Mark Pope will have the most money to spend in the Transfer Portal and that's not a good thing

A year after constructing a $22 million roster that never got off the ground in one piece and crashed out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round on Sunday, Mark Pope will have one of the biggest NIL and revenue-sharing warchests to spend this offseason. That will be a major advantage in the Transfer Portal, but it’s a troubling sign for the program's health heading into Year 3. 

The biggest reason that Kentucky will have the most money to spend this offseason is that Kentucky spends the most money. In some ways, it is that simple. But it also has to spend the most money because it hasn’t spent much yet.

3 years into Mark Pope’s tenure, Kentucky still lacks foundational pieces

The Wildcats don’t have a single recruit committed in the 2026 class, a class in which the No. 1 player is from Kentucky. Pope has been shut out on the recruiting trail thus far, and with Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen both out of eligibility, and Jayden Quaintance likely heading to the NBA, there isn’t much of a core. At least not one that will be expensive to retain. 

The 2025 recruiting class yielded some promise with Malachi Moreno and Andrija Jelavic emerging as the team’s starting frontcourt, though neither strikes me as a structural pillar of a championship team; top commit, Jasper Johnson, even less so in his 12 minutes per game. 

 After spending a season without a true point guard, Kentucky may pay up for another year of Jaland Lowe, who played nine games after transferring to Pitt. However, he is a career 28.9 percent three-point shooter who, when he played, was a bit of a clunky fit in Pope’s offensive system. 

Here are the players with remaining eligibility whom Pope and his staff must decide whether or not to retain. 

• Collin Chandler: 2 years
• Mouhamed Diobate: 1 year
• Brandon Garrison: 1 year 
• Braydon Hawthorne: 4 years
• Andrija Jelavic: 3 years
• Malachi Moreon: 3 years
• Jasper Johnson: 3 years
• Trent Noah: 2 years
• Jayden Quaintance: 2 years
• Reece Potter: 1 year

Pope’s portal misses are setting Kentucky back

Pope’s first roster at Kentucky was thrown together hastily after the program’s unceremonious parting with John Calipari. His spending spree last offseason was clearly intended to lay more permanent groundwork with four of the six incoming transfers (Dioubate, Lowe, Potter, and Williams) appearing to be more than one-year solutions. 

Now, that group may be coming back for another year in Lexington, but there was nothing about Kentucky’s season that screams ‘run it back!’ Yes, there were injuries, but even in its completed form, the spacing of this team never made sense, especially not for a head coach who wants to shoot about 40 threes a game. 

Some of the players also likely want a fresh start after a tumultuous season, and with a head coach clearly entering next year on the hot seat. So, who are the foundation pieces? Where are the top-tier recruits? And why should Pope be the one to spend Kentucky’s war chest of resources? It’s hard to say. 

One of the biggest reasons to move on from John Calipari was to get off the one-and-done roller coaster. Yet, the roster has had almost as much turnover under Pope as it did with Cal. And at least Cal hit on his top recruits more often than not. Pope’s big ticket item, Jayden Quaintance, played four games coming off a devastating knee injury, and scored 20 total points for Kentucky after an alledged $2 million deal. 

In a vacuum, having the most to spend in the portal is a good thing. It gives you the most options to build the best possible team. In the context of Pope’s first two years and last offseason’s massive budget, it’s alarming.