Big Blue Nation is starting to get very excited about this 2026-27 team Mark Pope has put together. I believe this team is going to be great this year, but this will be dependent on some Wildcats hitting their upside.
Last season, the Kentucky Wildcats had a ton of high expectations, but things did not go well for Mark Pope’s team. Injuries played a role in this, but the reality is Kentucky didn’t have a good season, so it is imperative that this year is better for Pope’s team.
There is a lot of buzz around Kentucky football with Will Stein set to begin his first season as a head coach, a new era beginning in Lexington following a decade-long tenure of Mark Stoops at the helm.
In his first season at Kentucky, Trent Noah gave Big Blue Nation a lot of confidence that he was going to be a sharpshooter for this team for a long time, but his sophomore season wasn’t great.
The biggest what-if on this Kentucky roster is, without question, Braydon Hawthorne. The coaching staff added Hawthorne to last season's roster to come in and redshirt, knowing that he has all of the upside in the world.
One underrated addition Mark Pope made this offseason was bringing in JMU transfer power forward Justin McBride. He has had multiple stops in college basketball, but this stop at JMU was the one that really got his career going.
Heading into next season, Kentucky is going to need its depth to show in a big way and that means multiple guys have to step up and take big leaps in production.
This offseason, Malachi Moreno had Big Blue Nation holding its breath when he was in the NBA Draft as his stock continued to rise and some thought he would stay in the draft.
The Kentucky Wildcats have already gotten to work in the 2027 recruiting class. With a commitment from four-star shooting guard Ryan Hampton, they already rank first in the nation, according to Rivals.
The 2026 NBA Draft concluded with Wednesday's second round as teams made their final selections in one of the deepest classes in the draft's history. One pick that may have flown a little under the radar was 41st overall selection Otega Oweh.
Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Nicholas “Happy” Smith has died at the age of 20, the school announced on Monday. A cause of death was not made public.
Kentucky Wildcats football player Nic Smith has died at the age of 20, the school announced on Monday. Smith, whose nickname was “Big Happ,” was a redshirt freshman defensive lineman last season.