2024–25 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

2024–25 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
2024–25 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 4
Record	7–0 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Mark Pope (1st season);
Associate head coach	Alvin Brooks III (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Mark Fox (1st season); Cody Fueger (1st season); Jason Hart (1st season); Mikhail McLean (1st season);
Home arena	Rupp Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 13 Florida	0	–	0	–	8	–	0	1.000
No. 2 Auburn	0	–	0	–	7	–	0	1.000
No. 4 Kentucky	0	–	0	–	7	–	0	1.000
No. 21 Oklahoma	0	–	0	–	7	–	0	1.000
No. 3 Tennessee	0	–	0	–	7	–	0	1.000
Georgia	0	–	0	–	7	–	1	.875
Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	7	–	1	.875
LSU	0	–	0	–	6	–	1	.857
Mississippi State	0	–	0	–	6	–	1	.857
Missouri	0	–	0	–	6	–	1	.857
No. 23 Ole Miss	0	–	0	–	6	–	1	.857
Texas	0	–	0	–	6	–	1	.857
No. 10 Alabama	0	–	0	–	6	–	2	.750
No. 22 Texas A&M	0	–	0	–	6	–	2	.750
Arkansas	0	–	0	–	5	–	2	.714
South Carolina	0	–	0	–	4	–	3	.571

† 2025 SEC tournament winner As of November 30, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

The 2024–25 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represents the University of Kentucky during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, founding members of the Southeastern Conference, play their home games at Rupp Arena and are led by Mark Pope in his first season as head coach for the Wildcats.^[1]

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2023–24 season finished the season with a record of 23–8, 13–5 in SEC play to finish in a 3-way tie for second place in the SEC. As the number two seed in the SEC tournament, they would be upset in the quarterfinal round by Texas A&M. They would go on to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they got upset by Oakland in the first round to finish the season with an overall record of 23–10.^[2] It was also the final season for John Calipari as Kentucky head coach as he would depart for Arkansas a month later.^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Rob Dillingham	0	G	6'3"	176	Freshman	Hickory, NC	Declared for 2024 NBA draft
Justin Edwards	1	G	6'8"	203	Freshman	Philadelphia, PA	Declared for 2024 NBA draft
Aaron Bradshaw	2	F	7'1"	226	Freshman	Roselle, NJ	Transferred to Ohio State
Adou Thiero	3	G	6'8"	222	Sophomore	Leetsdale, PA	Transferred to Arkansas
Tre Mitchell	4	F	6'9"	231	GS Senior	Pittsburgh, PA	Graduated
Antonio Reeves	12	G	6'6"	195	GS Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduated/2024 NBA draft
Brennan Canada	14	F	6'5"	200	GS Senior	Mount Sterling, KY	Graduated
Reed Sheppard	15	G	6'3"	187	Freshman	London, KY	Declared for 2024 NBA draft
Joey Hart	20	G	6'5"	203	Freshman	Linton, IN	Transferred to Ball State
D. J. Wagner	21	G	6'4"	192	Freshman	Camden, NJ	Transferred to Arkansas
Jordan Burks	23	G	6'8"	202	Freshman	Decatur, AL	Transferred to Georgetown
Kareem Watkins	25	G	5'8"	175	Senior	Camden, NJ	Walk-on; graduated
Ugonna Onyenso	33	F	7'0"	247	Sophomore	Owerri, Nigeria	Transferred to Kansas State
Zvonimir Ivišić	44	F	7'2"	234	Freshman	Vodice, Croatia	Transferred to Arkansas

Incoming transfers

Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous college
Otega Oweh	00	G	6'5"	210	Junior	Somerset, NJ	Oklahoma
Lamont Butler	1	G	6'2"	207	GS Senior	Moreno Valley, CA	San Diego State
Jaxson Robinson	2	G	6'7"	200	GS Senior	Ada, OK	BYU
Koby Brea	4	G	6'6"	205	GS Senior	Washington Heights, NY	Dayton
Andrew Carr	7	F	6'10"	220	GS Senior	West Chester, PA	Wake Forest
Brandon Garrison	10	C	6'11"	245	Sophomore	Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma State
Ansley Almonor	15	F	6'7"	244	Senior	Spring Valley, NY	Fairleigh Dickinson
Amari Williams	22	C	6'10"	255	GS Senior	Nottingham, England	Drexel
Kerr Kriisa	77	G	6'3"	190	GS Senior	Tartu, Estonia	West Virginia

Class of 2024 commitments

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Collin Chandler #6 SG	Farmington, UT	Farmington High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Apr 22, 2024
Collin Chandler #6 SG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89
Travis Perry #15 PG	Eddyville, KY	Lyon County High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 12, 2023
Travis Perry #15 PG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84
Trent Noah SG	Harlan, KY	Harlan County High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 8, 2024
Trent Noah SG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2024. "2024 Kentucky Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 11, 2024. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2024. "Kentucky 2024 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 11, 2024.

Roster

2024–25 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	00	Otega Oweh	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	Jr	Oklahoma	Newark, NJ
G	1	Lamont Butler	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	GS	San Diego State	Moreno Valley, CA
G	2	Jaxson Robinson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	GS	BYU	Ada, OK
G	4	Koby Brea	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	GS	Dayton	Washington Heights, NY
G	5	Collin Chandler	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Fr	Farmington	Farmington, UT
F	7	Andrew Carr	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	227 lb (103 kg)	GS	Wake Forest	West Chester, PA
F	9	Trent Noah	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Harlan County	Harlan, KY
C	10	Brandon Garrison	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	So	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma City, OK
G	11	Travis Perry	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Fr	Lyon County	Eddyville, KY
G	13	Grant Darbyshire (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Sycamore	Cincinnati, OH
F	15	Ansley Almonor	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	Sr	Fairliegh Dickinson	Spring Valley, NY
G	21	Walker Horn (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Jr	Westlake	Austin, TX
C	22	Amari Williams	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	GS	Drexel	Nottingham, England
G	77	Kerr Kriisa	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	GS	West Virginia	Tartu, Estonia

Head coach

Mark Pope (Kentucky)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 23, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 23	Kentucky Wesleyan	W 123–52	–	19 – Robinson	6 – Butler	6 – Tied	Rupp Arena (18,522) Lexington, KY
October 29, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 23	Minnesota State Mankato	W 98–67	–	24 – Robinson	6 – Robinson	6 – Tied	Rupp Arena (18,739) Lexington, KY
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 23	Wright State	W 103–62	1–0	21 – Oweh	13 – Williams	5 – Tied	Rupp Arena (19,635) Lexington, KY
November 9, 2024* 4:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 23	Bucknell	W 100–72	2–0	20 – Brea	14 – Williams	12 – Kriisa	Rupp Arena (20,048) Lexington, KY
November 12, 2024* 9:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 19	vs. No. 6 Duke Champions Classic	W 77–72	3–0	17 – Carr	8 – Williams	4 – Butler	State Farm Arena (16,107) Atlanta, GA
November 19, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 9	Lipscomb BBN Invitational	W 97–68	4–0	20 – Robinson	11 – Williams	2 – Tied	Rupp Arena (19,314) Lexington, KY
November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 9	Jackson State BBN Invitational	W 108–59	5–0	22 – Brea	8 – Tied	7 – Kriisa	Rupp Arena (19,961) Lexington, KY
November 26, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU	No. 8	Western Kentucky BBN Invitational	W 87–68	6–0	18 – Tied	10 – Tied	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (20,049) Lexington, KY
November 29, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN	No. 8	Georgia State	W 105–76	7–0	19 – Robinson	8 – Carr	6 – Butler	Rupp Arena (19,914) Lexington, KY
December 3, 2024* 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 4	at Clemson ACC–SEC Challenge						Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC
December 7, 2024* 10:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 4	vs. No. 7 Gonzaga Battle in Seattle						Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, WA
December 11, 2024* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		Colgate						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
December 14, 2024* 5:15 p.m., ESPN		Louisville Rivalry						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
December 21, 2024* 5:30 p.m., CBS		vs. Ohio State CBS Sports Classic						Madison Square Garden New York City, NY
December 31, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPNU		Brown						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
SEC regular season
January 4, 2025 11:00 a.m., ESPN		Florida Rivalry						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Georgia						Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA
January 11, 2025 8:30 p.m., SECN		at Mississippi State						Humphrey Coliseum Mississippi State, MS
January 14, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU		Texas A&M						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
January 18, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN		Alabama						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
January 25, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Vanderbilt						Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN
January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN		at Tennessee Rivalry						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 1, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN		Arkansas						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN		at Ole Miss						SJB Pavilion University, MS
February 8, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		South Carolina						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN		Tennessee Rivalry						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 15, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN		at Texas						Moody Center Austin, TX
February 19, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN		Vanderbilt						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 22, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN		at Alabama						Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL
February 26, 2025 9:00 p.m., SECN		at Oklahoma						Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK
March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m./4:00 p.m., ABC/ESPN		Auburn						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
March 4/5, 2025 7:00 p.m./9:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU		LSU						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
March 8, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN/SECN		at Missouri						Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO
SEC tournament
TBD, TBD		vs. TBD First round						Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final
AP	23	19	9	8	4
Coaches	23	18	11	8	6

References

^ Lewis, Will (2 July 2024). "Printable 2024-25 UK Basketball Schedule; TV Broadcasts and More - Sports Brackets". Sports Brackets. NCAAB. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
^ Clay, John (March 31, 2024). "Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball's loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament". kentucky.com. Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
^ Borzello, Jeff (April 10, 2024). "John Calipari officially hired as Arkansas men's basketball coach". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2024.

[1] Lewis, Will (2 July 2024). "Printable 2024-25 UK Basketball Schedule; TV Broadcasts and More - Sports Brackets". Sports Brackets. NCAAB. Retrieved 11 October 2024.

[2] Clay, John (March 31, 2024). "Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball's loss to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament". kentucky.com. Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved November 13, 2024.

[3] Borzello, Jeff (April 10, 2024). "John Calipari officially hired as Arkansas men's basketball coach". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Centre (historical) Florida Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)
Culture & lore	History under Adolph Rupp Fabulous Five Point-shaving scandal Fiddlin' Five Rupp's Runts The Season Without Celebration "The Shot" Unforgettables Untouchables Comeback Cats John Wall Dance Tweakables Pursuit of Perfection 2011 Indiana game Basketbowl Champions Classic CBS Sports Classic The Rivalry: Red v. Blue The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Big Blue Nation Blue blood status
People	Head coaches Honorees NBA draftees Players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics