KSR Today: Live from London, a new Happy Hour, postseason baseball, and more

Good morning, friends. Today, KSR’s morning show will be live from London, Kentucky, where the rebuilding process has already begun after Friday night tornadoes devastated the community and other parts of the Bluegrass, claiming the lives of nearly two dozen people, plus immeasurable damage throughout the area.

Over the weekend, Mark Pope offered a helping hand with the relief effort, as did London native Reed Sheppard, who happened to be home from Houston when the severe weather struck. Many other Kentuckians are also doing all they can, where they can, in the immediate recovery. Still, there is a long way to go to clean up the destruction, and sadly, a heartbreaking death toll that may continue to rise. Keep Kentucky in your prayers after yet another tragic weather event in the Bluegrass.

Now, on to some insignificant pieces of sports news on this week’s edition of the Monday morning rundown. There is no good way to transition to it, but we’ll move on before I make the drive to London for today’s show.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace advanced to the WCF

Game 7 in the Thunder-Nuggets series played out yesterday, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, and Oklahoma City earning the very lopsided victory to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 35 points in the 125-93 series-clinching win. Wallace added seven points and five assists off the bench, and made a statement in the third quarter by dunking on Jokic:

CASON WALLACE PUT JOKIC ON A POSTER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H4EpnYfGSl

— ESPN (@espn) May 18, 2025

The other former Wildcat in the game, Jamal Murray, was held to 13 points and 1-for-8 shooting from 3 in the loss.

The NBA will take tonight off, then the playoffs pick back up with Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals tomorrow night. Minnesota, with Julius Randle and Rob Dillingham, stands in the Thunder’s way of the NBA Finals.

UK Baseball in the SEC Tournament tomorrow

Kentucky Baseball begins its postseason tomorrow, playing Oklahoma in the first round of the 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Wildcats are the tournament’s No. 12 seed, drawing the No. 13 Sooners in a rematch of the series Kentucky swept at Kentucky Proud Park earlier this month in the final home SEC series in Lexington. Will there be a fourth win in a row? Find out on the SEC Network at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.

UK Softball’s season ended on Sunday

Kentucky Softball got sent home from the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, losing to Clemson, the tournament’s No. 11 overall seed, in the Clemson Regional. The Tigers won the regional championship with a 5-1 victory over the Wildcats to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals at Texas, while Kentucky’s season ended with a 31-28 overall record and a 16th straight NCAA appearance.

FINAL – Clemson 5, Kentucky 1

Another incredible season of Kentucky Softball ends in the 2025 Clemson Regional, UK's 16th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Thank you @mckenziebump @halpal00 @alexialacatena

You're forever Wildcats

💙See you in February, #BBN! 💙 pic.twitter.com/mSVNI3vUW5

— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) May 18, 2025

Kentucky WBB added a commitment

Kentucky Women’s Basketball added a new player to its 2025-26 roster on Sunday. Elsa Vadfors, a 6-foot-5 international talent from Sweden, announced her commitment to Kenny Brooks’ Wildcats. Vadfors currently plays for Uppsala Basket, but will soon move to the Bluegrass to become a member of Kenny Brooks’ next Kentucky team in Lexington.

“I’m so happy to announce that I’ve committed to the University of Kentucky!” Vadfors wrote in her commitment post on social media. “Thank you to Coach Brooks and the entire Kentucky coaching staff for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. Go Wildcats!”

I’m so happy to announce that I’ve committed to the University of Kentucky! Thank you to Coach Brooks and the entire Kentucky coaching staff for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.
Go wildcats!💙 pic.twitter.com/jVD9HgTF9S

— Elsa Vadfors (@elsavadfors) May 18, 2025

Learn more about Vadfors: Kentucky WBB receives surprise commitment from 6-foot-5 Elsa Vadfors

Watch KSR’s Happy Hour later today

Over on KSR’s YouTube channel, the fourth installment of KSR’s new Happy Hour series will go live at 4 p.m., featuring a panel of KSR personalities recapping the day’s news and other fun topics around Big Blue Nation. Tune in to the live stream while you wind down from Monday or catch the replay whenever you’re able. Go ahead and subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already.

I’m short on time, so that’ll do it for now. Tune in to KSR from 10 a.m. to noon, and have a good Monday.