Kentucky's John Calipari Says He Tested Positive for COVID-19 This Summer

University of Kentucky head men's basketball coach John Calipari said Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this summer.

According to John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Calipari noted that he had already been vaccinated when he tested positive and didn't initially go public with his diagnosis since he didn't want it to discourage people from getting the vaccine.

Calipari also said that he experienced only mild symptoms.

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The 62-year-old Calipari is preparing to enter his 13th season as the head coach of the Wildcats after previous successful stints at UMass and Memphis.

Of the 11 times the NCAA tournament has been held during Calipari's tenure at Kentucky, the Wildcats have reached the tourney nine times.

In those nine tournaments, Kentucky has eight Sweet 16 appearances, seven Elite Eight appearances, four Final Four appearances and one national championship to its credit.

While Kentucky has been a top-flight program throughout Calipari's time in Lexington, that was not the case last season.

The Wildcats went a disappointing 9-16, which was their worst mark under Calipari. They also failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.

While Calipari has been among the best recruiters in college basketball during his stint with the Wildcats, reloading on a yearly basis after players enter the draft is not an easy endeavor.

The mix didn't work for Kentucky last season, but Calipari has put together the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation for 2021, per 247Sports.

If the class lives up to its billing, Coach Cal and Wildcats should have a decent shot to return to the NCAA tournament in 2021-22.