Kentucky’s season is over, and there is no time to waste. The next month will be the most pivotal of Mark Pope’s career as he assembles his third Kentucky squad from the transfer portal, the high school ranks, overseas, and maybe even the G League ranks.
After a disappointing season, pressure is mounting. Kentucky reportedly spent $22 million on last year’s roster just to lose 14 games and come home after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Injuries played a part; however, there is no denying that the roster — and the staff’s allocation of resources — were flawed.
Where do we go from here? Let’s start with a reminder of key dates and deadlines as we wait for the transfer portal to open.
Kentucky’s 2025-26 Roster
MARCH
Now: NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee evaluations
Players can request an NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee evaluation as soon as their season ends. The evaluations will give players a draft “grade” across five categories: 1) Lottery pick (1-14 range); 2) Rest of the first round (15-30); 3) First half of second round (31-45); 4) Second half of second round (46-58); or 5) Not drafted.
Once their evaluation is requested, players can enter the NBA Draft and sign an agreement with an NCAA-certified agent. They have until April 16 to request an evaluation. The results will be sent to both the player and his coach.
This will be key for players interested in testing the NBA Draft waters to receive feedback on how to improve their games, like Malachi Moreno, Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison, Kam Williams, etc. That’s what the system is for.
Now: End of season meetings
This week, Mark Pope and his staff will hold meetings with each player to discuss the season and their plans moving forward. In the current landscape of college sports, those meetings will include NIL and rev-share negotiations, which will be crucial in stay-or-go decisions. Jacob Polacheck and Jack Pilgrim have their ears to the ground to bring you the latest on KSBoard and KSR+.
APRIL
April 7: Transfer Portal opens
Last year, the transfer portal opened after the first week of the NCAA Tournament and ran for 30 days, creating absolute chaos. Kentucky got its first portal commitment, Kam Williams, on the day of the Sweet 16 game vs. Tennessee. This year, the portal will open on Tuesday, April 7, the day after the National Championship game, and will close two weeks later, on April 21. From there, schools can contact players who are in the portal, and players can schedule visits.
While players can’t officially enter the portal until April 7, they (or their representatives) can still make their intentions known. That’s already happening and will continue to in the coming weeks, especially as more teams lose in the NCAA Tournament and the coaching carousel spins. Teams can’t officially contact players until they’re in the portal (unless they are graduate students), but discussions will happen behind the scenes between players, their families, agents, and coaching staffs.
By the time the portal opens, the coaching staff will have a good idea of who is available, and some players may already know where they’re going. This is where a general manager and a support staff could really come in handy. Kentucky had a job listing up for an “Associate Director, Player Development” role, and the hire is expected to be announced soon.
“Somebody that can model for us 24/7,” Pope said of the position two weeks ago. “They can do salary cap models, they can do win share models, they can do comparison research in terms of us trying to get as deep into the details of managing this spring’s roster construction as we can. It’s really important to have somebody that, literally 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is going to be just war gaming and modeling over and over and over again. We’re excited to have that position. It’s really going to help us as a staff [to] collect information.”
Kentucky is reportedly targeting Keegan Brown, who worked with Pope at BYU, to join the staff in a front office role; however, it’s not clear whether it will be in this position. Pope said the player development role will not be the final piece Kentucky adds this offseason.
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
April 15: High School Signing Period begins
Kentucky has zero commitments in the 2026 class. Only a few top prospects remain, most notably Tyran Stokes, the No. 1-ranked player in the class. Do the Cats still have a chance? Kansas was reportedly the team to beat, but Stokes’ high school coach told Paul Biancardi that the dynamic guard is planning to visit Kentucky again once his season is over.
Pope needs elite players. Stokes is a wildcard — and he will not be cheap — but that’s a gamble Pope may have to take in year three. The signing period begins for the 2026 class on April 15.
April 21: Transfer Portal closes
We’ll know which players will be leaving Kentucky for a different school by April 21, the NCAA’s deadline for fall/winter sports athletes to notify their schools they are entering the transfer portal.
The NCAA’s deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft isn’t until the end of the month (May 29), so there could be some ambiguity on areas of need/what players are out there to fill them, but by April 21, we’ll know which current Wildcats could be playing college ball elsewhere next year. Players who have entered the portal can continue to take visits and commit to the school of their choosing after the portal has closed.
April 26: NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
Players who want to enter the draft, receive an evaluation from the league, and go through workouts have until 11:59 p.m. ET on April 26 to declare. By now, you know this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re gone; they could just be testing the waters to get feedback. Once the early entrant list is set, teams can start holding or attending workouts with those players.
MAY
May 8-10: NBA G League Elite Camp (Chicago)
This event precedes the NBA Draft Combine at the same location. The top 70-80 draft prospects (as voted on by NBA teams) will be invited to the Combine, and the next 40 prospects will be invited to the G-League Elite Camp. This could be a good bellwether for players testing the draft waters.
May 10: NBA Draft Lottery
The full draft order will officially be set on May 10. When it comes to Kentucky, this only matters for Jayden Quaintance, who has been projected as a lottery pick in some mock drafts this season. He is expected to stay in the draft, ending his time in Lexington.
May 10-17: NBA Draft Combine (Chicago)
Quaintance, Otega Oweh, and maybe Denzel Aberdeen will likely be invited to the NBA Draft Combine to showcase their skills to NBA scouts and executives. Kentucky’s players who choose to test the draft waters and are serious about staying in may score an invite as well if their stock is high enough.
May 27: NCAA Early Entrant Withdrawal Deadline
Players who wish to return to school must take their names out of the draft by 11:59 p.m. on May 27. Although the NBA has its own deadline (which you’ll read about shortly), this is the deadline that matters for NCAA eligibility.
JUNE
June 15: NBA Draft Early Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5 p.m. ET)
This deadline mostly pertains to international players, who don’t have to worry about NCAA eligibility. If players want to pull out of the draft and keep their draft eligibility for a future year, they must do so by 5 p.m. on June 15.
June 25-26: NBA Draft (New York)
We’ll find out where Jayden Quaintance and Otega Oweh will continue their careers in Brooklyn in late June. ESPN’s latest mock draft from March 11 has Quaintance going at the end of the lottery. Oweh isn’t listed, but other mocks have him at the end of the first round. After a big March moment, his stock could also be on the rise.