Kentucky Transfer Portal Target Jaylon Stone Commits to SEC Foe

Clarke Central's Jaylon Stone (52) stops Cedar Shoals' Dewan Foote (6) during a GHSA high school football between Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Clarke Central won 40-0. News Joshua L Jones

The transfer portal was kind to Kentucky early in the spring window. As one day passes to the next, it’s going to get harder and harder for Mark Stoops’ program to lock up players. Jaylon Stone made that abundantly clear on Tuesday night.

The defensive lineman from Southeast Missouri State planned to make an official visit to Lexington this upcoming weekend. That visit isn’t happening. On Tuesday night, Stone committed to Vanderbilt.

Just a few days ago, Stone told Jacob Polacheck that he was visiting Oklahoma today, followed by a trip to Kentucky, then Illinois. Vanderbilt wasn’t even a part of the equation. Plans change quickly in the portal.

“Really, [I want to commit] in these next couple of weeks,” he said. “I’ll try to fit all the schools I can in these next three weeks. Then, it’ll be decision time.”

Plans change when money is changing hands.

Stone was a fine player at SEMO. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound redshirt freshman posted 35 tackles, 6 TFLs, and 2 sacks in 2024. Would he have been a solid addition to the Kentucky defensive line? Sure. But you can only prioritize so many players during this brief free agency period.

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Kentucky desperately needed a running back who could play right away. They targeted Seth McGowan early and made it happen. They added depth at wide receiver and edge. Whatever they get now is gravy. As free agency nears a close, the supply of players is getting smaller. That means programs must spend stupid amounts of money to get players who aren’t worth it.

Kentucky is still in contention for TE Keayen Nead, who would be a nice depth piece at the position. Keelan Marion is going to command a high-dollar amount. Even if they do get the former BYU wide receiver on campus, will it be worth the price of admission?

The spring transfer portal window remains open through Friday. We may see a few more names emerge, but the more programs that are in the mix for potential portal prospects, the more challenging it will be for the Cats to close.

2025 Transfer Portal Class

Player	Position	Former School	Year
Sam Greene	EDGE (6-2, 248)	USC	Redshirt Sophomore
Landyn Watson	LB (6-1, 245)	TCU/Marshall	Redshirt Senior
Joshua Braun	iOL (6-6, 342)	Florida/Arkansas	Super Senior
Alex Wollschlaeger	T (6-7, 310)	Bowling Green	Super Senior
J.J. Hester	WR (6-5, 201)	Missouri/Oklahoma	Super Senior
Zach Calzada	QB (6-4, 230)	Texas A&M/Auburn/Incarnate Word	Super Senior
Henry Boyer	TE (6-6, 265)	Illinois	Redshirt Junior
Kendrick Law	WR (6-0, 203)	Alabama	Senior
Dante Dowdell	RB (6-2, 227)	Oregon/Nebraska	Junior
Jaden Williams	iDL (6-4, 291)	Wyoming	Redshirt Junior
Kevis Thomas	CB (6-0, 181)	Maryland	Junior
Evan Wibberley	iOL (6-5, 301)	WKU	Redshirt Junior
Kam Olds	EDGE (6-4, 252)	Buffalo/Kent State	Senior
David Gusta	iDL (6-3, 316)	Washington State	Redshirt Senior
Troy Stellato	WR (6-1, 178)	Clemson	Redshirt Senior
Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace	DL (6-4, 265)	South Dakota	Redshirt Junior
Tru Edwards	WR (6-2, 200)	Hawaii/Louisiana Tech	Super Senior
Shiyazh Pete	T (6-8, 321)	New Mexico State	Redshirt Senior
Hardley Gilmore IV	WR (6-1, 165)	Nebraska	Sophomore
Lorenzo Cowan	EDGE (6-3, 247)	USC	Redshirt Freshman
Seth McGowan	RB (5-11.5, 215)	New Mexico State/Oklahoma	Senior