Kam Williams broke his foot vs. Texas, Mark Pope announces

Kentucky can’t escape the injury bug. Kam Williams broke his foot during the second half vs. Texas, Mark Pope announced. Pope said the sophomore guard will be out for “a while.”

“Kam’s foot’s broken, so he’ll be out. He’s just a beautiful kid. I thought he actually made some special plays tonight. So we’re going to get him back healthy as soon as we possibly can, but he’ll be out for a while, and that’s certainly a blow to us.”

Williams exited the game with just over 18 minutes to go. After hitting a pair of free throws, he ran back down the floor and pulled up as he passed midcourt, hobbling. When Mark Pope called a timeout, he was able to make it off the court, going straight to the locker room. He did not return and was eventually ruled out with a foot injury.

Looked like a non-contact injury. https://t.co/NbhnnTYpF9 pic.twitter.com/nfyGuMrB8x

— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) January 22, 2026

Williams finished with nine points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3PT), one rebound, one assist, and one turnover in 16 minutes in the 85-80 win. He’s played in all 19 games this season, starting seven, including the last three. Coming into tonight’s game, he was averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 44.2% from the floor and 34.3% from three. His 25 made threes rank third on the team behind Collin Chandler (36) and Denzel Aberdeen (30).

With Williams out, Trent Noah got some run in the second half, grabbing two rebounds in three minutes. Pope singled him out to start his response to the question about Williams, suggesting the sophomore could hear his name called upon more often moving forward.

“Yeah, so first of all, it’s really important to have guys step up, even if it’s really hard. I mean, you think about Trent, he’s had such a limited run in the last five or six games, and he comes in and comes up with arguably the second most important rebound of the game.”

Williams’ foot is just the latest in a long list of injuries for Kentucky this season and last. The Cats have only played three games at full health/availability this season, with Jaland Lowe (shoulder), Jayden Quaintance (knee), Mo Dioubate (ankle), and Trent Noah (ankle) all missing games. Otega Oweh also missed the majority of the preseason with turf toe. Lowe will be out for the season after undergoing surgery, while Quaintance has missed the last four games with swelling in his knee.

Did I miss any?

If I didn’t, Mark Pope has had THIRTEEN different injuries to deal with in just a season and a half.

4 of them potentially season ending. 3 of those to starters.

It’s insanely bad luck that is just off the charts. pic.twitter.com/SWRwbc7rXo

— Steven Peake (@StevenPeakeKSR) January 22, 2026

Pope said he expects the team to once again band together in the face of adversity, especially after seeing their response when Williams headed to the locker room.

“It’s a terrific question,” Pope said when asked about this team’s connectivity. “So, I’ll tell you a couple of places where it showed up. So, we all watch Kam walk off the floor, and that’s like a gut punch. It just is brutal. You know, J. Lowe’s out, JQ is out, Kam is limping off the floor, and so that was a moment where connectivity came in, because our guys were just like, okay, listen, the only thing we can do for Kam right now is go play, and then we can cry with Kam in the locker room after, but like, the only thing we do right now is play, and that brings guys together.”