Amid much speculation about what’s next for the Kentucky Wildcats after the departure of John Calipari, Jay Wright and Nate Oats have both quickly said they pass. Neither will be the next coach in Lexington.
Wright and Oats were both popular names put forward by analysts as possibilities for the job. Wright was the long-time coach at Villanova who won two championships there. He retired and is now covering the sport for CBS.
NEW: Jay Wright says he won't be John Calipari's replacement at Kentucky.
"That guy that replaces him is going to be in a really difficult position to cover all the areas of college basketball."https://t.co/cpmADX5Jyh
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) April 9, 2024
Oats is the current coach at Alabama, where he has had them in the Sweet Sixteen or better in three of the last four seasons. His style would have fit well with what Kentucky historically likes to do.
Nate Oats takes himself out
As I said on KSR+ earlier, he wasn’t on the list of 5 coaches I have heard (even though he would have been for me) pic.twitter.com/vreEjtqVfy
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 9, 2024
There are several more big names likely to be contacted by Kentucky in the coming days. There is certain to be coaches with interest along the way. However, it won’t be Jay Wright or Nate Oats. They are happy where they are at.