Mark Mitchell is headed to Kentucky for his fifth season of college basketball, giving the former Missouri standout another stop in a college journey that has already run through some of the sport’s biggest stages.
Mitchell’s agent and brother, Brandon Mitchell of BAM Sports and Entertainment, told media outlets over the weekend that the Kansas City, Kansas, native has chosen the Wildcats. The move comes after a Kentucky judge granted Mitchell a temporary restraining order against the NCAA last week, clearing him to play another season and transfer to a new school.
The path to get there has been anything but ordinary. Mitchell is among a wave of athletes from the class of 2022 who have worked around the NCAA’s newest 5-in-5 eligibility rules by securing temporary restraining orders from local courts.
The NCAA said in June that the class of 2022 had used up its eligibility. Starting next year, Division I players will have five years to play five seasons.
A separate federal ruling paused an order that would have opened the door to extra eligibility for thousands of athletes, but that stay does not affect local lawsuits against the NCAA. That distinction has left players like Mitchell eligible for a fifth season.
Mitchell’s route to Kentucky also adds another twist: he was not selected in the NBA Draft in June, but he signed an Exhibit 10 contract to play for the Denver Nuggets’ summer league team.
If his decision stands, Kentucky will be the next stop in a college career that has already included Duke. Mitchell, now 22, will arrive in Lexington after playing for two blue-blood programs.
His rise started in the Kansas City area. A Bishop Miege alum, Mitchell won the DiRenna Award as a junior and helped lead the Stags to the Kansas Class 4A state title in 2021. He then transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, for his senior season and became one of the nation’s most heavily recruited five-star prospects.
At Duke, the 6-9 forward spent two seasons as a starter and helped the Blue Devils reach the Elite Eight as a sophomore.
At Missouri, Mitchell made his biggest statistical mark. He was a two-time All-SEC selection and led the Tigers with 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season, his senior year. Missouri reached the NCAA Tournament before losing to Miami in the first round.
That production put Mitchell in a rare spot in program history. He became the second player in school history to lead Missouri in points, rebounds and assists, and his 18.3 points per game were the best by a Tiger in 12 years. He is also one of only two Missouri players to earn All-SEC honors twice.
Kentucky’s schedule could put Mitchell back on familiar ground right away. If the move holds, he’ll face Kansas in the season-opening Champions Classic on Nov. 10 and return to Columbia on Jan. 9.
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