KSR Today: Alvin Brooks III, Peny Boone, and the CATSPY Awards
Good morning, folks! We’ve got plenty to talk about this morning as Mark Pope continues to fill out his roster for the 2024-25 college basketball season. Drexel transfer Amari Williams was even officially announced by UK on Tuesday, giving Pope his third confirmed piece for the upcoming season.
But even bigger news dropped just this morning, as Pope has added Baylor’s Alvin Brooks III to his debut staff. Brooks, who spent the last eight seasons at Baylor, toured Lexington throughout Tuesday and made the decision last night. He is expected to be named associate head coach and will join Cody Fueger and Jason Hart on the Kentucky bench.
Brooks’ father, Alvin Brooks Jr., actually worked at UK as the director of operations from 2007-09 under Billy Gillispie. Small world.
But it’s not all about Kentucky men’s hoops — the football transfer portal continues to churn and the CATSPY Awards took place last night in Lexington. We’ve got that and much more to discuss in this morning’s edition of KSR Today. Let’s dive right in.
Visits scheduled with Mahaney, Osobor
A pair of Kentucky targets have locked in visits with the Wildcats in the coming days.
Up first, Saint Mary’s transfer Aidan Mahaney will reportedly visit both Kentucky and UConn this weekend. The 6-foot-3 guard has taken a recent visit to Creighton and was at Virginia on Tuesday. A two-time First Team All-WCC performer, Mahaney averaged 13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.3 minutes per game for Saint Mary’s this past season. He started all 34 games while shooting 38.6 percent overall, 35.5 percent from deep, and 81.3 percent from the line.
Next, we have Utah State transfer Great Osobor, who will reportedly visit Kentucky from April 29-May 1. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound big man will also stop at Louisville (May 1-3), Texas Tech (May 4-6), and Washington (May 7-9). Osobor was named the Mountain West Player of the Year at Utah State this past season after averaging 17.7 points, nine rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 33.6 minutes per contest.
Kentucky contacts Hawkins, Power
Go ahead and add a couple of new names to the transfer portal tracker.
Minnesota transfer Elijah Hawkins has reportedly been in contact with the Wildcats and head coach Mark Pope. The 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 assists per game last season, tied for the most in the Big Ten. He also shot 37.6 percent from deep and scored in double figures 18 times.
Duke transfer TJ Power has also reportedly been in touch with Pope and the ‘Cats. A former Top 20 recruit from the 2023 class, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged just 2.1 points and 0.7 rebounds in seven minutes per outing across 26 appearances this past season for the Blue Devils.
Peny Boone trending toward UK
Former Toledo transfer running back Peny Boone initially landed at Louisville earlier in the offseason. But he’s on the move once again this spring and Kentucky is trending heavily as the favorite. Georgia is also involved, but multiple RPMs have been placed with the expectation that Boone will choose the ‘Cats.
Boone is currently the No. 33 overall ranked player in On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings and the No. 4 overall tailback. After spending his first two seasons at Maryland, Boone moved to Toledo and became a juggernaut in the MAC. The 230-pound running back rushed for 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023 on seven yards per rush en route to MAC OPOTY honors before hitting the portal in December.
2024 CATSPY Award winners
The 22nd annual CATSPY Awards took place last night at the Central Bank Center. For their performances during the 2023-24 season, 37 different University of Kentucky student-athletes were honored with individual awards while six teams also received recognition.
Team of the Year winners included volleyball, men’s tennis, gymnastics, and baseball. Reed Sheppard was tabbed Male Newcomer of the Year while Eli Cox was one of three Mr. Wildcat winners. You can view all of the awards and the winners below.
Community Service Award
- JJ Weaver, Football
- Tori Orcutt, Women’s Swimming and Diving
- Caroline Benda, Women’s Swimming and Diving
- Lizzy Stevens, Women’s Tennis
- Tanner Parks, Men’s Golf
Scholar-Athletes of the Year
- Tori Orcutt, Women’s Swimming and Diving
- Sofie Davis, Women’s Swimming and Diving
- Ethan Kern, Men’s Track and Field
Academic Teams of the Year
- Women’s Soccer
- Men’s Cross Country
Bill Keightley Assist Award
- Teagan Garrison, Gymnastics
Mike Lyden Courage Award
- Kate Kaufling, Dance Team
Scratch Award
- Logan Dorsey, Men’s Soccer
- Creslyn Brose, Gymnastics
Supporting Role
- JJ Mercer, Men’s Tennis
- Erin Lamb, Volleyball
Female Newcomer of the Year
- Brooklyn DeLeye, Volleyball
Male Newcomer of the Year
- Reed Sheppard, Men’s Basketball
Blue Heart Award
- Josh Kattus, Football
- Grant Smith, Baseball
- Martin Soereide, Men’s Soccer
Female Athlete of the Year
- Raena Worley, Gymnastics
- Laney Fyre, Women’s Golf
Male Athlete of the Year
- Alex Goff, Men’s Golf
- Keaton Daniel, Men’s Track and Field
Teams of the Year
- Men’s Tennis – 2023 and 2024 SEC Tournament Champions, 2024 SEC Regular-Season Champions
- Gymnastics – SEC Championship Third-Place Finish, Program-Record Score 198.100
- Volleyball – SEC Championship, seventh consecutive season; NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
- Baseball – 2023 NCAA Super Regional, 40-Win Season
Mr. Wildcat
- Eli Cox, Football
- Devin Burkes, Baseball
- Keaton Daniel, Men’s Track and Field
Miss Wildcat
- Azhani Tealer, Volleyball
- Jordyn Rhodes, Women’s Soccer
- Erin Coffel, Softball
- Raena Worley, Gymnastics
Lifetime Achievement Award
- Tom Kalinowski, Football
That's a wrap to the 2024 #CATSPYs. What a year it has been. https://t.co/CCDos6FJwc pic.twitter.com/H3hN8Cz1rX
— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) April 24, 2024
Former UK student needs your help
Braeden Peercy, or some know him as Ladle, is a former UK student and avid Wildcats fan who has recently acquired a complete spinal cord injury. Friday, April 19, he had an accident where he fell from a roof and broke his back in multiple places. Braeden currently has no feeling or function in his legs but with intense physical therapy, it’s possible he could regain some function. He has a long road of recovery ahead as he will soon be moved from Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio to an inpatient rehab facility closer to home (Western Kentucky).
With this long journey ahead any donations will go toward medical bills, hotel stays, long-term care, gas, and possible renovations for Braeden’s home accessibility. The family will be truly grateful for continued prayers, the sharing of Braeden’s story, support, and donations.
To donate to the GoFundMe, click the link here.
No Kentucky or Arkansas for Quaintance
It doesn’t appear that Jayden Quiantance is going to follow John Calipari to Arkansas, but it also doesn’t appear as though he’ll end up returning to Kentucky, either.
The five-star big man reportedly cut Arkansas from his list yesterday morning. Coach Pope had scheduled an in-home visit with Quaintance for the same day, fueling the belief that he could actually wind up at Kentucky. However, that visit was ultimately called off last night.
At 6-foot-10, Quaintance is one of the most prized prospects available — portal or high school. Still just 16 years old, he’ll have to stick in college for at least two years. He’s considered the No. 9 overall prospect in the class of 2024. Louisville remains in the mix.
Jaxson Robinson to the NBA Draft
BYU’s Jaxson Robinson, the reigning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, declared for the NBA Draft on Tuesday night. Why is this relevant? Because the 6-foot-7 sharpshooter has been linked to Kentucky as a possible target if he ultimately elects to come back for another college season.
That’s still technically possible though. As a graduate transfer, some of the NCAA’s portal deadlines do not apply to him. Robinson does not have to indicate that he’s entering the portal. He’ll gather all of his information throughout the pre-draft process and go from there. If he believes he can get picked in the draft this June, he’ll likely stay in the pool. If not, don’t be shocked if he follows Coach Pope to Kentucky.
Something else to keep in mind is former Kentucky center Ugonna Onyenso declared for the 2024 NBA Draft last week by saying he would not consider a return to college, only to enter his name into the transfer portal on Tuesday. Everything is fluid in the world of the portal.
Jaremiah Anglin goes portaling
And speaking of that portal, one of Kentucky’s stars from the Spring Game a couple of weeks ago, Jaremiah Anglin, will also transfer away from the Wildcats. A 6-foot defensive back, Anglin was a Top 20 safety and the No. 222 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, according to On3.
Anglin had to redshirt in 2023 while recovering from surgery but began to make an impact during spring practice. His pick-six at the Spring Game was one of the top highlights. Unfortunately, he’ll look elsewhere.
Since the conclusion of Kentucky spring practice, seven players have entered the transfer portal so far.
- DB Jaremiah Anglin (Entered the portal on April 23)
- WR Shamar Porter (Entered the portal on April 22)
- P/K Jackson Smith (Entered the portal on April 22)
- WR Ardell Banks (Entered the portal on April 22)
- WR Raymond Cottrell (Entered the portal on April 16)
- WR Cole Lanter (Entered the portal on April 16)
- RB La’Vell Wright (Entered the portal on April 10)
In addition to KSR’s Transfer Portal Tracker, you can follow every move around college football with On3’s Transfer Portal wire and by following On3’s Transfer Portal account on Twitter.
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