This week’s “Ask Mark Anything” opens with the Mark Mitchell saga and the question plenty of Kentucky fans were asking: where was J Batt?
The short version is that Mark didn’t see much Batt could have done.
Mitchell, the standout men’s basketball forward, had been trying to transfer to Kentucky from Missouri and use a fifth season of college eligibility that he has acquired, for now, through a temporary restraining order from a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge. But because Mitchell is from the high school class of 2022 and the NCAA has controversially blocked that class from the new “five years for five seasons of play” model until the 2026-27 school year, his situation has been tangled from the start.
When the Southeastern Conference appeared unwilling to carve out an exception for Mitchell from its usual ban on intraleague transfers outside the normal portal window, he chose to go back to Mizzou. That is where the “Where J Batt?” question came from.
Mark’s view is that Batt, who did not officially begin at Kentucky until July 28, was not in a position to force the issue. The SEC’s approach to these eligibility cases is being set by the league’s presidents and commissioner, which is well above Batt’s level. And even beyond that, expecting a new athletics director to gain enough leverage in roughly a month to swing a dispute of that size was, in Mark’s words, a big ask.
The next question shifted to a broader eligibility issue: should young adults who signed pro contracts but still have college eligibility be allowed to come back to NCAA sports?
Mark’s answer was clear. In general, he opposes giving players a return route after they’ve already decided to turn pro with the understanding that they are giving up their remaining college eligibility.
He pointed to former Alabama center Charles Bediako and former St. John’s star RJ Luis as examples.
In both cases, he said, the players chose to enter the pro world and left their names in the NBA draft beyond the point where they could withdraw without losing eligibility. In his view, they should live with that choice.
He drew a sharp distinction, though, for the class of 2022 high school athletes who have already played four college seasons but have been shut out of a fifth by the NCAA. On that issue, he said he is generally in favor of letting them back in because they were treated unfairly by the NCAA and never had the chance to decide between staying in college sports and turning pro.
From there, the conversation turned to football recruiting under Will Stein. One reader suggested that Kentucky’s recruiting history could be a dealbreaker for the new coach.
Mark didn’t buy the gloom. Kentucky’s 2027 class is currently ranked No. 23 nationally by both 24/7 Sports and Rivals, and he noted that during the Mark Stoops era, Rivals has had UK in the top 20 only twice - 17th in 2014 and 13th in 2022 - while placing the Wildcats in the top 30 on 11 occasions.
He also pointed out that in the current class, nine SEC programs are ranked ahead of Kentucky by both major services. That, he said, is what makes the job so difficult.
Still, if Stein can consistently land classes in the top 25, Mark believes Kentucky can put together a team that can compete in the SEC.
The final question was lighter, but still had a football edge: Kentucky’s season opener against Youngstown State will feature white helmets, blue jerseys and white pants, and one reader joked, “The school colors. What a concept.”
Mark was more than happy to play uniform historian. He said Kentucky has not worn a white helmet in its season opener since 2017, that the Wildcats are 5-3 in the white-blue-white combination since the start of the 2015 season, and that UK is 10-9 in white helmets in the 2020s.
He said he likes the old-school look to start the Will Stein era, but added that he has no issue with Kentucky using black, silver or gray in its uniforms. He said the players enjoy alternate looks and that anything that makes the games more fun for them is a plus. Green, red and, as he put it, “God forbid” orange, though, are off limits.
In Other News...
Kentucky Just Entered A Tough Race For A Rising Big Man
Kentucky has jumped into the mix for one of the more intriguing big men in the 2025 recruiting pool, extending a scholarship offer to Akol Nyok as the high school evaluation period picks up. The 7-foot-1 center has been drawing more attention in recent weeks, and his profile is only getting bigger as schools continue to sort through the next wave of frontcourt talent.
Nyok entered the cycle as a three-star prospect on Rivals, but his rising stock has started to put him on more radars as a four-star-level target. For Kentucky, the offer adds another name to a crowded race for a player whose size alone makes him hard to ignore, and the competition figures to keep building as more programs make their own push. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Faces A Bigger Kenny Minchey Question Than Week 1
Kenny Mincheys move from Notre Dame to Kentucky already made him one of the more intriguing players on the roster, and now his role has taken on a different kind of weight. The fourth-year quarterback is in line to lead the Wildcats when the season opens, giving Will Stein a first-time starter to shape in a way he has not had to do before.
Stein and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan have both pointed to Mincheys progress during fall camp, with the staff focused on getting his mobility and playmaking back to where it was before. The bigger question is not whether Kentucky believes in his talent, but how quickly he can grow into a job that asks a lot from the start, especially when Steins past quarterbacks arrived with far more game experience already behind them. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Finally Has Alex Afari Back But A New Problem Remains
Alex Afari Jr. is back in the picture for Kentucky after a legal back-and-forth that had kept the linebacker on the sideline. A temporary restraining order against the NCAA has opened the door for Afari to play a fifth season in Lexington, giving the Wildcats a veteran defender back at a position where experience matters.
The larger question now is less about eligibility and more about readiness. Afari has had limited practice time, so even with the ruling in place and Youngstown State coming up, Kentucky still has to sort out whether he is ready to take the field or if the timing simply leaves him as an option for a little later. [Read more 🡒]