Trent Noah’s Kentucky story has not gone the way many expected, but the former Harlan County standout isn’t walking away from it.
A year after his biggest college performance came in Kentucky’s 85-77 road upset at Arkansas, Noah says the unfinished nature of his first two seasons is exactly why he’s still in Lexington. In that win over the 15th-ranked Razorbacks, he came off the bench and delivered nine points and seven rebounds.
It looked like the kind of night that could kick open a bigger role. Instead, the rest of the season never quite followed that script.
Noah made just 2 of 14 3-point attempts after the Arkansas game and scored in only two other Kentucky contests the rest of the year. For a player who piled up 129 points in four games while leading Harlan County to a runner-up finish in the 2024 Kentucky boys Sweet 16, the first two seasons at UK have produced 144 total points - a number that still leaves room for more.
“That’s the reason I am still here,” Noah said Monday during UK men’s basketball Media Day at the Joe Craft Center. “I feel like I haven’t played to the potential that I can play to. I’m super eager to get back on the floor and show the product (of) all the work that I’ve done since the offseason.”
Noah’s patience fits into a larger Kentucky trend that has been equal parts encouraging and frustrating for fans who like seeing in-state talent stay home. Since the 2023 recruiting class, UK has signed five Kentucky high school stars directly out of high school: North Laurel’s Reed Sheppard in 2023, Lyon County’s Travis Perry in 2024, Noah in 2024, Great Crossing’s Malachi Moreno in 2025 and former Woodford County standout Jasper Johnson in 2025.
Only Noah and Moreno are set up to spend multiple seasons at Kentucky. Moreno is lined up for a second year as the Wildcats’ starting center in 2026-27.
Sheppard was gone after one season, and his decision made plenty of financial sense after he became the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Perry and Johnson each transferred after one year.
“Everybody has their own stuff going on, and everybody’s situation is different,” Noah said. “So I’m not saying that everything is the same way (for every in-state player), and it’s obviously a hard decision.
But I trust Coach Pope’s vision, and I trust what he tells me. I also think playing here is like playing nowhere else.”
Noah knows the slump that followed his breakout game was real. He also believes Kentucky’s new pieces can help change the picture this season. With creators Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins joining wing shooter Milan Momcilovic through the transfer portal, Noah thinks the roster should give him a cleaner runway to rediscover his shot.
“We’re full of shooting on this team, so spacing is not going to be an issue,” Noah said. “I think playing with a veteran point guard in Zoom, he really knows how to operate the game and control the game. ...
He finds his shooters. Then Alex is super crafty with the ball.
That’ll draw a lot of attention.”
The biggest obstacle this offseason has not been competition for minutes, but hamstring trouble. Noah said he has dealt with two separate issues rather than one nagging recurrence, and he’s already spent plenty of time with UK athletic trainer Brandon Wells.
“I’ve had two separate hamstring issues, so it was not like I’m re-aggravating the same thing - which is good,” Noah said. “It’s better to have two different things going on than the same hamstring thing.
It’s just an unfortunate event, but I’ve spent so much time with (UK athletic trainer) Brandon Wells, it’s unreal. He’s definitely seen me more than he’s seen his kids.
But I should be back in a couple (of) weeks with no limitations, and we should move past this and never have to worry about it again.”
Even while limited, Noah said he’s still getting shots up.
“I’m shooting it well,” he said. “I’m limited right now.
I’m obviously not running around a bunch, shooting a bunch, running corner-to-corner or anything in live play. But I can still get the reps in.
I can still form shoot, catch and shoot, stuff like that.”
As he looks ahead to a third season in Lexington, Noah is betting that the next chapter will look a lot different from the last one.
“I think that there’s so much stuff that hasn’t been put out on the floor (by) myself and us as a team,” Noah said. “I’m super excited to finally break through as a team and keep advancing farther and farther, and then, individually, to do what I know I’m capable of.”
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