Kentucky basketball, Mark Pope tab Keegan Brown to manage roster
LEXINGTON — As coach Mark Pope builds Kentucky basketball’s 2026-27 roster, he looked to his past to fill a newly created job.
Pope on Thursday hired Keegan Brown as the Wildcats’ director of roster management. Brown previously worked for Pope at BYU.
Brown arrives at UK after spending the past two years with the Wisconsin Herd, the Milwaukee Bucks’ G League affiliate.
“Keegan Brown is an outstanding addition to our program,” Pope said in a statement Thursday morning. “He brings a unique blend of organization, analytics and feel for the game that’s critical to any organization, along with a deep understanding of what it takes to build a roster that can compete at the highest level. In today’s game, roster management is everything, and Keegan is as good as it gets in that space. We’re excited to have him in Lexington and confident he’ll make an immediate impact on our success.”
Per the news release from Kentucky athletics announcing the hire, “Brown will work closely with Pope and the staff to support the program’s roster-building efforts.” Specifically, Brown will be involved in evaluating the transfer portal, roster planning, scholarship allocation and more. Additionally, Brown will have a hand in scouting.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join a historic program like Kentucky basketball,” Brown said. “The tradition, expectations, and standard here are unmatched, and I’m excited to get to work alongside Coach Pope and the staff to build a roster that reflects that level.”
Brown graduated from BYU with a bachelor’s in business management, then earned his master’s in sports business management at Central Florida.
During his time working with Pope and the Cougars, Brown was the program’s director of video and analytics strategy. Per his bio page on the program’s official website, Brown’s responsibilities involved breaking down “all game, practice and recruiting film using SportsCode” as well as managing “all third-party relationships that directly affect basketball performance.”
