Tag: Kentucky Wildcats

Where Kentucky football lands in The Athletic’s preseason ranking of all 134 FBS teams

See where the Wildcats ranked entering Week 0 in The Athletic’s ranking of all 134 FBS teams for the 2024 season.

The Athletic’s Chris Vannini unveiled his eighth annual ranking of all 134 FBS college football teams ($) with less than a week remaining until the start of the 2024 season in “Week 0.”

Dubbed The Athletic 134, Vannini ranks Kentucky at No. 44 entering the season — 11th among the 16 SEC teams entering 2024. The Wildcats placed behind Auburn (No. 34) and Florida (No. 35) in the rankings and were 12 spots below in-state rival Louisville at No. 32.

Also among SEC teams, Mark Stoops’ program was ranked one spot ahead of South Carolina at No. 45 and eight spots ahead of Arkansas at No. 52.

Ohio State topped The Athletic 134‘s Week 0 rankings, which will be updated each week throughout the season. Georgia was No. 2 with Oregon at No. 3. Texas (No. 4) and Alabama (No. 5) rounded out the top five.

Kentucky opens the season in less than two weeks, Aug. 31 against Southern Miss at Kroger Field (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Georgia is ranked No. 1 in both the AP and US LBM coaches polls entering the season. The Bulldogs head to Lexington in the third week of the season on Sept. 14 for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

Kentucky was unranked in the AP and coaches polls but garnered 12 votes for consideration in the coaches poll and three votes for consideration in the AP poll.

Florida State faces Georgia Tech at noon ET in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday in the first game of the 2024 season.

RELATED: Kentucky’s rigorous strength of schedule evident in Preseason US LBM Coaches Poll

Kentucky announces two exhibition games ahead of 2024-25 college basketball season

Kentucky will play against Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 23 and against Minnesota State on Oct. 29, the school announced Friday.

Kentucky on Friday announced two exhibition games before the start of the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season.

The Wildcats will host Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday, Oct. 23 and Minnesota State on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Rupp Arena. Tipoffs and any television/broadcast information were not announced.

Kentucky Wesleyan competes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as a Division II program. Minnesota State competes in the Northern Sun Conference.

Minnesota State went 35-2 a season ago and won the Division II national championship on March 30 against Nova Southeastern University. Kentucky Wesleyan was 21-9 overall last season, including 15-5 in conference play.

Before the exhibition games, Big Blue Madness will return to Rupp Arena on Oct. 11, while the Blue-White Preseason Experience featuring intrasquad scrimmages with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs was announced for Oct. 18 inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum.

RELATED: Four-star center Malachi Moreno commits to Kentucky basketball

The Wildcats’ first official regular season game of 2024-25 is set for Monday, Nov. 4 against Wright State at Rupp Arena. Tipoff and broadcast information has not been announced.

Kentucky is entering its first season under new coach Mark Pope, a former Wildcats player and member of the school’s 1996 national championship team. Pope was named Wildcasts head coach on April 12 following the departure of John Calipari earlier that month.

RELATED: Social media reacts to Malachi Moore committing to Kentucky

Kentucky basketball lands No. 2 center in 2025 recruiting class

Kentucky Wildcats coach Mark Pope made a splash in the 2025 recruiting class, securing a commitment from four-star center Malachi Moreno.

Mark Pope landed his first future recruit as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, securing a commitment from 2025 center Malachi Moreno on Friday morning.

Moreno is a 7’0 center from Georgetown, KY, about fifteen minutes down the road from Lexington. A four-star prospect who is ranked No. 25 in the 2025 class at 247Sports, Moreno chose the hometown Wildcats over seven other finalists: Arkansas, Indiana, Louisville, Iowa, Ohio State, North Carolina, and Notre Dame.

“It being a dream school of mine since I was a wee little fella’,” Moreno said of why he picked Kentucky. “Just the coaching staff, the play-style and the place of Kentucky, it felt right.”

Moreno is very skilled for his size, with a 7’1 wingspan and above average coordination, balance, and footwork for a player at his age and size. He continues to develop physically as an athlete, and is projected to be an impactful, versatile offensive player at the college level – especially if the outside shooting continues to develop.

Moreno is the highest rated recruit Pope has brought in during his few months as the head coach at Kentucky, joining 2024 recruits Trent Noah and Travis Perry who are both from the state as well.

Kentucky gets a commitment from 4-star center, spurs Notre Dame and others

The Irish miss out on one of the nation’s best 2025 centers

While Notre Dame basketball was a finalist for Kentucky center [autotag]Malachi Moreno[/autotag], it would have been a shock if he left the state.

That’s exactly what happened on Friday morning, as the 6-foot, 11-inch and 230-pound prospect committed to the Wildcats. Moreno had eight different hats on the table for his announcement, as the Irish were one of many teams that were unable to grab his verbal.

This has been the trend recently for Notre Dame basketball, as they continually have been placing inside players final groups, only to see them commit elsewhere.

At some point this trend will stop, but it’s hard to say when that will be.

The Irish have reported offers out to two other centers in the 2025 class, so there is still hope for one to end up in South Bend this cycle.

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CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm makes bowl projection for Kentucky

Veteran college sports prognosticator Jerry Palm projects where Kentucky football will spend its postseason.

When you think Kentucky vs. Arizona in college sports, you immediately think of men’s basketball.

The two schools met four times on the hardwood in the 90s, most notably in the 1997 NCAA men’s basketball championship game in Indianapolis when Arizona pulled an 84-79 upset in overtime for its only national title. It was Rick Pitino’s final game as Kentucky coach.

On the football field? The two schools have never met. According to veteran CBS Sports’ prognosticator Jerry Palm, that will change in 2024. Palm released his bowl predictions for the 2024 season on Thursday and projects Kentucky to face Arizona in this year’s Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 27 at Allegiant Stadium.

The Las Vegas Bowl announced last month that it would host an SEC team this year against a current or former Pac-12 school.

Mark Stoops is entering his 12th season as Kentucky’s head coach and has led the Wildcats to eight consecutive bowl games. Stoops’ teams won four straight bowls from 2018-2021, though Kentucky’s 20-17 victory over Iowa in the 2022 Citrus Bowl was recently vacated due to NCAA sanctions.

An appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl would mark the furthest distance from campus the Wildcats have ever traveled for a bowl game — 1,932 miles according to Google Maps. Currently, the furthest Kentucky has traveled for a bowl game is Miami (1,032 miles), where the Wildcats faced Santa Clara University in the 1950 Orange Bowl.

RELATED: Two Kentucky players make ESPN list of Top 100 college football players for 2024

Palm projected Georgia to make the inaugural 12-team playoff as the SEC champion and No. 1 overall seed. Ohio State was projected as the No. 2 seed with Utah the No. 3 seed and Florida State the No. 4 seed.

Two Kentucky players make ESPN list of Top 100 college football players for 2024

Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston made ESPN’s Top 100 college football players list for 2024.

ESPN unveiled its Top 100 rankings of the best college football players heading into the 2024 season on Thursday.

Two Kentucky players made the list, and it’s two you can probably guess: defensive tackle Deone Walker and cornerback Maxwell Hairston.

Walker was ranked the No. 21 overall player, one spot below Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter at No. 20 and one spot ahead of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe at No. 22.

Walker has been named to a plethora of preseason awards watch lists, including the Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lott IMPACT Trophy.

RELATED: Maxwell Hairston, Deone Walker on preseason Bednarik Award Watch List

ESPN said of Walker’s spot at No. 21:

“The 6-6, 348-pound junior has started 24 straight games. Despite frequent double-teams, Walker led the Wildcats with 12.5 tackles for loss last season and finished eighth in the SEC with 7.5 sacks. He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the AP and is equally disruptive against both the run and pass. Walker also has incredible footwork.”

For his part, Hairston was ranked the No. 84 overall player in ESPN’s Top 100 list, one spot below Georgia running back Trevor Etienne.

Per ESPN’s ranking of Hairston:

“The junior from Michigan was ranked outside the top 100 cornerback prospects when he signed with the Wildcats in 2021. Last season, he led the SEC and ranked fifth nationally with five interceptions. In a 45-28 win at Vanderbilt, Hairston returned two interceptions for touchdowns and had a career-high three pass breakups.”

Hairston started all 13 games in 2023 and had five interceptions and 11 passes defended. He had six pass breakups to go with 68 total tackles and a forced fumble.

ESPN ranked Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. at No. 1 overall in their Top 100 rankings.

 

Kentucky lands just outside Fox Sports’ preseason Top 25 rankings

Kentucky landed at No. 28 in Fox Sports’ preseason ranking of all 134 FBS teams entering the 2024 college football season.

Monday saw the release of the preseason AP Top 25 college football poll. Hours later, Fox Sports unveiled its “Ultimate 134” rankings of every FBS team in the nation heading into the 2024 season.

Kentucky was ranked No. 28, one spot behind Wisconsin in Fox analyst RJ Young’s preseason rankings.

Young uses strength of schedule, coaching staff continuity, returning starters, class of 2024 recruiting, “star” players, and success in the transfer portal as criteria for his rankings.

He cites the Wildcats’ success and stability under Mark Stoops as a big reason for their Top 30 ranking.

“Stoops has put the Wildcats into eight straight bowl games. If they make a ninth-straight postseason appearance, defensive lineman Deone Walker will likely have quite a bit to do with it. At 6-6, 348 pounds, Walker led the team in tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (7.5) last season. Teams won’t double-team him as often with former Georgia linebacker and two-time national champion Jamon Dumas-Johnson joining UK through the portal.”

RELATED: Walker, Hairston on preseason Bednarik Award watch list

Young goes on to praise quarterback Brock Vandagriff and says he believes the Georgia transfer could be the program’s best all-around quarterback since College Football Hall of Famer Tim Couch.

“The jewel in Stoops’ 2024 transfer portal class has to be former five-star QB and UGA backup Brock Vandagriff, who could be the Wildcats’ most talented quarterback since Tim Couch, who is still the only [single season] 4,000-yard passer in UK history.”

Kentucky landed behind eight SEC teams in Young’s preseason 1-134 rankings. Georgia was the highest-ranked SEC team at No. 2 in Young’s rankings. Ohio State was No. 1.

The Wildcats kick off the 2024 season at Kroger Field against Southern Miss on Aug. 31 (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Former AP Player of the Year signs two-way deal with Utah Jazz

Former Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe inks two-way contract with Utah Jazz, who also signed second round pick Kyle Filipowski.

In a flurry of moves to shore up the bottom half of the roster, the Utah Jazz inked former Kentucky forward and AP Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe to a two-way contract on Monday.

Utah also signed 2024 second round pick and former Duke forward Kyle Filipowski, as well as former UCLA guard Johnny Juzang, to guaranteed contracts.

Tshiebwe was one of the greatest college basketball stars of the decade, spending two seasons at West Virginia before transferring to join John Calipari at Kentucky for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds as a junior, earning Player of the Year honors, and was a consensus All-American two years in a row before going undrafted and latching on with the Indiana Pacers last year.

The 6’9 forward was outstanding in the G League, and now gets a chance to prove himself and potentially earn a standard NBA contract in Utah – although Filipowski’s guaranteed deal certainly hurts Tshiebwe’s chances.

Filipowski was also a consensus All American in college, and his fall into the second round in June was a surprising one. He showed his range and versatility during Summer League, and now will get a chance to carve out a role with the Jazz on a standard deal.

ESPN analyst ranks the Christian Laettner buzzer-beater as the third-best shot ever

ESPN’s Mike Greenberg ranked his five best basketball shots ever on Monday and included Christian Laettner’s shot over Kentucky.

ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg laid out his five best shots in basketball history on Monday, and he put Christian Laettner’s iconic buzzer-beater against Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight at No. 3.

No Duke basketball fan needs more context about the biggest shot in school history, but who doesn’t love a trip down memory lane? The Blue Devils, defending national champions, trailed the Wildcats by a point in the closing seconds. Grant Hill inbounded way down the court to Laettner, who somehow found the time for a dribble and a shimmy with one second on the clock. He got his jumper off just in time, finding nylon and keeping Duke’s hopes for a repeat alive.

Hill actually just recorded a video looking back on the moment, crediting legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski for keeping the team engaged despite the massive odds.

Considering that Steph Curry’s dagger in this year’s Olympic gold medal game and Michael Jordan’s famous buzzer-beater against the Cavaliers took the top two spots, Laettner’s winner is Greenberg’s best shot in college basketball history.

If Duke fans want an extra reason to smile, Kris Jenkins’ 2016 national championship winner for Villanova took the fifth spot on the list. He, of course, beat North Carolina with the iconic 3-pointer.

Maxwell Hairston, Deone Walker on preseason Bednarik Award Watch List

Two Kentucky standouts have been named to the preseason Bednarik Award Watch List.

Two Kentucky standouts were named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List on Monday: defensive tackle Deone Walker and cornerback Maxwell Hairston.

As a sophomore in 2023, Walker had 55 tackles and led the team with 12.5 tackles for loss to go with seven sacks and eight quarterback hurries.

The Bednarik Award is the fourth preseason award watch list that Walker has been named to. He was also named to the watch lists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Outland Trophy (presented to the nation’s best interior lineman).

For his part, Hairston returns for his junior season after totaling five interceptions in 2023, good for fifth in the nation. In the Wildcats’ 45-28 victory over Vanderbilt on Sept. 23, Hairston had two interception returns for touchdowns.

Hairston has also been named to the preseason watch lists for the Jim Thorpe Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

The Bednarik Award has been presented annually to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994. It is named in honor of the late College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker.

NC State’s Payton Wilson Jr. won the Bednarik Award last season.

Kentucky opens the 2024 season at Kroger Field against Southern Miss, Aug. 31 at 7:45 p.m. ET . The game can be seen on SEC Network.