New time frame for Jaxson Robinson potentially entering the Transfer Portal emerges

An important deadline for Kentucky’s roster build just got even more important. May 1 is the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal, aka notify their current schools they may leave. According to Jeff Borzello, that date now also applies to graduate transfers, who previously had no deadline to enter the portal. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved the change on Monday and it is effective immediately.

What does this mean for Kentucky, which is building a roster from scratch? With a few exceptions (which we’ll cover in a minute), graduate transfers now have to enter the portal by next Wednesday instead of waiting until after they test NBA Draft waters, etc. That’s going to bring forth a lot of new names; the biggest one, however, we could still be waiting on.

BYU senior Jaxson Robinson declared for the NBA Draft yesterday. While the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year did not mention a potential return to college, the common thought is if he does decide to come back as a grad transfer, Kentucky will be his destination. It would certainly be nice if we knew whether or not Robinson was entering the portal by May 1, but, as Borzello notes, Robinson gets an extension because Pope left BYU. Players whose coaches have left their school have 30 days from the departure to make their decision.

Getting a lot of questions on how this would impact Jaxson Robinson. The coaching change exception still exists, so he would have to enter the portal within 30 days from the date Mark Pope left. https://t.co/JxckSJEmcA

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 24, 2024

Mark Pope signed his term sheet with Kentucky on April 11, which makes the deadline for Robinson to enter the portal May 11. So, 17 more days (although once he’s in the portal, he can take however long he likes with his decision).

Well worth it to wait for Robinson, who averaged 14.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per game last season for Pope at BYU. He is currently ranked No. 55 on ESPN’s list of draft prospects. Now that he has officially declared for the draft, he can begin to receive feedback from teams. If he hears another year of college is in his best interest, hopefully, we’ll see him in Kentucky blue sooner rather than later.

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