KSR Today: Portal Madness, Collin Chandler and the Jordan Brand Classic

Mark Pope had to rebuild the big board a bit after missing out on some of Kentucky‘s prime targets to wrap up the roster in 2025-26. It’s only one or two pieces with the rest of the group very, very good — but it’s still a spot or two left to fill with no obvious layups to fill them. Well, earlier in the week there weren’t, the Wildcats searching high and low both locally in the portal and worldwide among international options.

That list has grown organically over the last 24 hours with some of the best talent yet becoming available, leaving schools with completed rosters wishing they had holes to fill and dollars to spend after overpaying on the first couple of portal waves. We all saw the victory laps certain fanbases took loading up on guys early to make appearances on the top portal class rankings, only to be passed up as more names jumped in. Expect to see more shuffling at the top after seeing some of the recent names.

Among them? Memphis’ PJ Haggerty (21.7 PPG), Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic (17.9 PPG), Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (12.3 PPG) and North Dakota’s Treysen Eaglestaff (18.9 PPG), just to name a few. That’s not even including the likes of Florida State’s Jamir Watkins, Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams, St. John’s’ RJ Luis, Washington State’s Cedric Coward, UNC’s Ian Jackson and San Francisco’s Malik Thomas — all top-50 portal players still technically available at varying stages of their recruitments, some about to pop publicly for other schools and others knee-deep in the draft process with college options on the back burner.

Either way, if Thursday was any indication, the next several days leading up to the April 22 portal deadline will be absolute chaos with plenty of top-tier talent still to come. Fortunately for Kentucky, they don’t need much, looking for a shooter with some playmaking abilities while also poking around at long-term draft-and-stash development options, if you will.

What will Friday bring?

Collin Chandler is back for the Cats

Part of the reason the Wildcats don’t need much? They’re on the cusp of bringing back all five players with additional eligibility. Brandon Garrison already announced his return on April 12, putting a bow on a frontcourt that will be among the deepest and most talented in college basketball next season. From there, Otega Oweh decided to test the draft waters, as expected, while maintaining his college eligibility with a return to Kentucky very much on the table. It’d be a surprise if he didn’t — assuming he gets the NIL pay raise he clearly deserves as a potential preseason All-American (he will).

Then you have the freshmen with Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry yet to make public announcements on their futures, necessary or not. In today’s portal era, though, I suppose you can never be too sure.

Chandler went ahead and killed any potential noise about a stay/go decision by making it clear he would be back in Lexington for year two, announcing his return on Thursday.

pic.twitter.com/F7ITonwsqV

— collin chandler (@collinchand13r) April 17, 2025

Chandler finished the year averaging 2.7 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per contest — but shot 48.3 percent from three in his final 11 games while scoring 60 points in that span (5.5 PPG). Things started to click for him down the stretch, and now, he’ll be able to pick up where he left off.

Jasper Johnson to compete in Jordan Brand Classic

Speaking of the future, you’ll be able to get a glimpse of it tonight in the Jordan Brand Classic, scheduled for 6 PM ET in Washington, D.C.

Kentucky signee Jasper Johnson will take the floor in the Boys Game to represent the Wildcats. Recent decommit Acaden Lewis is also scheduled to participate, as is target Nate Ament — although he’s trending toward Tennessee, according to Travis Branham of 247 Sports.

Beyond Johnson, it will be for BBN to get a look at the competition next season, the full roster listed below:

• Darius Acuff (Arkansas)
• Darius Adams (UConn)
• Nate Ament
• Kiyan Anthony (Syracuse)
• Cayden Boozer (Duke)
• Cameron Boozer (Duke)
• Brayden Burries (Arizona)
• Chris Cenac (Houston)
• AJ Dybantsa (BYU)
• Jerry Easter (USC)
• Kingston Flemings (Houston)
• Davion Hannah (Alabama)
• Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame)
• CJ Ingram (Florida)
• Jasper Johnson (Kentucky)
• Nikolas Khamenia (Duke)
• Acaden Lewis
• Alex Lloyd (Florida)
• Trey McKenney (Michigan)
• Darryn Peterson (Kansas)
• Jalen Reece (LSU)
• Jaden Toombs (SMU)
• Meleek Thomas (Arkansas)
• Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor)
• Sadiq White (Syracuse)
• Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

You’ll be able to watch the game LIVE here:

Don’t forget about Kentucky women’s basketball signee Kaelyn Carroll, either, who will suit up in the Girls Game following her appearance in the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game.

You can see her in action, as well, live at 4 PM ET:

Football portal giveth and taketh

It’s not just the basketball portal going crazy — the football portal is just getting started and ramping up by the day. For Kentucky, it’s both opened the door for some departures to cut some fat while also allowing for some big-time additions.

On Thursday, the Wildcats added commitments from wide receiver Hardley Gilmore after his cup of coffee at Nebraska, returning after his debut season in Lexington. Elsewhere, USC transfer Lorenzo Cowan — a former UK pledge out of high school — is back in blue and white to add depth to the EDGE room. SEMO DL Jaylon Stone is also take an official visit to Kentucky after grading out in the top five among FCS players in run defense.

As for departures, the list has grown to seven names:

• DL Kendrick Gilbert
• OL Daniel Mincey
• OL Anfernee Crease
• CB Jiquavious “Quavo” Marshall
• IOL Marc Nave
• OL Wallace Unamba
• NG Dennious Jackson

Keep your head on a swivel, folks. More will be coming and going.

Bat Cats take on No. 2 Tennessee

How about some Kentucky baseball to get you away from the portal craze? Nothing beats a chance to take on Tennessee in Knoxville for an opportunity to earn a fifth top-15 victory this season to go with wins over No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Georgia (road), No. 8 Auburn and No. 11 Ole Miss.

The Bat Cats sit at 20-14 through 34 games and come in at No. 39 in College Baseball’s RPI Rankings. To get to 15 SEC wins — the line to essentially lock up an at-large NCAA Tournament bid — Kentucky needs to go at least 9-6 in its final 15 games in league play with series at Tennessee, vs. South Carolina, at Mississippi State, vs. Oklahoma and at Vanderbilt.

Tonight starts that road, first pitch scheduled for 6:30 PM ET in Knoxville, live on SEC Network+.

Go Cats. Beat the Vols.