Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope reacts to March Madness loss
Following a 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament, Kentucky coach Mark Pope expressed pride for his players. “We’ll be talking about these guys 10 years from now,” Pope.
- Six Kentucky seniors, all transfers, have exhausted their eligibility, and guard Kerr Kriisa could return for a sixth year or go pro.
- Kentucky’s 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 6 nationally and could rise with a commitment from five-star forward Nate Ament.
INDIANAPOLIS — Kentucky basketball‘s 2024-25 season met its end on Friday night. The No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, UK lost to 2-seed Tennessee, 78-65, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Now, with the first season of the Mark Pope coaching era in the books, the Wildcats set their sights on the 2025-26 campaign.
Here’s a look at the offseason ahead, and what next season’s roster could look like:
Six UK seniors, all of whom joined via the transfer portal last offseason, have exhausted their eligibility.
That group includes guards Koby Brea, Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, forwards Ansley Almonor and Andrew Carr, and center Amari Williams
Each member of the group brought something to the table.
Butler was a quiet, determined leader and the team’s best perimeter defender. Robinson was the most consistent scorer of the season aside from junior Otega Oweh. Williams, the leading rebounder, also was a gifted passer — a skill he regularly showcased, none better than when he recorded only the fourth triple-double in program history in a road loss at Ole Miss in February. Brea, who was the nation’s most accurate 3-point shooter during the 2023-24 season while starring at Dayton, lived up to that billing at UK. While slowed by a back injury at times during the second half of the season, Carr was a crafty veteran with a diverse skill set (though his long-range shooting, which he showed off during the team’s preseason pro day, wasn’t highlighted as much as one might have thought). And Almonor, who had been the go-to option offensively during his previous season at Fairleigh Dickinson, humbly accepted a more reduced role with the Wildcats — coming off the bench for most of the season, while stepping into the starting lineup for a seven-game stretch beginning in the middle of January and lasting until mid-February to cover for injured teammates.
The six senior departures account for half of the 12 scholarship players on the roster.
And they might not be the only Wildcats who move on.
Kerr Kriisa, a fifth-year senior guard, could elect to return.
Or he might not.
He was noncommittal when asked about his future March 20, one day before the team’s NCAA opener against Troy. Because of how few games he appeared in (seven), and the fact he never took the floor again after suffering his season-ending foot injury against Gonzaga on Dec. 7, Kriisa would receive a medical redshirt if he applied for a sixth season of college eligibility.
He didn’t deny that’s a possibility.
Yet he also didn’t discount another: That he’ll return overseas to start a professional career. (Kriisa is from Estonia.)
There’s no question who the most important potential returnee is: Oweh, who led the team in scoring (16.2 points per game) — he tallied 10-plus points in each of UK’s first 26 games, reaching that mark 30 times (in 33 appearances overall) — and tied for the team high in steals (1.6 per game). Oweh also pulled down 4.6 rebounds per outing, the best average among Kentucky’s guards. In ESPN.com’s most recent ranking of the top 100 prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft, which published March 1, Oweh clocked in at No. 92. Given that tidbit, and the money he stands to make via name, image and likeness deals and player revenue sharing — it’s slated to start later this year — one would surmise Oweh is likely to be back in Kentucky blue in 2025-26. One can never say never, though.
Barring something unforeseen, the Wildcats’ four underclassmen — forward Brandon Garrison, who was a sophomore this season, and the freshman trio of Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry — will be back to take on larger roles in 2025-26.
Possible departures: Oweh would seem to be NBA or bust. Chandler followed Pope after originally signing with Pope at BYU. Noah and Perry, Kentucky high school superstars, play for the team they grew up cheering for. The only potential entrant could be Garrison, should another school offer an NIL and revenue-sharing offer he can’t refuse. (This possibility would need to be classified as “remote,” at best.)
Coming in: Even before the 2024-25 campaign finished, UK’s staff already was making preparations for next season. The same day as its Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee, Kentucky landed its first transfer portal commitment for the 2025-26 roster: Kam Williams, a wing who was an All-American Athletic Conference Freshman Team honoree this season. Not only is the 6-foot-8 Williams ultra athletic, but he’s a gifted outside shooter as well, leading the Green Wave in 3-point percentage (connecting at a better-than-41% clip) in 2024-25. Elsewhere, regardless of what Kriisa decides, UK will need another veteran point guard. The same goes for the void left by Williams in the middle; though Garrison will be expected to move into the lineup, the Wildcats need to add an experienced big man to push him (and provide more depth in the frontcourt). And every senior who moved on could knock down shots from deep — yes, even Williams (though he made only 1 of his 4 attempts behind the 3-point line in 2024-25). Brea, Robinson and Almonor, in that order, were Kentucky’s leading shotmakers from distance. Given all the Wildcats are losing in terms of 3-point marksmanship, expect them to devote plenty of attention to 3-point shooters who enter the portal. Step 1 in addressing that need was adding Kam Williams. While there still is a ways to go before the transfer portal closes, Pope and Co. already have been giving their phones a workout reaching out to potential additions for next season: Per 247Sports, Kentucky has contacted 15 players (not including Williams), as of March 28.
Pope’s recruiting chops were questioned upon his hire at UK, as he’d never signed a five-star prospect during his time as a head coach. Per the 247Sports Composite, two of Kentucky’s 2025 signees, guard Jasper Johnson and center Malachi Moreno, are five-star recruits. The Wildcats also signed a four-star combo guard in the 2025 cycle, Acaden Lewis. The class is No. 6 nationally in 247Sports’ Composite rankings, as of March 28. And it could rise higher: UK is still in the running for consensus five-star forward Nate Ament. A commitment from him would all but guarantee Pope’s first full recruiting class with Kentucky finishes among the top five in the country.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
