It was a very, very good offseason for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats, retaining almost all of the team’s production with remaining eligibility, signing three top-40 high school recruits and adding one of the top transfer portal classes in the country. With 14 talented pieces on the roster going into 2025-26, there aren’t many groups better from top to bottom when you combine ability, versatility, size, experience and depth.
In fact, there may not have been a bigger winner of the offseason than Kentucky — at least if you look at the program’s five top-60 portal additions, as David Cobb of CBS Sports believes.
In a list of the biggest winners of the 2025 portal cycle, the Wildcats sit atop the list put together by CBS Sports, a class that included six total newcomers and just two departures in Kerr Kriisa and Travis Perry.
“Kentucky went shopping in the luxury aisle and came away with some high-end portal additions to reinforce a roster that is losing five double-figure scorers to due to the expiration of eligibility,” Cobb said of the Cats. “Five of the additions are ranked among the top-60 transfers, headlined by No. 12 Jayden Quaintance. After shining as a shot-blocking freshman at Arizona State last season, Quaintance will combine with ex-Alabama forward Mo Dioubate to give the Wildcats a ferocious front court. Jaland Lowe (Pitt) will run the show at point guard after averaging 5.5 assists for the Panthers, while Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and Kam Williams (Tulane) will add perimeter pop.
“Year 1 under coach Mark Pope showed proof of concept, and now the Wildcats are poised to keep building after a strong offseason.”
Not too shabby.
Among the other big winners: Louisville, St. John’s, UCLA, Michigan, Kansas State, Washington, UConn, Florida, San Diego State and George Washington.
The losers? North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, UCF, Oregon State, Washington State, Memphis and Robert Morris.
Kentucky sits at No. 2 nationally in On3’s transfer portal team rankings, that rating system combining both additions and departures. Quaintance sits at No. 4 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking, followed by Lowe at No. 52, Dioubate at No. 61, Williams at No. 80 and Aberdeen at No. 89.
Read all of David Cobb’s analysis with CBS Sports here.
PORTAL / INTERNATIONAL COMMITS (7)
- Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
- Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
- Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
- Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
- Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | Committed 4/12
- Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21
- Reece Potter – C – Miami (OH) — 6.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.6 FG%, 36.7 3PT% | Committed 5/5
RETURNING PIECES / INCOMING FRESHMEN (7)
- Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Going through NBA Draft process
- Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
- Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
- Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
- Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
- Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)
- Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Incoming Freshman – Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)
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