Who will be on Kentucky basketball roster 2026-27 under Mark Pope?

ST. LOUIS — Kentucky basketball’s eventful second season under coach Mark Pope wrapped up Sunday, as the team lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Seventh-seeded UK couldn’t upend No. 2 seed Iowa State, which notched an 82-63 victory at the Enterprise Center.

With the 2025-26 campaign put to bed, the Wildcats now can look ahead to next season.

Here’s a look at the offseason ahead, and what the 2026-27 roster might look like:

Which Kentucky basketball players could leave?

There were two seniors on the roster in guards Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh.

One can’t say enough about Oweh’s stunning consistency during his two seasons at Kentucky. In 71 games for the Wildcats, he failed to reach 10 points only four times. While UK and its fan base would have preferred to have more success as a team — be it an SEC regular season or tournament title or a deeper run in the Big Dance — during Oweh’s career, no one can say he gave anything less than his best.

Aberdeen joined Kentucky as an intraconference transfer after winning a national title at Florida in 2024-25. He had a standout season, ranking second to Oweh in points per game (13.8) and also pacing the team in assists (3.6). The latter figure arguably is more impressive than the former — Aberdeen arrived expecting to be able to be an off-ball option. But after a shoulder injury limited starting point guard Jaland Lowe to just seven games, Aberdeen stepped into the void. And filled it admirably, given the circumstances.

Which UK basketball players could return for 2026-27 season?

It’s a long list of potential returnees. And a long list of difficult decisions, for both the Wildcats’ coaching staff and the players in question.

Lowe already said he plans to return. He told The Courier Journal as much at the SEC Tournament.

The most important pieces to retain are two players who worked their way into the lineup over the course of the season: guard Collin Chandler and center Malachi Moreno. The former became one of the league’s most lethal 3-point shooters; the latter was a member of the conference’s all-freshman team. The only possible obstacle: Moreno deciding to roll the dice and enter the NBA draft. Yet he stands to make more returning to Kentucky when accounting for the money in name, image and likeness (NIL) deals as well as the revenue sharing universities now furnish to players.

Regardless, UK needs to do everything in its power to ensure the pair is back in 2026-27.

Don’t forget Kam Williams, either. The rangy Louisiana native continued to improve as the season went along until a foot injury he suffered in January sidelined him for nearly two months. As one of the Wildcats’ most athletic players and a proven long-range shooter, he’s a player one would think the staff will try to convince to return.

Forward Mouhamed Dioubate will be a senior next season. He brought a physical edge, energy as well as vocal leadership. But his 3-point shooting was horrendous. Will Dioubate’s positives outweigh the negatives when Pope and his staff begin evaluating next season’s roster construction?

Another forward, Brandon Garrison, has one season of eligibility remaining. His career to this point has been defined by inconsistency. Though he ended on a high note: The Oklahoma native’s play was key in outlasting Santa Clara in an overtime bout in the first round of the Big Dance. Even so, whether he’ll return for a third season in Lexington is unclear.

Croatian big man Andrija Jelavic started the final 20 games of the 2025-26 season. While he was solid, he never was spectacular. No breakout, numbers-jump-off-the-page performances to speak of. (To wit: The most points he scored in any outing was 11. On three occasions.) Still, 6-foot-11 bigs with soft shooting touch don’t grow on trees. Watching Jelavic, one gets the sense he’s barely scratching the surface of what he might become. That latent ability might be enough to persuade UK to invest for another go-round with him.

Elsewhere, two Kentucky natives have to navigate uncertain futures.

Freshman guard Jasper Johnson wasn’t shy stating his intention he wanted to be the program’s latest one-and-done NBA lottery pick. With scant production to point to in 2025-26, the draft is out of the question. Conversely, enticing him to stay at UK likely will require a hefty dollar figure. Is it a deal the Wildcats even would fathom acquiescing to?

Then there’s Trent Noah, who will be a junior next in 2026-27. He started the opener versus Nicholls before he injured his ankle. He started only two more times before the 2025 calendar year concluded. Once SEC play started, there were times Noah might as well have been invisible. Including the three conference tournament games, UK had 21 contests against league competition; Noah only played double-digit minutes six times — and none occurred after the team’s one-point loss at Auburn on Feb. 21. Perhaps no player on the roster has more to think about than the former Harlan County superstar.

Freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne was an observer all season while redshirting. He’s said he intends to return to Lexington. Though the allure of the transfer portal never can be discounted anymore.

The same goes for Lexington native Reece Potter, a transfer from Miami-Ohio; the thinking that surrounded him the moment he joined UK was that he’d take a redshirt in 2025-26 to continue to develop. That’s exactly what came to pass. Now, the question is whether he sticks around to showcase that progress.

As for Jayden Quaintance, the sophomore forward who appeared in only four games? As he’s still expected to be a lottery pick — though closer to the back half of those selections (Picks 8-14) than the front (Picks 1-7) — in the upcoming draft, there’s no thought of him being back in college next season. Whether that’s at Kentucky or elsewhere.

Kentucky basketball transfer portal watch

Possible departures: Garrison could be ready for a fresh start after two seasons in Lexington that didn’t live up to his own (or many others’) expectations. Lowe might move on if he’s not convinced ample playing time awaits next season. As much as UK might want to keep Williams in the fold, he wouldn’t lack for interested parties if he elected to transfer for the second time in as many seasons. Jelavic also would have a bevy of suitors; that is, if he doesn’t decide to head back overseas instead, where he could resume the professional career he had prior to enrolling at Kentucky. Dioubate would be a perfect fit in the rough-and-tumble Big East. (And he’s from Queens, New York. So that tracks.) Underwhelming as his freshman campaign was, many a power conference school would take a flier on Johnson, who was a consensus top-40 player in the 2025 cycle. Two possible landing spots: Alabama and North Carolina, both of whom heavily pursued him before Johnson ultimately chose UK. And Noah? He must contemplate what means more: Money, and the chance to continue living out his childhood dream of wearing a Wildcats jersey? Or playing time? UK offers the best financial opportunity; he won’t make more in NIL deals playing elsewhere. But elsewhere offers the best bet for on-court contributions. Fellow in-state legend — and his former roommate — Travis Perry chose Door No. 2 last year, leaving Kentucky for a more concrete role at Ole Miss. Now, Noah

Coming in: With Aberdeen and Oweh gone, the Wildcats are losing their two leading scorers. They’re losing points. A lot of them. So, one of UK’s chief objectives should be landing top-flight bucket getters. It would help if at least one, if not more, double as knock-down shooters from deep. The 2025-26 club was far too streaky beyond the arc; next season’s roster should reflect Pope’s first team, which had sharpshooters everywhere. Whether Lowe returns or not, the Wildcats need their 2026-27 roster to feature multiple point guards. (In light of the injury woes at the position the past two seasons, having three PGs next season might be the smartest move Pope makes.) Frontcourt deprth could be in flux, pending what transpires with Dioubate, Garrison and Jelavic. Whether every member of that group is back, or enters the transfer portal, Kentucky should prioritize three attributes: the aforementioned 3-point shooting, rebounding and shot blockng. Of those three, only Jelavic could be viewed as much of a perimeter threat. (Even if his raw numbers don’t necessarily back up that assertion.) The Wildcats were a middle-of-the-pack outfit among SEC squads in rebounding in 2025-26; they need to find more bigs who crash the glass. And in terms of rejecting shots, Moreno was the only player on the team who averaged more than a block per game. UK has to find more rim protectors.

Kentucky basketball recruiting class 2026

Recruiting class? What recruiting class? As of March 22, the Wildcats don’t have a single prospect committed in the 2026 cycle. No, that is not a typo. Kentucky, which once signed five-star recruits by the bushel, doesn’t have an incoming freshman the day after its 2025-26 season ended.