Kentucky basketball announces new nonconference games for 2025-26 season
Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope talks about his roster during a press conference on May 13, 2025, in Lexington. By UK Athletics| John Clay
Key Takeaways AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom The renewal of a dormant rivalry series and a visit from an in-state opponent highlight a slate of five nonconference home games that the Kentucky men’s basketball program announced Friday morning.
UK will play home contests against Loyola (Maryland), Tennessee Tech, North Carolina Central, Indiana and Bellarmine as part of the Wildcats’ 2025-26 schedule. The Cats will entertain Loyola (Maryland) on Nov. 21, Tennessee Tech on Nov. 26, North Carolina Central on Dec. 9, Indiana on Dec. 13 and Bellarmine on Dec. 23. Television networks and game times will be announced at a later date for these contests. Mark Pope is set to begin his second season as the head coach at Kentucky. Ryan C. Hermens rhermens@herald-leader.com
What does the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball schedule look like?
This five-game announcement comes after Mark Pope’s UK program already had a number of marquee games set for its schedule next season. Kentucky’s first major game of the regular season will come in the form of the annual rivalry matchup against Louisville, which this year is set for the early-season date of Nov. 11 in Louisville at the Yum Center. After that, Kentucky will face Michigan State on Nov. 18 in the annual Champions Classic matchup at Madison Square Garden in New York City. UK’s home contest against Loyola (Maryland) will slot in just three days after that meeting with the Spartans. Kentucky’s home game against Tennessee Tech — coached by legendary ex-Cat John Pelphrey — is set to take place the day before Thanksgiving. The schedule will then kick into high gear again for Kentucky in December.
The Wildcats will play Gonzaga on Dec. 5 in Nashville. Four days later, UK will host North Carolina Central in Rupp Arena. Then, four days after that, comes the long-awaited renewal of the rivalry series with Indiana, which will also take place in Lexington. This will be the first of a four-game series between the Hoosiers and Wildcats, who haven’t faced each other since the 2016 NCAA Tournament. UK leads the all-time series between the schools, 32-25. Indiana last visited UK during the 2010-11 season. One week after that matchup with Indiana, UK will face perhaps its toughest test of the season. Kentucky will play St. John’s on Dec. 20 in Atlanta as part of a revamped CBS Sports Classic lineup. That game will feature Pope coaching against Rick Pitino, who led UK to the 1996 national championship before later leading Louisville’s program for 16 years. A home game against in-state opponent Bellarmine — a school that will be under new leadership next season — is set to follow on Dec. 23. There’s still at least one major spot in Kentucky’s nonconference schedule that’s yet to be filled. UK will be part of the ACC/SEC Challenge for a third consecutive year, and the Wildcats are likely to end up with a marquee opponent in that showcase. The matchups and locations for that event have not yet been announced, but UK is expected to get a home game in Rupp Arena for the event after traveling to Clemson last season. The possibility exists that Duke or North Carolina could be UK’s opponent for the ACC/SEC Challenge. Once the calendar flips to 2026, Kentucky can count on facing a challenging, 18-game schedule in the SEC. The league sent a record 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament last season. Even before November arrives, Kentucky will be challenged during its preseason slate, which features a pair of home tune-ups at Rupp Arena against major conference foes. Kentucky will play exhibition games against Purdue on Oct. 24 and Georgetown on Oct. 30. A highlight of the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball schedule will be a game against St. John’s, coached by Rick Pitino, on Dec. 20 in Atlanta. Wendell Cruz USA TODAY NETWORK What does the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball roster look like? Who will be taking to the court for the Wildcats in these games? Currently, there are 14 players in place for Kentucky’s roster for next season. This group includes four projected returnees from last season’s UK team. Those players are freshmen guard Collin Chandler, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh. Oweh declared for the 2025 NBA draft and is still going through the draft process. This included participating in the NBA Combine and conducting interviews and workouts with NBA teams. College players like Oweh have until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday to pull out of the draft and retain their NCAA eligibility. UK lost two scholarship players with remaining eligibility to the transfer portal from its 2024-25 roster, guards Kerr Kriisa (Cincinnati) and Travis Perry (Ole Miss). Along with Kentucky’s four expected returnees, UK has brought in six college players via the transfer portal. Those players are junior guard Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), sophomore guard Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), sophomore center Reece Potter (Miami), freshman big man Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State) and freshman wing Kam Williams (Tulane). Additionally, UK will be bringing in four first-year players next season. Those players are 6-foot-11 Croatian big man Andrija Jelavic, guard Jasper Johnson, small forward Braydon Hawthorne and in-state center Malachi Moreno. Hawthorne, Johnson and Moreno are all arriving via the traditional high school recruiting pathway, while Jelavic has previous professional playing experience in Europe. Johnson is a left-handed guard and the No. 21 national recruit in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Hawthorne is a late-blooming recruit who is ranked as a four-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite. Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American and Sweet 16 state champion earlier this year. Former high school recruit and UK signee Acaden Lewis, a guard, decommitted from Kentucky this spring and will instead be playing next season at Villanova.
