Basketball season is officially knocking in Lexington, and before the Wildcats get to their first exhibition against Little Rock on Friday, Kentucky’s attention has shifted to Birmingham.
That’s where Mark Pope and the rest of the SEC spent Wednesday wrapping up the league’s preseason media days at Hotel Wildemont, the venue formerly known as the Grand Bohemian. KSR was on site to catch the final day of talking season after a Tuesday that already delivered its share of headlines, including LSU failing to show, Brandon Garrison discussing his move from Kentucky to Alabama, and Dennis Gates taking a victory lap over Mark Mitchell’s return to Missouri.
Kentucky will be a central part of the conversation after the league’s preseason basketball polls dropped, and the Wildcats landed 7th in the SEC. Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno also earned spots on the preseason all-conference teams for Kentucky.
On the men’s side, the SEC preseason order of finish came out with Florida at No. 1, followed by Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas A&M, Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
The first-team preseason All-SEC group features Rueben Chinyelu of Florida, Juke Harris of Tennessee, Thomas Haugh of Florida, Josh Hubbard of Mississippi State and Tyler Tanner of Vanderbilt.
Kentucky’s representatives showed up on the second and third teams. Momcilovic was named second team All-SEC, while Moreno landed on the third team.
Elsewhere on the men’s list, the second team also includes Amari Allen of Alabama, Alex Condon of Florida, Jordan Smith Jr. of Arkansas and Matas Vokietaitis of Texas. The third team is rounded out by PJ Haggerty of Texas A&M, Tahaad Pettiford of Auburn, David Punch of Texas and Billy Richmond III of Arkansas.
Thomas Haugh was picked as SEC Player of the Year.
The women’s preseason projections also placed Kentucky in the mix, with the Wildcats tabbed 5th in the league behind South Carolina, Texas, LSU and Vanderbilt. Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Auburn and Arkansas followed.
Clara Strack earned first-team preseason All-SEC honors for Kentucky on the women’s side.
The first-team group also includes Madison Booker of Texas, Mikayla Blakes of Vanderbilt, Joyce Edwards of South Carolina and Mikaylah Williams of LSU. The second team is made up of Aaliyah Chavez of Oklahoma, Tessa Johnson of South Carolina, MiLaysia Fulwiley of LSU, Chloe Kitts of South Carolina and Talaysia Cooper of Ole Miss.
Blakes was selected as the preseason Player of the Year.
In Other News...
Kentucky Is Suddenly In The Hunt For 3 Program-Changing Recruits
Kentucky footballs new era under Will Stein is already showing up on the recruiting trail, where the Wildcats are being mentioned with three of the most coveted names in the 2028 class. Wide receiver Jordan Anderson, defensive lineman Kellan Hall and cornerback Grayden Reid have all drawn strong attention nationally, and multiple recruiting analysts have noted that Kentucky has been actively pushing for each of them. For a program trying to build momentum early with a younger class, that kind of visibility matters.
Joe Price, Jay Bateman and Allen Brown have all been involved in those efforts, giving Kentucky a staff presence around three prospects who could alter the trajectory of the class if the Wildcats can stay in the mix. The long lead time only adds to the intrigue, since these are the kinds of recruitments that can swing on relationships, development plans and continued persistence over time. Right now, Kentucky appears to be positioned in the conversation in a way that would have felt much harder to imagine not long ago. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys 1950 Title Claim Still Comes Down To One Debate
Kentuckys long-running football argument with Oklahoma has a clean backdrop this week, because the schools have barely crossed paths at all. The Wildcats and Sooners have met only three times before their upcoming SEC matchup, and the history between them goes right back to one of college footballs most debated seasons, when Kentucky added a retroactive national title claim from 1950.
That season still turns on which standard you trust more. Kentucky points to its Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma as the seasons defining result, while Oklahoma finished the regular season atop both major polls. Add in the fact that Tennessee and Princeton also claim national titles from that year under different systems, and the old question remains as unresolved as ever: who really owned 1950? [Read more 🡒]
Mark Popes Kentucky Staff Is Complete With One Notable Twist
Mark Pope has rounded out his Kentucky staff for the 2026-27 mens basketball season, with the university formally announcing the addition of Alfred Aboya as an assistant coach and John Pelphrey as director of player development. The hires give the Wildcats a full complement around Pope, and they also underline how much of this staff build has been about layering different kinds of experience into the program.
Aboya arrives with international coaching experience and recruiting ties to Africa, giving Kentucky another avenue to explore beyond the usual domestic footprint. Pelphrey, a former Kentucky player and veteran coach, had already begun around the program before the official move, a sign of how Pope has been piecing together the group with both familiarity and purpose as the Wildcats continue shaping the next stage of the program. [Read more 🡒]