Trent Noah opens up on Travis Perry's decision to transfer: "It definitely stung"

If there was anyone from last season’s Kentucky team who wanted to see a sophomore season of Travis Perry in Lexington more than head coach Mark Pope, it would be his fellow Bluegrass native.

Trent Noah and Perry were roommates at UK in 2024-25, their first season as college players. Neither expected to be teammates before arriving on campus as young and eager freshmen. They’d competed against each other as opponents in high school, including the 2024 state championship game at Rupp Arena, won by Perry’s Lyon County squad in an exciting matchup against Noah’s Harlan County.

But teaming up as Wildcats was not the vision when Perry was hoisting the championship trophy.

Perry was committed to Kentucky at the time, but under former head coach John Calipari. Meanwhile, Noah was signed with South Carolina, Calipari showing little interest in the three-star high school recruit. But once Pope was brought on board, he wasted no time linking the two in-state talents together. Injuries to players ahead of them in the rotation helped, but both played significant roles off the bench as true freshmen.

Those two, along with fellow freshman Collin Chandler, quickly formed a bond as the rookies on a team filled with veterans. So when Perry shocked the Big Blue Nation by entering the transfer portal in the offseason, and thus committed to an intraconference foe in Ole Miss, it hurt.

“It definitely stung,” Noah said Monday of Perry’s departure. “I did everything I could to keep him here, he’s one of my good friends and he was an excellent player. But at the end of the day, you got to do what’s best for you, and that’s what he thought was best for him. I love him and wish him the best, not looking forward to playing him, that’s for sure.”

Noah says that Perry kept everyone in the loop with his decision, notifying the remaining members of the team of his intentions to transfer before it all went public. Perry didn’t want his teammates to learn the news on social media. They understood the reasoning, especially with the 2025-26 roster expected to be even deeper than it was in 2024-25. Perry has known Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard since high school.

A better opportunity, in Perry’s eyes, was out in Oxford. In that regard, there are no hard feelings.

“We definitely talked. We’re both freshmen and we lean on each other for little things,” Noah said. “That’s how just how it goes in this day and age of college basketball. You just try to put yourself in the best position and he thought Ole Miss was the best position, so I hope he has a great year.”

“I feel like God has a plan for people,” Chandler added. “And that’s what he felt he needed to do for him and his life, which we all have to respect. It’s just gonna be sad when we have to beat up on him when we play him in SEC play.”

Noah, Chandler, and Perry all shared similar growing pains as college freshmen. Chandler found his rhythm as the season rolled along and returns with expectations of being an impact player in 2025-26. The path to playing time was not going to be as clear for the other two, though. Perry elected to find those minutes elsewhere, but Noah wants to continue fighting for them in his home state.

“No. Nah. This is the greatest place on earth,” Noah said when asked if he thought of transferring in the offseason. “I love Coach Pope’s vision for me and he sees kind of the same path that I see. That’s what we’re looking to do this year and on the way win number nine.”

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