Kentucky Basketball Roster Tracker: The First Transfer Portal Addition
Mark Pope went all in on Amari Williams. After a successful first official visit weekend, the Kentucky head coach secured his first transfer portal commitment.
Originally from Great Britain, the 6-foot-10 big man has spent the last four years at Drexel, giving him one final season of eligibility. He used his 7-foot-5 wingspan to grab 7.9 rebounds and block 2.0 shots per game over the last three seasons, earning CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors following each campaign.
Williams received a warm welcome from the BBN during his weekend excursion to Lexington. The big man was in the paddock at Keeneland and joined Pope for a baseball game between the Cats and the Vols at Kentucky Proud Park. Even though Pope’s BYU program was not known for defense, On3’s Joe Tipton believes Williams is just what Kentucky needs.
“Though Pope’s BYU teams were offense-driven and known for three-point rainstorms and their use of five-out lineups, Williams is a stylistic foil in every way. Instead, he’s a plodding forward and ace defender who plays exclusively inside the arc. But physicality, toughness and defense were fatal flaws for Kentucky a year ago, especially up front, and Williams changes that equation.”
GONE (GRADUATED/NBA DRAFT): Antonio Reeves, Tre Mitchell, Justin Edwards, Rob Dillingham, Ugonna Onyenso, Reed Sheppard
TRANSFER PORTAL: Adou Thiero*, Aaron Bradshaw*, Joey Hart, Zvonimir Ivisic, DJ Wagner, Jordan Burks
* Also testing NBA Draft waters
IMPORTANT DATES
April 27: NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
May 1: Transfer Portal Closes
May 12: NBA Draft Lottery
May 13-19: NBA Combine
May 29: NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline (11:59 pm ET)
June 16: NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5 p.m. ET)
June 26: NBA Draft 2024 First Round
June 27: NBA Draft 2024 Second Round
UPDATES
April 21: Amari Williams is a Wildcat
Defense was not a strength of Mark Pope’s teams at BYU. Defense is what his first significant transfer portal addition does best. Williams was a three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year for Drexel.
Williams picked Kentucky over Mississippi State.
The 6-foot-10 big man made the decision after officially visiting Lexington this weekend.
April 20: Kentucky contacts Duke’s Sean Stewart
Kentucky joins Kansas State, Indiana, Arkansas, USC, Florida State, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Arizona State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Cal, Stanford, South Carolina, Washington, Howard, UCSB and Harvard to express interest
Was the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle
The 6-9 freshman out of Windermere, Florida averaged 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in just 8.4 minutes per game this season for the Blue Devils
April 20: Drexel star Amari Williams begins official visit to Lexington
The 6-10, 265-pound forward will make the trip to Lexington from April 20-22
Kentucky is a finalist, joining St. John’s and Mississippi State
Mark Pope met with Williams on Thursday
April 19: Jordan Burks enters the transfer portal
Averaged 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per outing as a freshman
Was a three-star recruit in high school out of Overtime Elite
The 6-8 forward only saw at least 10 minutes in seven of his 20 games played
April 19: Adou Thiero cuts list to five, includes Kentucky
Previously entering the portal on March 28, the 6-8 forward is now considering Kentucky, North Carolina, Pitt, Indiana and Arkansas
April 19: Kentucky makes final six for Villanova’s TJ Bamba
The 6-5, 215-pound guard is down to UK, Louisville, Stanford, Florida, Memphis and Oregon
Bamba averaged 10.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 43.0% from the field, 36.9% from three and 82.4% at the line
April 19: Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo hears from the Wildcats
Aidoo is rated as the No. 5 overall transfer in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.
Averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game, starting in all 36 games for Tennessee
The 6-11, 241-pound center declared for the NBA Draft while entering the transfer portal on April 11
He is currently on an official visit to Baylor
KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck was the first to break the news of Kentucky’s interest
April 18: Reed Sheppard declares or the NBA Draft
The star guard is the No. 7 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best available draft prospects
He has decided to forgo the remainder of his college eligibility
“I’m going all-in,” Sheppard told ESPN. “The opportunity I have is great. I’ve gotten really good feedback showing where I can be in the draft. I had an unbelievable year at Kentucky. It was such a fun year. It’s not easy leaving the fans and the school I dreamed of playing at. I need to do what’s best for me, and that’s heading to the NBA.”
April 18: BYU’s Aly Khalifa commits to Louisville over Kentucky
The 6-11, 270-pound center out of Alexandria, Egypt announced three finalists on Sunday: Kentucky, Louisville and BYU
Khalifa averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game on 38.6/31.5/62.1 shooting splits
Originally entered portal on April 12 with a ‘do not contact’ tag, visited Louisville this week
He will be redshirting in 2023-24 while rehabbing a knee injury
April 18: Kentucky reaches out to Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs
Averaged 15.8 points and 3.2 rebounds as a sophomore with the Red Raiders
He earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors in year one
KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck was the first to break the news
April 18: Former McDonald’s All-American Brandon Garrison plans visit to Lexington
On3’s Joe Tipton broke the news that the OK State transfer is “looking to set up trips to both Arkansas and Kentucky” after seeing Texas this weekend
The 6-11 freshman averaged 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season, shooting 57.2% from the field
April 17: Kentucky “will be involved” for Duke’s Jeremy Roach
Roach has appeared in 130 games throughout his career at Duke, including 108 starts. He was a team captain as a junior and senior.
He averaged 14 points, 3.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 32.7 minutes per outing this season on 46.8/42.9/84.4 splits
Jeff Goodman reports Baylor is the favorite to land his commitment
April 17: Belmont’s Cade Tyson hears from Mark Pope
One of the top shooters in the portal
Averaged 16.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG on 49.3% FG, 46.5% 3PT this year
Tyson previously heard from Kentucky’s staff under John Calipari
April 16: Utah State’s Great Osobor contacted by Kentucky
On3’s Joe Tipton reports that Osobor has been in contact with the Wildcats
Checks in at 6-foot-8, 250 pounds. Averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in 2023-24
Was tabbed the Mountain West Player of the Year this past season
April 16: Oklahoma’s Otega Oweh hears from Pope
Pope reached out to Oweh this week, according to KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound combo guard averaged 11.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, playing in 32 games for Oklahoma as a sophomore in 2023-24
He started in 28 games and averaged 24.8 minutes per contest
Oweh is set to visit Oregon on April 19 and Texas A&M on April 23
April 16: Kentucky contacts Dayton transfer Koby Brea
Pope reaches out to Brea on Tuesday evening, the combo guard tells Jacob Polacheck of KSR+.
6-foot-5, 175-pound combo guard who averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 33 games as a junior in 2023-24.
Started four games while averaging 29.1 minutes per outing. Shot 49.8 percent from deep on 201 attempts this past season.
Also heard from the likes of Kansas, UConn, Duke, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisville, and many more.
April 16: Pope reaches out to Stanford’s Andrej Stojakovic
The son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic has heard from Kentucky, he told KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck
Stojakovic averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 40.9% from the field and 32.7% from three as a freshman at Stanford
He is currently scheduled to visit Cal this weekend
April 16: Collin Chandler commits to Kentucky
The 6-4 scorer is rated as the No. 34 overall prospect and No. 6 combo guard in the final 2022 On3 Player Rankings
Chandler spent two years on mission ahead of his college basketball debut in 2024-25
2022 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, averaged 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals as a senior in high school
Committed to BYU over Arizona, Gonzaga, Oregon, Stanford and Utah, among others
April 15: Ugonna Onyenso declares for the NBA Draft
“I’m ready to go to the next level,” Onyenso told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “I’m not thinking about coming back to play college basketball. I’m 100% focused on the NBA.”
Onyenso averaged 3.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 19 minutes per contest this past season
The 7-foot center is the No. 47 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best available draft prospects
He signed with an agent, but did not officially shut the door for a return to college, despite making it clear he has no interest in coming back to school
April 15: Zvonimir Ivisic transfers to Arkansas
“I made the lifetime decision to come to college for a few reasons,” Ivisic announced. “Main one’s to win a national championship and go to the NBA. Monumental part of that decision was Coach Cal, and no one does both of those at the same time than him. That’s why I am excited to announce that I am committing to Coach Cal and the Arkansas Razorbacks!”
Ivisic racked up 15 total appearances in Lexington, averaging 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 57.7% from the field and 37.5% from three.
April 15: Aaron Bradshaw commits to Ohio State
Bradshaw took an official visit to Columbus over the weekend and announced his commitment to open the week on Monday.
The former top-five recruit was the first portal entry for the Wildcats to commit elsewhere
He originally entered the transfer portal on April 8 while also testing the draft waters
The 7-foot-1 freshman averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting 57.6% from the field.
April 15: DJ Wagner enters transfer portal
The 6-foot-3 former five-star recruit averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game for Kentucky this past season
247Sports’ Travis Branham says Wagner will consider a return to Kentucky and meet with Mark Pope while also considering entering the 2024 NBA Draft
April 15: Northern Illinois transfer David Coit hears from the Wildcats
Kentucky joins TCU, Louisville, Utah, Washington State and Oregon State as schools to reach out, according to The Portal Report
Averaged 20.8 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game
40.7% FG, 33.7% 3PT, 88.5% FT
April 14: Kentucky schedules visit with Drexel transfer Amari Williams
Williams is a three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-CAA member in 2023-24
He averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 22.9 minutes per game as a senior, shooting 51.7% from the field and 65.5% at the line
He is considered the 18th-best available player in the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings and will have one year of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer
April 14: Kentucky reaches out to Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small
Kansas, Miami, Indiana, Texas and Louisville are other schools with mutual interest, sources tell KSR
Averaged 15.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.1 APG, shooting 44% overall last season
Set to take official visit to Miami this week
April 12: BYU’s Jaxson Robinson becomes name to know for Kentucky
The 6-7 guard averaged a team-high 14.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per outing.
He shot 42.6 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from deep (6.9 attempts per game), and 90.8 percent from the free throw line.
KSR has learned Robinson is a potential portal addition with Kentucky seen as the likely destination should he enter, following Pope to Lexington
April 9: Rob Dillingham enters the NBA Draft, forgoes remaining eligibility
Dillingham’s time in Lexington comes to a close with a season average of 15.2 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 44.4% from three.
He is currently the No. 4 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best-available players in the 2024 draft
April 8: Joey Hart enters the transfer portal
The 6-5 sharpshooter out of Linton, IN plans to transfer as a redshirt freshman after playing just ten minutes in his debut season as a Wildcat.
He scored three points in Lexington — a made 3-pointer in Kentucky’s win over Marshall back on November 24.
April 4: Justin Edwards enters the NBA Draft
The former five-star wing becomes the first player to forgo his time at Kentucky and enter the NBA Draft
He is currently rated as the No. 30 overall prospect in ESPN’s list of best available players in the draft pool, good for third on the team behind Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard
March 28: Adou Thiero enters transfer portal, will test NBA Draft Waters
Thiero, who averaged 7.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore
In ESPN’s first 2025 NBA mock draft, Jonathan Givony included Thiero at No. 27 overall
The post Kentucky Basketball Roster Tracker: The First Transfer Portal Addition appeared first on On3.
