The 2025-26 UK Men’s Basketball season kicks off October 24th, in an exhibition game against the number one team in the nation, Purdue. This team has big shoes to fill due to the success of last season’s team going an impressive record of 24-12 and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. However, Head Coach Mark Pope has put together a promising roster this offseason.
Pope has expressed his satisfaction with the four returning players from last season, including senior Otega Oweh, junior Brandon Garrison, sophomore Collin Chandler, and sophomore Trent Noah. Oweh was last year’s leading scorer and while dealing with an injury this preseason, Pope says on Kentucky’s Media Day, “[despite this] he’s grown as a leader.” Garrison has also been putting in a lot of work this offseason. “Brandon Garrison is winning conditioning runs at the end of practice,” Pope said. “ I’m so proud of this kid.” Noah is expected to be a huge offensive threat this year. “Trent Noah is at 1.76 points per possession in live play right now. I’ve never seen that number ever in the history of college basketball,” Pope said. Chandler as well has improved a lot defensively. “Collin Chandler is leading the team in the defensive impact metric,” Pope said.
Joining these returning players, Pope has gained the majority of this year’s roster from the transfer portal. Some of the key players include Denzel Aberdeen from Florida, Mouhamed Dioubate from Alabama, Jaland Lowe from Pitt, and Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State. Aberdeen committed April 21st, and will be a senior this year. Aberdeen is a winner, in every sense of the word,” Pope said in an interview with Courier Journal. “He has won at every level of basketball.¨ The next player Pope added was Mouhamed Dioubate committed April 11th, 2025 and will be a junior. “Dioubate is a special young man who is a perfect fit for the way we play,” Pope said. Lowe is a guard and committed April 5th, 2025. “Lowe is an incredibly explosive, playmaking, veteran point guard,” Pope said. Quaintance is only 17 years old making him the youngest college basketball player, he is a center and committed April 8th, 2025. Although he is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered back in February, Pope says his talents will benefit the team with his explosiveness and skills.
To finalize this roster, Pope scored three talented freshmen Malachi Moreno, Jasper Johnson, and Braydon Hawthorne. “We got three special freshmen. I don’t know who to start with,” Pope said on Kentucky’s Media Day. Braydon Hawthorne ended up at Kentucky after decommitting from West Virginia, he is already experiencing lots of praise from fans and has potential to seek playing time this year. “But this Braydon Hawthorne, he’s built special, and I think he’s got an incredible upside,”Pope said. Jasper Johnson was one of the biggest wins for Pope this year while building the roster, Pope convinced him to come to Kentukcky over North Carolina and various other big schools. “He has become much more consistent, a consistent shooter, as well as being dangerous,” Pope said. “And you know, his percentages are really good right now, and so I’m incredibly proud of his focus, and he’s growing every single day in important ways.” The final freshmen on this year’s roster is Malachi Moreno, coming from Georgetown, Kentucky he was the top center prospect in his class. “He’s in the high 70s, low 80s in terms of field goal percentage right now, and he’s our leading rebounder on the team,”Pope said. All of these freshmen are predicted to see minutes at some point this year with the skills and energy they bring to the team.
To conclude, the 2025-26 Kentucky Men’s Basketball season is looking really good so far. With one of the most talented rosters in the nation, and a motivated coaching staff and fanbase, Kentucky, as of right now is projected to be a top contender to win the SEC and NCAA championships and is ranked number nine in the nation.
