Kentucky Basketball unlikely to make another roster or staff addition this season
· Yahoo Sports
It looks like the Kentucky Basketball roster and coaching staff are set heading into the 2026-27 season and Mark Pope’s third year as head coach.
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Pope still has one roster spot remaining to fill, and many believed Kentucky would land overseas star Nikola Kusturica before he ultimately committed to UCLA.
Kentucky then moved on and landed the commitment of Missouri transfer forward Mark Mitchell. However, the SEC was reportedly going to make it difficult for Mitchell to gain eligibility at Kentucky because he did not transfer during the spring window. After battling through the situation, Mitchell ultimately decided it was not worth pursuing and returned to Missouri.
Since then, Kentucky’s final roster spot has remained open.
Meanwhile, Pope lost Jason Hart to SMU and Alvin Brooks III to NC State. Pope replaced one of those positions by bringing in Mo Williams as an assistant coach, but he has not replaced the other position.
During Kentucky’s Media Day on Monday, Pope addressed the remaining roster spot and the possibility of adding another player.
“Our roster right now is what we’re expecting to go to battle with,” Pope said. “We’ll always be open to opportunities if they arise. Everything changes so fast…it’s pretty incredible. But I like our group, and right now, everything we’re doing right now is focused on growing this group together the way we have it, and trying to build the best we can.”
Pope also addressed the current state of his coaching staff and whether he plans to make any additional additions.
“Technically, there’s no exact right number on our staff. I like our staff so much right now,” said Pope. “There’s a real synergy with what we’re doing. Certainly, we have the potential to kind of grow the staff, strengthen the staff, change the staff right now, and that could happen, but right now is just the best I’ve felt. It’s actually by far the best I’ve felt with how our staff is functioning together.”
While Pope is not opposed to adding another player or another member to his staff, he appears comfortable with the group currently in place.
Mo Williams joins director of basketball operations Nick Robinson, video coordinator Matt Santoro and assistant video coordinator Will Corbin in helping Pope prepare for the upcoming season. Robinson has also played a role on the recruiting trail alongside Pope.
It will be interesting to see whether Kentucky makes any additional additions before the season begins, but for now, Pope’s comments indicate that the Wildcats are comfortable moving forward with the roster and staff as currently constructed.