A rising star for Kentucky basketball has a new contract with the Wildcats
The youngest member of Mark Pope’s Kentucky basketball coaching staff won’t be going anywhere for a while.
Mikhail McLean, who was the final addition to Pope’s first UK staff last spring, has signed a new contract that will keep him in Lexington through the 2026-27 season. McLean, a former Houston player, a longtime support staff member under coach Kelvin Sampson, and, more recently, an assistant coach at Lamar University, came to Kentucky on a one-season deal last year.
According to a copy of the contract obtained by the Herald-Leader, the 33-year-old assistant will receive $400,000 for the 2025-26 season and $425,000 for the 2026-27 season. He came to UK last spring with a salary of $150,000, plus performance bonuses.
Pope, who had no previous relationship with McLean before hiring him to round out his 2024-25 staff, has been effusive in his praise for the young coach over the past year.
“Mikhail is going to be a star in this business. He’s going to be a star,” Pope said late in the season. “You talk about high ceilings. He’s got a really high ceiling. He’s meant so much to us.”
McLean, a 6-foot-8 forward at Houston in his college playing days, has worked primarily with Kentucky’s post players — last season, that was Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison — and he’s brought an energetic presence to UK’s program.
“Coach McLean has been with those guys every step of the way, kind of mentoring and tutoring and teaching and growing them,” Pope said of his work with UK’s bigs. “He’s in daily film with those guys, analytical breakdowns, coaching them on the court, coaching them in the classroom and in their life. And he is a star in the making.
“He is going to be a head coach sooner than any of us would imagine. And he’s going to crush it. … He’s been a real blessing to our entire staff and our entire team.”
Kentucky’s group of frontcourt players next season will include Garrison, who will be back for another year, along with projected NBA lottery pick Jayden Quaintance, 6-11 international prospect Andrija Jelavic, McDonald’s All-American center Malachi Moreno and former Alabama power forward Mouhamed Dioubate.
McLean is originally from the Bahamas, moving to Texas at age 14 to pursue his basketball career. He also works as an assistant coach for the Bahamas national team.
His new contract will continue to include potential bonuses based on the Wildcats’ on-court success. All of UK’s coaches received a $20,000 bonus after the Cats advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season.
Those bonuses would have increased to $30,000 for a trip to the Elite Eight, $50,000 if the team made it to the Final Four or $100,000 for an NCAA title. There are also bonuses for SEC regular-season championships ($30,000) or SEC Tournament titles ($20,000) that will remain in effect moving forward.
UK associate coach Mark Fox also came to Lexington on a one-year deal last spring, with a salary of $200,000. And while there has been nothing official regarding a new contract, the Herald-Leader has been told that Fox is expected to remain with the program for the 2025-26 season and has already started preparations for the new roster.
Kentucky’s incoming players are expected to arrive on campus in early June.
UK’s other three assistants — associate head coach Alvin Brooks III, Cody Fueger and Jason Hart — all signed two-year contracts with the Wildcats last spring. Brooks is set to make $825,000 in base salary next season, with Fueger and Hart’s salaries listed at $525,000.
Pope has signed a contract with UK through the end of the 2028-29 season, with an average annual salary of $5.5 million per year.
