Trent Noah admits losing Travis Perry to the transfer portal 'definitely stung'

Forward Trent Noah and guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry were the first three freshmen recruits of the Mark Pope era at Kentucky last season. The trio saw their minutes grow over the course of the season due to sporadic injuries and provided a promising glimpse into the future of the program.

Noah and Chandler decided to return to Kentucky for the upcoming season, but Perry decided to enter the Transfer Portal and ultimately end up at Ole Miss. Last season, Perry played in 31 games (with four starts in relief of an injured Lamont Butler) and averaged 2.7 points on 32.1% shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Noah, who was one of two Kentucky-born players on last season’s team alongside Perry, spoke about losing his good friend to the portal this offseason. It’s clearly something still giving him unease.

“It definitely stung,” Noah said. “I did everything I could to keep him here. He’s one of my good friends and he’s an excellent player. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to do what’s best for you and that’s what he thought was best for him. I love him and wish him the best, but I’m not looking forward to playing him that’s for sure.”

Perry played high school basketball at Lyon County, where he scored a Kentucky High School basketball state record 5,481 points. His Lyon County team met Noah’s Harlan County team in the 2024 KHSAA State Basketball Finals, with Perry’s team coming out on top for the state championship win.

“We definitely talked about it,” Noah said. “We were both freshmen and we lean on each other for little things. I mean, that’s how it goes in this day and age of college basketball. You just try and put yourself in the best position and he thought Ole Miss was the best position. I hope he has a great year.”

With Kentucky bringing in talented freshman four-star guard Jasper Johnson and Pittsburgh transfer guard Jaland Lowe, Perry saw the writing on the wall. He decided to end up elsewhere with a bigger role.

“I knew he was considering it and he let the whole team know before it went public and stuff like that,” Noah said. Just keeping us in the loop so we wouldn’t find out leaving on social media.”

Perry will return to Rupp Arena next season as a member of the Rebels, as Ole Miss was announced as a home opponent for Kentucky‘s SEC slate. The date has not yet been announced.