his return to Kentucky official. If/when he does, we’ll have a heck of a party.

May 30: Kentucky Baseball begins NCAA Tournament play

After some sweating, the Kentucky Baseball team made the NCAA Tournament field. The Cats are the No. 3 seed in the Clemson Regional, alongside No. 1 seed Clemson, No. 2 seed West Virginia, and No. 4 seed USC Upstate. Kentucky will open play against the Mountaineers on Friday at Noon ET in the double-elimination bracket. The game will air on ESPNU.

Should the Cats win the Clemson Regional, they’ll advance to the Super Regionals June 6-9; if they really get hot, they could make the College World Series (June 13-23) for the second straight year and just the second time in program history.

May 30: First of many big football recruiting weekends

This upcoming weekend marks the start of several big football recruiting weekends for Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow. The program is expected to host five-plus official visitors every weekend in June, starting on Friday, May 30. Sources tell KSR they have more official visits booked than in years past, so we’ll have our ears to the ground for intel. Adam Luckett has a rundown of the official visitors expected to be in town this weekend on KSR+.

Take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including game threads, in-depth scouting reports, and the latest recruiting and roster intel. $1 for a week.

---

JUNE

June 1-3: Pangos All-American Camp

Starting on Sunday, the 120 best high school basketball players will be in Las Vegas for the Pangos All-American Camp. Coaches can’t attend, but recruiting news should trickle out as prospects share what schools are in pursuit and we get a better look at the cream rising to the top ahead of the Peach Jam in July.

June 2: Football Summer Workouts begin

Football players will start arriving on campus later this week for summer workouts, which start a week from today. Coaches have two hours per week to work with their players in June and July, so get ready for lots of pictures and videos of Mark Stoops’ new squad as they settle in, including Kentucky’s new quarterback Zach Calzada, tailback Dante Dowdell, returning running back Hardley Gilmore IV, receiver Ja’Mori Maclin, and more.

First week of June: Basketball players report to campus

Jayden Quaintance became the first Kentucky Basketball player to move into his new Kentucky home last week. By next weekend, all of his teammates will have joined him. The entire team is expected to arrive on campus by June 7, the first of Mark Pope’s camps. If you see some very tall people around town, make them feel welcome.

June 7: Mark Pope Father/Son Camp

Mark Pope and his team will host two camps this summer, one for fathers and sons on Saturday, June 7, and one for fathers and daughters on Sunday, June 8. The camps will be held at the Joe Craft Center and will give us our first glimpse of the fully assembled squad.

June 8: Mark Pope Father/Daughter Camp

Expect Lee Anne Pope and her daughters to make a return appearance at the Father/Daughter camp on June 8. Last year, they taught the campers a dance:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kentucky Men's Basketball (@kentuckymbb)

June 8: Football Sunday Showcase Camp

Football camps will be happening throughout June. The Sunday Showcase camp will draw the most talent, and, potentially, a glimpse at current Cats who decide to attend. KSR will have several boots on the ground at Kroger Field to bring you all the sights and sounds.

June 9-13: NBPA Top 100 Camp

In mid-June, the top recruits in the country head to Orlando, Florida, to show off their skills at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. There is an evaluation period during the camp, so college coaches will be allowed in. This will be our next look at who Mark Pope and his staff are targeting in the high school ranks.

June 15: Football O-Line & D-Line Mega Camp, Specialist Camp

One week after the Sunday Showcase Camp, the football program will host the OL/DL Mega Camp and Specialist Camp at Kroger Field, giving us a look at the guys in the trenches and the ones who kick the ball.

June 15-22: USA Basketball U19 Training Camp

Mark Pope will take two of his freshmen to Colorado Springs next month for the prestigious USA Basketball U19 Training Camp. This is Pope’s coaching debut with Team USA. He is one of three support staff coaches, along with Alabama’s Nate Oats and North Carolina’s Hubert Davis. Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd is Team USA’s head coach, and Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland and Notre Dame’s Micah Shrewsberry are assistants.

Johnson won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 FIBA U19 AmeriCup, and Moreno has been invited to the camp in the past. Both were members of the USA Men’s Nike Hoop Summit Team, which beat the World Select Team 124-114 in overtime earlier in the spring. They will be two of 33 players fighting to be part of the 12-man team that will represent Team USA at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland June 28-July 6.

Obviously, this is a good opportunity for Pope to bond with Johnson and Moreno, but also a great chance for Pope to form relationships with the best of the best high school recruits. Several of the 2026 invitees are linked to Kentucky, including Tajh Ariza, Christian Collins, Jason Crowe Jr., Caleb Holt, Tay Kinney, Brandon McCoy Jr., Deron Rippey Jr., Jordan Smith Jr., and Tyran Stokes.

June 16 & 18: Football Wildcat One Day Camps

Football camp season draws to an end with the Wildcat One Day Camps. We’ll be on hand to see which prospects stand out and which current players join in on the fun at Kroger Field.

June 25-26: NBA Draft

Koby Brea is the Kentucky Wildcat most likely to be drafted in Brooklyn, most likely one month from today in the second round. Amari Williams has appeared in the late second round of some mock drafts and could hear his name called as well. Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, and Lamont Butler aren’t projected to be drafted but will be hoping to earn summer league and/or training camp invites.

We’ll see if Mark Pope accompanies Koby Brea to the Barclays Center, just 30 minutes from Brea’s hometown of Washington Heights.

---

JULY

July 10-20: NBA Summer League

We’ll get our first look at Brea and the rest of Kentucky’s pro hopefuls in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, along with fellow former Cats fighting for training camp spots.

July 14-17: SEC Media Days

This year, SEC Media Days heads back to Atlanta, where the league’s coaches and select players will preview the season and talk about the issues facing the sport. Mark Stoops and whichever players accompany him to the College Football Hall of Fame and Omni Atlanta Hotel won’t take the stage until Thursday, the final day of the event.

• July 14: LSU (Brian Kelly), Ole Miss (Lane Kiffin), South Carolina (Shane Beamer), Vanderbilt (Clark Lea)
• July 15: Auburn (Hugh Freeze), Georgia (Kirby Smart), Tennessee (Josh Heupel), Texas (Steve Sarkisian)
• July 16: Alabama (Kalen DeBoer), Florida (Billy Napier), Mississippi State (Jeff Lebby), Oklahoma (Brent Venables)
• July 17: Arkansas (Sam Pittman), Kentucky (Mark Stoops), Missouri (Eli Drinkwitz), Texas A&M (Mike Elko)

Nick Roush, Adam Luckett, and Steven Peake will be there to cover the kickoff to talking season.

July 13-20: Peach Jam

The biggest recruiting event of the year. All of the Nike EYBL teams are expected to gather in North Augusta for the event, which will draw coaching staffs from across the country. Kentucky still doesn’t have a commitment in the 2026 class, so this is a big week for Mark Pope and his new staff, who are targeting about a dozen prospects on the EYBL circuit, including Jason Crowe Jr., Christian Collins, Baba Oladotun, Jordan Smith Jr., and Tajh Ariza.

July 17-20: Adidas 3SSB Championships

Two hours north in Rock Hill, the Adidas 3SSB Championships will be taking place. Anthony Thompson, Caleb Holt, and Tay Kinney are the players on the Adidas circuit with Kentucky offers.

July 18-23: TBT Lexington Regional

La Familia is running it back this summer, hosting the Lexington Regional of The Basketball Tournament after making it all the way to the semifinals last year. This year, the games will be held at Memorial Coliseum. If La Familia wins the Lexington Regional, they could face The Ville in Freedom Hall, a rematch of last year’s charged quarterfinals, on July 29. The semifinals will be held on July 31, and TBT’s $1 million championship will be played on Aug. 3. Tickets for the Lexington Regional are now on sale at TBTHoops.com/tickets.

So far, five members of La Familia’s roster have been announced: Willie Cauley-Stein, Doron Lamb, DeAndre Liggins, Andrew Harrison, and Aaron Harrison. Sean Woods, who was an assistant coach last year, will serve as head coach, and Twany Beckham returns as general manager. More player announcements are coming soon.

Late July/Early August: Football Media Day

Talking season culminates with the football team’s annual media day. Dates/details are still TBD, but the pressure will be on Stoops and company after a disappointing 2024 season.

---

AUGUST

Early August: Football Fan Day, Fall Camp begins

Bring on the practice reports.

August 30: Kentucky vs. Toledo

The 2025 season begins on Saturday, August 30 vs. Toledo. The Rockets beat Mississippi State by 24 points last year in Starkville, so the Cats can’t afford a sluggish start, especially with Ole Miss coming to town the following week.