From walk-on to scholarship, Brennan Canada's impact at UK goes deep: "He makes all of us better"

When Brennan Canada takes the Rupp Arena floor as a starter on Wednesday night, it’ll be for the first time in his college career. The 6-foot-5 senior out of Mount Sterling, KY has appeared in just 19 games during his four years at Kentucky, mostly coming in as the team’s victory cigar when the Wildcats were leading a blowout during the closing minutes. He’s scored nine points in 27 total minutes since arriving as a freshman walk-on ahead of the 2019-20 season.

But four years later, Canada will be the first one on the floor as he’s honored in front of the Big Blue Nation for the largest Senior Day ceremony of the John Calipari era. He’ll leave UK as a scholarship player who made an impact that no one outside of the program will likely ever fully understand.

“You guys definitely don’t see the impact (Brennan) makes,” Fellow senior Jacob Toppin said during Tuesday’s pre-Senior Day press conference. “In practice, he does a lot for us, whether it’s on the scout team or there’s injured guys and he has to step in and perform to help us get ready for games. He’s always doing the little things to help us prepare for games and we thank him for that. It’s always the little things behind the scenes that you guys don’t see but he’s very capable of playing in the games that we play in.

“But to be in the backseat and help us prepare for games, it’s just an honor. We thank him, because not a lot of guys would have the mindset to do that. A lot of guys would be selfish and want to play, but he takes that role and he’s perfected it and we thank him for that.”

Born in Lexington, cheering for the Kentucky Wildcats was something Canada did very early on in his life. Playing at nearby George Rogers Clark in Winchester, he was one of the best high school prospects across the Commonwealth. Canada finished with 1,371 points and 776 rebounds during his time at GRC, making the All-10th Region First Team along the way. He could have chosen to take a different route for college, one that would allow him ample playing time, albeit on a much smaller stage.

Instead, he opted to stay home and suit up for his hometown team. He wouldn’t have it any other way, either.

“It’s definitely been a blessing,” Canada said. “It’s crazy that it’s been four years, already this fast. But it’s been a blessing, growing up in Kentucky, watching all the games, being a fan and stuff, and just being able to come here and be a part of this team and program, it’s really been a blessing.”

Canada earned his scholarship from Coach Calipari at the beginning of 2023. It’s retroactive, meaning it will cover his entire 2022-23 tuition and even carry over into the upcoming summer. Canada was more than deserving of the scholarship, too. While he’s not someone who impacts the game during the action, he’s certainly a major influence when the doors are closed. Canada has consistently provided veteran leadership that trickles down to his teammates.

“He makes some of the guys look bad in practice because he always comes in and he’s always ready to kill them. Some days you come in, you just want to have fun, but he goes 100 miles per hour,” Oscar Tshiebwe, another Kentucky senior, said on Tuesday. “The coaches get so mad at some guys because of how fast and how he’s always ready.

“We appreciate Brennan because he makes all of us better because he don’t come in just to take it easy. He comes in, he works hard, he runs. And Coach will be like ‘If Brennan is running like that, why are you not running?’ So now people start to pick it up. So he makes everybody work hard every day, not to take it easy. We appreciate him so much, he has helped us a lot.”

Canada will be one of the five starting seniors to take the floor on Wednesday night. There won’t be a soul in Rupp Arena not begging him to take a couple of shots in the early moments. He’s earned that privilege and should take full advantage of it. Kentucky still needs to play to beat Vanderbilt, but this will be a moment four years in the making. It’s not like Canada will play 25 minutes anyways — let him compete for a bit alongside the close friends he’s made.

The Big Blue Nation should shower him with praise and cheers when he’s introduced next to his family on Wednesday night. There aren’t many better examples of what it means to be a Kentucky Wildcat than what Brennan Canada has shown over the last four years. He came to work every day and did his job to the best of his abilities.

“Being able to come here as a walk-on at first and then be able to earn a scholarship, I mean I’m just so grateful for that,” Canada said.