Will Wade’s first LSU roster has already taken a hit, and the ripple effects are still far from over.
Marcio Santos, a 23-year-old center from Brazil who committed to LSU in May, has signed a two-year deal with Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. The 6-foot-8 big man, who will turn 24 when the college regular season starts, had also been recruited by Kentucky before landing with the Tigers. BYU was in the mix as well.
Santos had not been officially cleared by the NCAA to play college basketball in 2026-27, and rather than wait on that process, he chose the safer path and headed back overseas. He went unselected in the 2023 NBA Draft and has been a pro for years, collecting championships and All-Star nods in leagues that included stops in Germany and Israel.
For Kentucky, that old pursuit now looks like a win. What had been framed in the spring as a “Pope Whiff” has turned into a break for the Wildcats.
For LSU, though, this is only the first domino. The Tigers currently have just four players listed on their official roster page: former Kentucky forward Mo Dioubate, Abdi Bashir Jr., Austin Nunez, and Divine Ugochukwu. Those four do not have eligibility issues.
The rest of the picture is murkier. Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark still need court help to secure a fifth year of eligibility.
Several other international players - Saliou Niang, Brice Dessert, Michael Ruzic, and Gilad Levy - are still stuck in eligibility limbo too. RJ Luis, who appeared in NBA preseason games last season after going undrafted in 2025, appears to have the hardest road of all.
With the regular season about four weeks away, LSU still doesn’t know what its opening-day roster will actually look like.
In Other News...
Kentuckys Preseason Injury Pileup Is Already Testing Fans Patience
Kentuckys preseason has already turned into a patience test, with the Wildcats dealing with a steady stream of injuries before the games even count. Kam Williams, Milan Momcilovic, Trent Noah and Jerone Moton have all been dinged up during the offseason or preseason, an unwelcome pattern for a program trying to get its rotation settled and its new pieces moving in the same direction.
Motons knee injury in practice was the latest concern, and it will be re-evaluated as Kentucky tries to make it through the rest of camp with something closer to full health. The good news for the Wildcats is that none of the injuries has been described as season-ending or likely to carry major regular-season impact, but the cluster of issues has still left fans waiting for cleaner news than theyve gotten so far. [Read more 🡒]
Two Former Wildcats Delivered The Feel Good NFL Moment Fans Needed
Week 3 of the BBNFL season gave Kentucky fans a little something to smile about, as two former Wildcats found the end zone for the first time with their new teams. Wan'Dale Robinson hauled in a touchdown pass for the Tennessee Titans, while Chris Rodriguez added his first score of the year for the Jacksonville Jaguars, giving the fan base a couple of familiar names to track on a Sunday that felt better than most recent NFL weekends.
Robinsons reception came in a matchup with the New York Giants, adding a wrinkle to a day that already had plenty of crossover appeal for Kentucky followers. Rodriguezs touchdown came in Jacksonvilles win over the New England Patriots, and together the two plays served as a reminder that a few ex-Wildcats are settling into meaningful roles at the pro level, even as Josh Hines-Allen kept his own strong start going with another productive week. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Fans Have One Big Reason To Debate This Nike Deal
Kentuckys apparel relationship with Nike has long been one of the more important business pieces in the athletic department, stretching back to the original 12-year agreement signed under Mitch Barnhart in 2013. The 2025 extension keeps the Wildcats in Nike gear for the long haul and gives the program a stable national brand partner, which matters in a state where basketball and football branding carry real weight.
The debate comes from what the deal actually guarantees. While the contract can grow through retail performance, the base payout is not as eye-catching as the numbers attached to several other schools, and that has left Kentucky fans comparing their arrangement not only to peers such as South Carolina, Nebraska and Washington, but also to Louisvilles larger Adidas setup. For a fan base used to measuring itself against everybody, the question is whether the upside here will eventually justify the gap in the locked-in money. [Read more 🡒]