Mark Pope has understood the assignment so far this offseason

Everyone agrees that Mark Pope’s first season at Kentucky was a success — except for Pope, of course, whose standard is winning the national championship. Now that next year’s roster is seemingly set with the return of Otega Oweh, it’s safe to say that so far, this offseason has been a success as well.

Yesterday marked the two-month mark since Kentucky’s loss to Tennessee in the Sweet 16. Since then, Pope has built a preseason top-ten roster with four core returning players, including Oweh, who could be a preseason First Team All-American; six transfer portal additions, several of which are expected to start; three incoming freshmen, all four and five-star prospects; and one international man of mystery, Andreja Jelavic. And that’s just roster-building. Kentucky has also rolled out some exciting scheduling news, and Pope has made the media rounds to connect with fans.

With the team arriving on campus next week for summer classes and workouts, let’s take a moment to look back and just how much Pope and his staff have accomplished over the last two months, which will get you even more excited about what’s coming up this fall.

Roster Building: ✅

Kentucky lost six players to graduation (Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams, Andrew Carr, Ansley Almonor, and Koby Brea) and two to the transfer portal (Kerr Kriisa and Travis Perry). Otega Oweh (16.2 PPG), Brandon Garrison (5.9 PPG), Collin Chandler (2.7 PPG), and Trent Noah (2.7 PPG) accounted for 33.2% of last year’s scoring, 29.8% of its rebounding, and 30.5% of its minutes. Mark Pope didn’t have to start from scratch like last year, but there were a lot of holes to fill.

With more time and resources than he had the first time around, Pope did it thoughtfully, bringing in mostly proven Power 5 contributors to fill the backcourt and frontcourt, two from the SEC. As with year one, there are shooters, but after a season in the SEC, Pope also focused on defense and rebounding, adding former Kentucky signee Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State and Mo Dioubate from Alabama. Dioubate is the type of player Kentucky lacked last season, a high-energy Swiss Army knife who feasts on 50/50 balls. Quaintance will need time to recover from his ACL surgery, giving Brandon Garrison an early opportunity to shine and create a battle for minutes on the inside.

Lamont Butler leaves big shoes to fill, but Jaland Lowe brings an impressive stat line and a similar reputation as a competitor with him from Pitt. Kam Williams, who will just be a sophomore, was one of the top shooters in the portal. Kentucky even landed a player with national championship experience in former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen, who can play almost any role in the backcourt. Andrija Jelavic and Reece Potter make Kentucky’s frontcourt one of the deepest — and potentially, most versatile — in the country.

Unlike last year’s team, this squad only has two seniors, Aberdeen and Oweh, meaning there is plenty of room for development. And, for the first time, we’ll really get to see the fruits of Mark Pope’s efforts on the recruiting trail. Four-star shooting guard Jasper Johnson is the star of the bunch, giving Kentucky another weapon on the perimeter. Fellow Kentucky native Malachi Moreno and late addition Braydon Hawthorne (who hails from right across the state line in Huntington, West Virginia) may not see a ton of time in a loaded frontcourt, but will have plenty of time to develop and add bulk.

This roster may not have as many three-point shooters as last year’s, but it makes up for it with depth, versatility, defense, and room to grow for the future. Pope didn’t land every player he wanted (remember when he took Lamar Wilkerson to the winner’s circle at Keeneland?); however, he pivoted from his misses and built one of the most impressive rosters in the country.

PORTAL / INTERNATIONAL COMMITS (7)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – Rising Sophomore – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – Rising Junior – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – Rising Junior – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – Rising Sophomore – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | Committed 4/12
• Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – Rising Senior – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21
• Reece Potter – C – Miami (OH) — Rising Junior – 6.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.6 FG%, 36.7 3PT% | Committed 5/5

RETURNING PIECES / INCOMING FRESHMEN (7)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Confirmed return on 5/28
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)
• Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Incoming Freshman – Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)

NIL budget: ✅

To build that roster, Mark Pope needed money; after a successful first year, Kentucky’s NIL donors made sure he had it. According to insiders, Kentucky had one of the top NIL budgets in all of college basketball this offseason, making it possible to keep the biggest stars on the roster (Oweh, Garrison) and lure in the best ones from the portal (Quaintance, Dioubate, Lowe) and high school ranks. Kentucky’s NIL budget is thought to be well north of $10 million, but not quite the $20 million that some college basketball writers claimed.

Keeping Oweh was the biggest priority. We don’t know the exact figures of his NIL deal, but it was enough to turn down the $3 million or so he could have made had he stayed in the NBA Draft and been selected in the second round. Until the House Settlement is approved, the rails are still off when it comes to NIL; Kentucky was able to capitalize on that and keep its top scorer as next season’s keystone.

Scheduling: ✅

Adding to the excitement for next season: the schedule. Mark Pope can’t be quite as bold as he’d like due to Kentucky’s previous obligations (home games at Rupp bring in a lot of money for the athletic department), so he got creative.

A home-and-home vs. St. John’s wasn’t in the cards (due to said previous obligations), and UCLA wanted out of the CBS Sports Classic, so the Cats will play Rick Pitino’s Red Storm in Atlanta instead, giving BBN the long-awaited Pope vs. Pitino matchup five days before Christmas. With the NCAA easing rules for preseason exhibitions, Purdue will come to Rupp Arena for an exhibition game, as will Georgetown (University, not College). The Boilermakers are considered by some to be the best team in the country, setting up an exciting start to the (pre)season.

The rest of the non-conference schedule is still to be announced, but we know it will include Indiana coming to Rupp Arena and Kentucky vs. Gonzaga in Nashville, two series agreed upon during the John Calipari era. The one hiccup in the schedule is the Louisville game moving to the second week of the season; however, Mark Pope said Louisville, the home team, is to blame there. One week later, we’ll get Kentucky vs. Michigan State in the Champions Classic in New York City. Add in a loaded SEC slate (which is still to be announced), and Quad 1 opportunities will not be lacking this season.

No wonder Pope keeps banging the drum for a 40-game season. While advocating for it on KSR, he imagined the possibilities, even mentioning a potential return to the Maui Invitational.

“Come on, man, let us do a home-and-home with Kansas. Let’s go. Why am I not going to Storrs to play a game? We need some more flexibility. And also, let us get to Maui.”

Kentucky’s 2025-26 non-conference schedule (as we know it)

• Oct. 24 (Fri.): vs. Purdue | Rupp Arena (Exhibition)
• Oct. 30 (Thu.): vs. Georgetown | Rupp Arena (Exhibition)
• Nov. 11 (Tue.): vs. Louisville | Louisville
• Nov. 18 (Tue.): vs. Michigan State | Champions Classic (New York)
• Nov. 21 (Fri.): vs. Loyola University Maryland | Rupp Arena
• Nov. 26 (Wed.): vs. Tennessee Tech | Rupp Arena
• Dec. 5 (Fri.): vs. Gonzaga | Nashville
• Dec. 9 (Tue.): vs. NC Central | Rupp Arena
• Dec. 13 (Sat.): vs. Indiana | Rupp Arena
• Dec. 20 (Sat.): vs. St. John’s | CBS Sports Classic (Atlanta)
• Dec. 23 (Tue.): vs. Bellarmine | Rupp Arena
• TBD: SEC/ACC Challenge | TBD

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Media appearances: ✅

During the previous tenure, we could go months without hearing from the head coach. Once his roster was set, Mark Pope welcomed in the media, doing an hour-long interview on KSR and talking to local reporters for 30 minutes the week prior, in addition to interviews with Jon Rothstein, Andy Katz, and others. More media opportunities are likely on the way once the players arrive on campus for the summer.

Then there’s the stuff that’s not part of the job description. Pope was on the recruiting trail when he received word about the deadly tornado and storms that went through Southern Kentucky. Less than 36 hours later, he was on the ground in London helping alongside his daughters. He spent Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery honoring fallen heroes. He took Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah, and his wife, Lee Anne, to the ribbon-cutting of the new Glasgow-Barren County Boys and Girls Club, a cause near and dear to Kelly Craft’s heart (this could also go under “NIL budget”).

This actually happened a year ago, but a few weeks ago, a picture of a letter Pope sent to a fan who randomly invited him and his wife Lee Anne to his wedding surfaced on social media, another sign that Pope “gets it.”

Another reason to love Mark Pope:

My friend got married last year and he jokingly sent Mark Pope a wedding invitation, Mark Pope then sent back a personalized letter wishing them the best and an autograph to top it off.

He is going to be a fan favorite for a long time. pic.twitter.com/mqlHEfNrNg

— Collin Chandler Enthusiast (@BigBlueSwez) May 16, 2025

With Pope’s Father/Son and Father/Daughter Camps coming up next weekend, I’m sure we’ll get a new batch of stories about Pope and the new team. I’m already counting down until the season (148 days until the exhibition vs. Purdue), but it should be an exciting summer in Lexington.