Kentucky has multiple players capable of winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year

Last season, the defense was an issue for Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats and was a big problem in the team's Sweet 16 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers.

This offseason, it was clear that Coach Pope made a conscious effort to add players to his 2025-26 roster who can help the Wildcats on the defensive side of things.

The two players who have some elite defensive upside that Coach Pope added via the portal are Jayden Quaintance and Mo Dioubate.

Quaintance is coming back from an ACL tear, but he averaged 2.9 blocks per game thanks to his massive wingspan to go with 7.9 rebounds per game, and he did this as a 16-year-old.

Dioubate is more of a veteran compared to Quaintance, and he had an excellent defensive season for the Alabama Crimson Tide last season. Dioubate is a player who takes a lot of pride in his defense, and he will be one of the better rebounders in college basketball this season.

Another player who will have a solid defensive season for the Wildcats is Otega Oweh, who was solid in this aspect of the game last season and will take another stride this year.

Kentucky has multiple players who could win SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and this is a big reason why the defense in KenPom should be much better for Pope's team.

Coach Pope is going to make sure that this team and every team he coaches at Kentucky from now on will put a ton of effort into the defensive side of the floor.