KSR Today: Cats in Vegas, J Batt, Mitch Barnhart, recruiting and more

If there was news to dump on Thursday in the world of UK Athletics, it got dumped. Goodness, what a day it was, ranging from Kenny Chesney concerts to recruiting targets going elsewhere to massive developments on Kentucky’s outgoing and incoming athletic directors to NBA Summer League action with the Cats front and center.

We’ll start this Friday with a quick run-through of everything before breaking down the weekend schedule.

Tracking the Cats in Vegas

Kentucky flew out Wednesday and started with the Kenny Chesney concert at the Sphere — Big Franck clearly had a big time singing Earth, Wind & Fire with Zoom Diallo before the night transitioned to no shoes, no shirts and no problems.

So much fun last night at the Sphere. Such an incredible venue. pic.twitter.com/KASLgsvLCI

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 9, 2026

Thursday was headlined by a stop at EYBL to begin the live period for coaches, checking in on future Kentucky Wildcat Ryan Hampton.

The entire team watched courtside as the top-20 prospect went for 12 points, two rebounds and an assist in front of his future staff and teammates.

They went from there to the Thomas & Mack Center to begin Summer League play, headlined by the Nos. 1 and 2 picks, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, battling in the main event. The Cats got plenty of screen time, sitting right at midcourt and just a few rows up, the entire roster sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.

If you were watching Summer League hoops last night, you saw your Cats.

Now the entire Kentucky team is watching NBA Summer League — No. 1 AJ Dybantsa vs. No. 2 Darryn Peterson

Getting plenty of TV time right at midcourt https://t.co/oLgOy3dvuL pic.twitter.com/r5MApgB1YJ

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) July 10, 2026

Tony Delk talks to the Cats

Kentucky is watching a lot of basketball, obviously, but they’re playing plenty of it, too. Mark Pope said the practices would be just as important as the activities, and we got our first look at that on Thursday.

Well, our first look at someone else watching the Cats practice, rather, as legendary alum Tony Delk was in the house and spoke to the team afterward.

“You find out that the guys around you are good — all of these guys have been great somewhere, at some high school or some college they transferred in from,” Delk said. “You have to compete with these guys, and it starts every day. You don’t just come in and, all of a sudden, get your starting spot and think you’re going to keep it all year. You have to be challenged by the guys on the bench, the guys coming in as starters.

“It really begins with how mentally tough and focused you are, you have to stay focused in this game. Focus comes from the coaches and not letting outside people come in and influence you.”

Met up with a LEGENDARY member of the #BBN, Tony Delk 👏 pic.twitter.com/adS9OA6q9L

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 10, 2026

Two tough recruiting results for UK

Kentucky recruited both Serbian star Nikola Kusturica and 2027 five-star forward Marcus Spears Jr., with varying levels of traction — especially in recent weeks. Both will be playing college basketball in 2026-27, but neither will be in Lexington.

The former made it official with UCLA with the Bruins fighting off UK, Michigan and Gonzaga, among others, while the latter will be a competitor in the SEC at Texas, choosing the Longhorns over the Cats, LSU and Arkansas, among others. UCLA joins the national conversation with the addition while Texas becomes a legitimate contender in the SEC and a clear top-10 team in the country with the top-five talent being added to what was already a strong top-to-bottom roster.

Pope has one final spot to use before putting a bow on the roster — or the bow is already there. He’s said the staff is being aggressive with No. 15, but only if it’s the right fit. If not, he’s comfortable rolling with what he’s got now.

“If we find the right person, we could, but I like the roster a lot right now,” he told KSR this week. “I think we go to battle.”

J Batt to arrive July 28, Mitch Barnhart owed over $3M

There had been confusion on new Kentucky AD J Batt’s start date in Lexington — or if he was coming at all, following MSU president Kevin Guskiewicz’s decision to rip up his new deal at Clemson and return to East Lansing. UK president Eli Capilouto quickly confirmed he would still be a Wildcat, but when? We learned Thursday that we’re a couple of weeks away, but the superstar fundraiser is coming.

Kentucky announced Batt will take over as CEO of Champions Blue LLC and UK Athletics Director on July 28, just short of a month after Mitch Barnhart’s final day leading the department. The parties involved — UK, Batt and MSU — worked out a renegotiated buyout of $3.95 million, owed between now and July 1, 2027. It was supposed to be $2.5M following Guskiewicz’s move to Clemson, but was doubled back to $5M upon his return. They ultimately decided to meet in the middle.

Speaking of Mitch, we also got the terms of his breakup with UK on Thursday, set to receive $3.2M across four separate payments over the course of three years as part of his settlement agreement. His contract also states he will be a part-time employee of the university with an additional salary of $40K. He will no longer receive extra benefits such as free tickets and courtesy vehicles.

2026 FIFA World Cup Schedule

The USMNT is out of the World Cup after a terrible performance vs. Belgium earlier in the week, but the show goes on, with the quarterfinals set to continue today and into Saturday.

France defeated Morocco 2-0 on Thursday to lock in the first semifinal participant, while Spain is set to take on Belgium starting at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, live on FOX. From there, it’ll be Norway vs. England at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by Argentina vs. Switzerland at 9 p.m. ET — both live on FOX.

That’ll bring us to our Final Four on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the World Cup title on Sunday, July 19.

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That’s all for today, folks. Enjoy your Friday and happy (almost) weekend.