Projecting Who's Staying and Who's Leaving from Kentucky After NCAA Tournament Loss

Kentucky put together a memorable season as one of the nation's highest-scoring offenses, but the Wildcats bowed out of the 2024 men's NCAA tournament with a first-round upset against Oakland.

Up next is the latest rebuild in Lexington.

As usual, Kentucky has impressive one-and-done talent. But the 'Cats are bracing for more contributors to leave than top scorer Antonio Reeves and standout freshmen Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard.

The good news for John Calipari and Co. is that a hectic offseason is nothing new. It helps to have a six-player recruiting class, too.

Who's Staying

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Aaron Bradshaw

The best-case scenario for Kentucky is building the 2024-25 rotation around high school teammates DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw. In this prediction, however, only one is back.

Not-so-spoiler alert: It's the player in bold.

Look, UK fans should understand the program's reality. If you've figured out time travel and seen that Kentucky lost 8-10 players to the NBA, know I wouldn't be surprised if Bradshaw, Zvonimir Ivisic and Adou Thiero all go through the 2024 pre-draft process and stick.

At this moment, though, I'll project the trio to return alongside Ugonna Onyenso as the backbone of the roster.

Who's Leaving

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Reed Sheppard

Buckle up, NBA draft lovers.

The obvious candidates to leave are Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, a pair of outstanding guards. Both freshmen are widely expected to garner top-10 consideration in the 2024 draft.

Behind them, leading scorer Antonio Reeves and key center Tre Mitchell have used up their college eligibility.

The debatable options begin with Justin Edwards and D.J. Wagner, who likely will be part of the pre-draft process. Theoretically, they can raise their respective profiles with another year in college, but the appeal of an NBA career is understandable—even as second-round picks.

In addition to grads and possible NBA exits, Kentucky could see a couple of reserves enter the transfer portal.

Who's on the Way

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Boogie Fland

Duke boasts the country's best recruiting class, but Kentucky is only narrowly behind the fellow blueblood program.

Five-star center Jayden Quaintance is the headliner, checking in as the eighth-best prospect of the cycle. Three more 5-star talents—Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond—are also in the class.

Somto Cyril, a 4-star center playing for Overtime Elite, is eligible for the 2024 NBA draft but would be a terrific addition to the frontcourt.

Rounding out the list is Travis Perry, who's a 4-star guard and the highest-rated prospect from Kentucky.

It's safe to assume Calipari and the UK staff will also peruse the transfer portal if any of the team's 13 scholarships are still available.