Mark Pope has his frontcourt set for the 2025-26 season

Mark Pope received two massive pieces of news on Saturday related to his frontcourt rotation for next season.

It started with the commitment of Croatian big man Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 forward who averaged 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 assists per contest this past season suiting up for Mega Superbet in Serbia. A few hours later, Brandon Garrison announced his return for a junior season in 2025-26.

It feels particularly notable these two announcements came within hours of each — Garrison is clearly good with Jelavic, who will be a 21-year-old freshman, entering the mix. A little competition never hurt anyone. And in today’s age of college basketball, roster retention is among the most important offseason goals. That’s two important check marks for Pope and his staff.

With Garrison and Jelavic now locked in, Pope appears to have solidified the frontcourt for his second season as head coach. Joining those two will be potential top-five 2026 NBA Draft pick Jayden Quaintance, versatile forward Mouhamed Dioubate, and 7-foot freshman Malachi Moreno. As Pope continues to try and add one more shooter in the backcourt (Sam Houston’s Lamar Wilkerson chief among them), it certainly feels like the frontcourt is locked in — but we can’t fully count out the idea of him adding someone else between now and the fall.

Kentucky’s 2025-26 frontcourt (stats from 2024-25 season)

• Brandon Garrison (Jr.) 6-10, 250 | Kentucky: 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9 FG%, 30 3PT%
• Mouhamed Dioubate (Jr.) 6-7, 215 | Alabama: 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7 FG%, 46.2 3PT%
• Jayden Quaintance (So.) 6-10, 225 | Arizona State: 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 1.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 52.5 FG%, 18.8 3PT%
• Malachi Moreno (Fr.) 7-0, 210 | Great Crossin HS: 21.5 PPG, 14.9 RPG, 3.5 BPG, 3.4 APG, 72.1 FG%, 27.3 3PT%
• Andrija Jelavic (Fr.) 6-11, 225 | Mega Superbet: 10.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 50.3 FG%, 32.3 3PT%

Four of these five will expect to fill a meaningful role in 2025-26, Moreno being the odd man out as a true freshman. If we wanted to stretch the position rules, we could count 6-foot-8 Kam Williams and 6-foot-5 Trent Noah as forwards, but their skill sets will keep them mostly on the perimeter.

Who will take over as the starters at power forward and center in the season-opener? It’s almost impossible to tell this early in the offseason — and possibly a moot point with the way Pope divvies up his minutes — but we might as well take a stab at it.

Quaintance’s ACL injury complicates his potential as a day-one starter. He underwent surgery in the middle of March and has been open about being ready for the first game of the regular season, but it’s best to be cautiously optimistic with an injury as serious as that one. However, once he is fully healthy and ready to play, he could — and should, if Kentucky wants to reach its ceiling — eventually play his way into 20-plus minutes per game.

Factoring in Quaintance’s injury, Garrison should be penciled in as the day-one starting center at this stage. He’s the lone returning piece from last season’s frontcourt. Getting him back was a huge win for Pope and the staff. You would have to think Garrison elected to return with expectations of being the Wildcats’ starting five-man. His development over the next several months will be key in making sure that’s a no-brainer, but familiarity with Pope’s system gives him a leg up. If Garrison can cut down on some unforced errors and improve his jump shot just a tad, a very talented player will emerge.

Once Dioubate’s season at Alabama came to an end, he was public about snagging a starting spot at his next spot. “I know what I deserve,” he told the Tuscaloosa News. Will that come to fruition at Kentucky? His defensive versatility, rebounding, and athleticism make him a multi-positional threat. His outside shooting was over 46 percent last season but on low volume as a 6-foot-7 tweener. Don’t be shocked if he does enough of the “little things” that it makes him tough to leave off the floor. He can do things on the floor no one else on the roster is capable of.

Jelavic is a bit of a wild card. How will his play overseas translate to college? Being a 21-year-old freshman should help him in the physical maturity aspect of the game and his outside shooting draws shades of what Andrew Carr did at Kentucky in 2024-25. On paper, Jelavic might be the best option to pair next to Garrison in the frontcourt as floor-spacing bigs.

Regardless of who actually starts or comes off the bench, it won’t be a surprise if all four earn over 15 minutes per game. Pope wasn’t one to play his bigs more than 25 minutes per outing last season. With the current makeup of the frontcourt, that trend figures to continue in 2025-26. But Pope will have plenty of rotational options to toy with no matter what.