Kentucky CB Cedrick Dort enters the transfer portal

Kentucky senior defensive back Cedrick Dort will explore his transfer options, officially entering the portal Thursday.

On3’s Matt Zenitz was the first to break the news this afternoon.

Kentucky defensive back Cedrick Dort has entered the transfer portal, @on3sports has learned. A former starter for the Wildcats who had 14 tackles this season.https://t.co/St4ensmRGU

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 6, 2022

Dort, now in his fifth year in Lexington after signing with the program in 2017, racked up 19 total tackles (12 solo) in 2021. Across four years (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021) at UK, the 5-foot-11 cornerback picked up 51 total tackles (38 solo), seven pass deflections and one forced fumble.

He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Dort was rated as a three-star recruit by 247sports, ESPN and Scout as the No. 42 cornerback in the 2017 class. As a senior, the Kentucky signee was named first-team All-Area by the Palm Beach Post and first-team All-County by the Sun-Sentinel after recording 40 tackles, 14 pass breakups and six interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. native chose Kentucky over Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Colorado and USF, among others.

Cornerback was a clear area of concern for Kentucky in 2021, with the program expected to hit the transfer portal hard this offseason to upgrade at the position. Dort’s departure only stresses that further.

UK also added the likes of Andre Stewart, Elijah Reed and Zah Frazier (JUCO) in the secondary in its 2022 recruiting class, with Ja’Kobi Albert (ATH) also capable of lining up at DB.

Best of luck to Dort as he finds his new home.