KSR Today: Contact period opens, SEC football schedule released

Good morning, folks! Once the clock struck midnight and we officially shifted over to Thursday, the high school basketball contact period went live, which means college coaches are now allowed to make direct contact with class of 2025 prospects.

Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari is still working to put together his ’24 class, but now his staff can begin to put more focus on the ’25 group, which is loaded with top-end, future NBA-level talent. UK has already offered a handful of rising juniors, including PF Cameron Boozer (No. 1 in the On3 Industry Ranking), Koa Peat (No. 3), Meleek Thomas (No. 4), Darryn Peterson (No. 8), Cayden Boozer (No. 22), Jasper Johnson (No. 26), and Darius Acuff (unranked). The Wildcat coaches can now directly reach out to them and ramp up the interest even more.

There will surely be additional ’25 prospects that receive contact from Kentucky too. Travis Graf of MADE Hoops reports that UK has already reached out to Peterson and C Jayden Quaintance (No. 28) since midnight. We’ll be covering everything as it happens on the site and KSBoard. Now let’s dive into the rest of today’s news and notes.

Kentucky football’s ’24 SEC schedule released

On Wednesday night, Texas and Oklahoma were officially added to the SEC’s football schedule. The two (now-former) Big 12 powerhouses will begin their transition into the new 16-team league beginning with the 2024 season. Kentucky will rotate between playing against Texas and Oklahoma year by year. First up? A trip to Austin for a road matchup against the Longhorns.

This will be just the second-ever game against Texas for the Wildcats. The last one came all the way back in 1951 when Bear Bryant’s team fell 7-6 in the Lone Star State.

But what about the rest of the 2024 schedule? We already knew Kentucky’s non-conference schedule for that season, which consists of Aug. 31 at Akron, Sept. 21 vs. Ohio, Nov. 16 vs. Murray State, and Nov. 30 vs. Louisville. Now we know the rest. UK will face eight SEC opponents in total during the 2024 season — four at Kroger Field, four on the road.

• Texas (away)
• Florida (away)
• Ole Miss (away)
• Tennessee (away)
• South Carolina (home)
• Vanderbilt (home)
• Auburn (home)
• Georgia (home)

Take advantage of our KSR+ Summer Special and join the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR+ Message Board.

BEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!

Shoutout to Nick Mingione’s squad for putting together a successful baseball season that proved alcohol at sporting events is a successful model. Who knew!?

Two sources tell KSR’s Matt Jones that UK Athletics will allow beer sales for football games this fall at Kroger Field with an official announcement expected this week.

The decision comes after the school tested alcohol sales at baseball and home games this spring. After fans set attendance records at Kentucky Proud Park during Kentucky Baseball’s NCAA Tournament Regional without any alcohol-related issues, the decision was made to expand sales to football. For now, no decision has been made about other sports, including men’s and women’s basketball games at Rupp Arena.

Details will be released later this week, but if the model follows baseball and softball, offerings will include Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, and seltzers. Sources tell KSR that craft beer is also being considered, although a final decision has yet to be made. Beer and seltzer will only be sold in cans and cups with a limit of two per transaction.

Must-watch KSR podcasts

Roster uncertainty surrounding Kentucky men’s basketball is beginning to clear up, but there are still a few details left to be ironed out. Jordan Burks is now in the fold while Joey Hart and Somto Cyril are coming off official visits to UK that could lead to commitments sooner rather than later. Antonio Reeves continues to be the wildcard in all of this as he contemplates a return to Kentucky or exploring his college options elsewhere as a graduate student.

If you want to be up-to-date on the latest rumblings and scuttlebutt, yesterday’s edition of Sources Say will surely get you there. KSR’s Jack Pilgrim was joined by Shawn Smith of Go Big Blue Country for episode 262 to break it all down. There’s plenty of juice in this 75-minute show.

But that’s not the only podcast you need to put into rotation today. KSR’s Nick Roush and Adam Luckett hosted a live edition of 11 Personnel at Monticello Bank in Lyndon yesterday where they talked about the next potential commitments for Mark Stoop’s 2024 recruiting class, among several other topics.

Camp season wrapped up earlier this week but another batch of official visitors will be making their way to Lexington this weekend as the ‘Cats look to lock down some top-ranked prospects. We’re still a few months out from the 2023 season, but there’s always something going on in the world of college football.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

John Welch contract details released

Longtime NBA assistant John Welch joined Kentucky Basketball‘s staff in May, and on Wednesday, his new contract details began circulating around the world wide web. Lyndsey Gough over at WKYT combed through Welch’s public contract to find that Welch will earn $250,000 for his first year with the Wildcats, followed by an increase to $275,000 annually the following year through June 30, 2025. Welch also has incentive bonuses in his contract for a Final Four or, even better, a national championship.

Prior to his move to Lexington, Welch coached along the west coast in the college ranks, then for nearly two decades in the NBA. He brings a professional pedigree to the program and has become known as an excellent development coach. Honestly, he’s probably underpaid.

"The easiest way for me to connect with the players is through the workouts and being in the gym."

Meet assistant coach John Welch 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/r6gVRPwbEN

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 13, 2023

Cutter Boley getting some early reps in

Cutter Boley and Liam Coen are quickly becoming best buds. The future Kentucky quarterback has been in and out of the facilities over the last week-plus to work out with his soon-to-be offensive coordinator in Coen. Boley camped last week, took his official visit over the weekend, then came back for two more camps earlier this week. He’s all-in on being a ‘Cat. We certainly love to see it.

KSR was at Kroger Field on Tuesday for the penultimate camp of the summer. We got a closer look at what Boley is bringing to the Big Blue Nation. See how he spins it during a light workout with the Kentucky offensive coordinator.

To have Kentucky Wildcats news sent straight to your inbox, sign up for the KSR Newsletter.