Jaland Lowe injury update: Mark Pope explains 'precaution,' reveals next step

On Friday, Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe left the team’s Blue-White game after suffering an apparent right shoulder injury during a collision with Wildcats star Otega Oweh. After the scrimmage, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope provided an update on Lowe’s condition.

“He tweaked his shoulder. So, we’ll see. Kind of sat him down out of precaution. We’ll know more tomorrow,” Pope said. “We’ll probably get some imaging tomorrow, kind of see how it responds tomorrow. He’s an incredibly tough young man, so I’m sure, whatever it is, he’ll battle through it well.”

After spending two seasons at Pittsburgh, Lowe transferred to Kentucky this offseason. He was the No. 45 overall player and No. 15 point guard in On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings.

Lowe started in all 31 of his appearances at Pittsburgh last season. He averaged 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, while shooting 37.6% from the field and 26.6% from beyond the arc.

Media members expect Lowe to have another impressive campaign. Earlier this week, Lowe was named a preseason All-SEC Third-Team selection. The only other player who earned all-conference honors for Kentucky was Otega Oweh, who was labeled the preseason SEC Player of the Year.

For Lowe to meet expectations, he’ll need to improve his shooting efficiency. Mark Pope is confident Lowe won’t have any trouble putting the ball in the hoop.

“He’s an elite-level playmaker on ball screens — I mean, he can fling the ball everywhere on the court, make every pass,” Pope said this summer. “He was our leading 3-point field goal percentage shooter in five-on-five competition this summer — just right under 42 percent. We’re incredibly excited about what we believe he’s going to do in terms of efficiency this summer.

“… He’s a lightning-quick, get wherever he wants on the court, leader — vocal leader. He actually has the beautiful skill of not being overly concerned with whether other people like him in any given moment. That’s actually a really important skill as a leader. Sometimes you gotta be a truth teller. Sometimes you gotta hold people accountable, and for those of us that are born pleasers, sometimes that can be really challenging. He’s not.”

Jaland Lowe scored eight points in the scrimmage on Friday before leaving the game with an injury. On Oct. 24, Kentucky will square off against No. 1 Purdue in a preseason exhibition. Eleven days later, the Wildcats will kick off their regular season against Nicholls State.