KSR Today: Signing Day recap ('nobody panic'), ACC/SEC Challenge, and VB starts tournament run

ZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Good morning, folks! An already busy week isn’t slowing down. The dust is still clearing out after National Signing Day, which included some interesting comments from both head coach Mark Stoops and associate head coach Vince Marrow in the NSD press conference.

“Nobody panic, we’re gonna have a better football team, all right?” was the message Stoops shared as he departed the podium after talking with the media about his 20 future Kentucky Wildcats. He then did not show up for his scheduled radio show appearance later that night. Some important pieces from the 2024 roster dipped into the transfer portal throughout the day, too.

Men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope did make it to his radio show though, and he’ll talk with the media again this afternoon ahead of another road game for Kentucky this weekend. The Wildcats take on No. 7 Gonzaga in Seattle on Saturday with a late-night tipoff set for 10:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2. After losing to Clemson on the road earlier this week, we’ll be eager to hear what Pope has to say about his plan for the Zags.

Let’s dive right into this morning’s news and notes, starting with Stoops’ incoming 2025 recruiting class.

20 class of 2025 signees locked in (1 more to go?)

The 2025 recruiting class is still waiting on the hopeful signing of three-star WR Dejerrian Miller, but the rest of the group signed the necessary papers to play college football at the University of Kentucky starting in 2025. Half of that group expects to arrive early in January to get a head start on next season. Kentucky’s class ranks 28th in the country and 16th-best in the SEC with six four-star prospects.

Early Enrollees

OT Bryan Auguste (3-star; No. 1,139)
WR Preston Bowman (3-star; No. 650)
DB Martels Carter Jr. (4-star; No. 256)
DT Kalen Edwards (3-star; No. 403)
DB Demarcus Gardner (3-star; No. 565)
WR Montavin Quisenberry (3-star; No. 759)
QB Stone Saunders (3-star; No. 755)
OT Darrin Strey (4-star; No. 364)
QB Brennen Ward (3-star; No. 942)
DB Dyllon Williams (3-star; No. 659)

Remaining signees

OT Jermiel Atkins (3-star; No. 983)
DL Javeon Campbell (4-star; No. 297)
OT Jayden Clark (3-star; No. 856)
S Grant Grayton (3-star; No. 1,121)
WR Cameron Miller (3-star; No. 457)
CB Andrew Purcell (4-star; No. 257)
WR Quintin Simmons (3-star; No. 578)
TE Mikkel Skinner (4-star; No. 222)
DL Nicholas Smith (3-star; No. 1,183)
EDGE Cedric Works (4-star; No. 312)

KSR’s Nick Roush listed a handful of the future Wildcats he believes could have an immediate impact from day one, which you can read here.

More football portal losses

Wednesday was a big day for the transfer portal. Several Kentucky players elected to enter their names into the portal in search of a new school. Most of the outgoing Wildcats won’t be considered huge losses, but there were a few that the coaching staff would have liked to see return. It’s always going to hurt when a talented legacy prospect dips out after three seasons. But that’s what can happen when the program is trending in the wrong direction.

Jr. WR Dane Key
Jr. DL Keeshawn Silver
Sr. OL Courtland Ford
So. TE Khamari Anderson
Fr. (RS) TE Tanner Lemaster
So. ILB Jayvant Brown
Fr. (RS) DL Tommy Ziesmer
Fr. (RS) DB Avery Stuart
So. LS Walker Himebauch

For even more on yesterday’s wild day in the world of UK football, Roush and Adam Luckett have you covered with a brand-new episode of 11 Personnel.

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WBB takes on the ACC/SEC Challenge

The ACC went just 2-14 in the ACC/SEC Challenge on the men’s side, but one of those two wins came against Kentucky. Can Kenny Brooks flip the script for the women’s team? The still-undefeated No. 14 Wildcats will hit the road this afternoon for another ranked matchup, this one coming against No. 16 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. This will be UK’s first true road game of the season.

Kentucky is currently 7-0 for the first time since 2019-20 and has won all seven games by at least 10 points for the first time since 2013-14. The ‘Cats have beaten No. 18 Louisville at home and No. 19 Illinois in a neutral setting. Led by reigning National Player of the Week Clara Strack, along with star guard Georgia Amoore, Kentucky is looking to crack the Top 10 with a win today.

Tipoff at Carmichael Arena is set for 5:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2. We’ll have a full preview of what to expect coming to the website later this morning. If you can’t wait that long, KSR’s Phoenix Stevens and Katie Hutchison dropped a new episode of Memorial Memo to recap the Music City Classic and give some quick insight on UNC.

VB begins NCAA Tournament run

After capping off the regular season with an eighth consecutive SEC Championship (and plenty of individual accolades), Kentucky volleyball (20-7) begins its run for a second NCAA title this evening at Memorial Coliseum, which will be the host site for the first two rounds. The Wildcats start things off with a showdown against Cleveland State. The Vikings won the Horizon League to reach the postseason.

Tonight’s match will be streamed live on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m. EST. A win tonight would set the ‘Cats up for a second-round match on Friday night against the winner of Minnesota-WKU.

Single-Game MBB tickets on sale today

The remaining single-game tickets for Kentucky men’s basketball games will go on sale later today at 5:00 p.m. EST through the link here. They’ll likely go fast (SEC games especially), so make sure to snag whatever is left when the window opens. These tickets include home games at Rupp Arena against: