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KSR Today: First Impressions of J Batt, First Kentucky Basketball Practice Report

Tyler-Thompson
Tyler Thompson@MrsTylerKSR
26d
ksr-today-j-batt-first-impressions-athletic-director-kentucky-basketball-practice-report
Left Photo: KSR; Right photo: UK Athletics

Good morning, friends. What a Monday. This time yesterday, I was writing about how J Batt was the frontrunner for Kentucky’s athletic director job. An hour later, Batt was named Kentucky’s next athletic director — and CEO of Champions Blue LLC, the latter being listed first in his job title, and not by accident.

Generating revenue was one of the main takeaways of Batt’s short media tour on Monday, which was accompanied by Kentucky Basketball’s first summer practice, basketball scheduling news, Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster hosting the radio show, and plenty of World Cup action. Today, the fun continues, with Pardon My Take taking over the show for the tenth time.

Before we get into that, let’s review Monday, because, as I said, it was a busy one.

First impressions of J Batt

After the news broke that J Batt will succeed Mitch Barnhart as the new leader of UK Athletics, Batt made the media rounds, speaking with Matt Jones, KSR, and other local outlets. A few common themes from those conversations:

“Change in college athletics is good for UK Athletics”: Batt has a strong reputation as a fundraiser. At Michigan State, he helped form Spartan Ventures, which is similar to Champions Blue LLC. On Monday, he said that because of Champions Blue, Kentucky is set up for success in the new era of college sports, not only to adapt to changes, but to “accelerate through” them.

“Hopeless romantic for college athletics”: For all the talk of revenue, Batt insisted that he believes in the original mission of college athletics and believes it can still exist at Kentucky — but only if the revenue is strong.

Excellence for both Basketball & Football: When Batt first came on the radar over the weekend, a quote from his time at Michigan State made the rounds in which he said that football must be successful for schools to succeed. Now at Kentucky, still perceived by most as a basketball school, Batt doubled down on that, but said that UK can absolutely be excellent at both, pointing to his time at Alabama as deputy AD (2017-22), during which the Crimson Tide were still flying high under Nick Saban and Nate Oats’ teams were becoming national contenders, as proof. He also met with Mark Pope and Will Stein on Monday and took his first tour of Rupp Arena:

“100% locked in”: This will be Batt’s fourth job in the past five years. That’s a lot of moving around, but also an indicator of his talent and success. When asked, Batt told Matt that he’s at Kentucky for a while, at least until his children (ages 9 and 11) graduate high school, and that UK is a “destination job.”

Message to BBN: Batt said improving the gameday experience is paramount to his vision — in part, because there are opportunities to generate revenue through premium areas, etc. However, the common fan will not be left out in the cold. Batt insisted that part of what makes this job special is the passion of the fanbase — even the ones who may not be able to afford to come to games at Rupp Arena or Kroger Field.

“They matter a ton, Matt. They matter a ton. Big Blue Nation is not defined simply by those who show up at games, donors, or even season ticket holders. The differentiator for Big Blue Nation is it’s everybody, and so I said it earlier, whether it’s raise that flag a little higher, wear the hat to the grocery store, put that bumper sticker on, and shine it just a little bit, so it gets in somebody else’s view. All of that matters.”

Why just J?: The Herald-Leader asked the question we’ve all been wondering: why does Batt go by J when his first name is really Jason? He said that when he was in third grade, there were three Jasons in his class, so he went by “Jay,” and ended up just as “J” in a media guide when his career began. Clearly, it stuck.

We’ll be going through the leftovers of Batt’s conversations all day. You can see them for yourself below.

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Kentucky Basketball is underway

Summer practice officially got underway for the Kentucky Basketball team on Monday, tipping off the start of an eight-week period in which the Cats can practice up to eight hours per week, including four hours of on-court instruction.

Sophomore guard Alex Wilkins and assistant coach Mikhail McLean shared their thoughts on Day 1 with UK Sports Network, tabbing Ousmane N’Diaye and Zoom Diallo as early standouts, but we got some real behind-the-scenes intel from Jack Pilgrim on KSR+. I won’t spoil the broth — KSR+ memberships are 50% off right now, so it’s a great time to join the club — but there was one big piece of news. Kam Williams is in a boot and out indefinitely, being extra cautious with that foot he injured last season. Franck Kepnang is also taking it easy after a career full of leg injuries, load management to prepare for his final season of college basketball.

That was offset by tons of positivity about the talent and energy in the Joe Craft Center right now. Hopefully, we’ll get some more clips, interviews, and intel as the week goes on. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I can’t get enough of it right now.

MBB’s non-conference schedule is coming together

We even got some scheduling news on Monday, with Kentucky announcing seven more non-conference home games. There are some familiar names in that group of foes, including James Madison, Justin McBride’s old school, which is coached by Preston Spradlin, and Gardner-Webb, who upset the Cats in 2007. Time to finally avenge that one, 19 years later.

That brings the schedule to 12 games announced thus far. Add in the 18 from the SEC schedule, and Kentucky has room for two more (the NCAA upped the limit to 32 games starting this season).

  • Nov. 3: Manhattan
  • Nov. 6: James Madison
  • Nov. 10: Kansas (Champions Classic, Chicago)
  • Nov. 13: Northern Arizona
  • Nov. 16: Grambling State
  • Nov. 20: Indiana (Indianapolis)
  • Dec. 2: at Virginia (ACC/SEC Challenge)
  • Dec. 8: Bryant
  • Dec. 12: Louisville
  • Dec. 19: North Carolina (CBS Sports Classic, NYC)
  • Dec. 22: Sacred Heart
  • Dec. 28: Gardner-Webb

2028 offers are rolling out

Monday was the first day coaches could directly contact 2028 recruits. One of the calls Mark Pope made was to five-star center Erick Dampier Jr., who became the second 2028 prospect to earn a Kentucky offer. If his name seems familiar, it’s because his dad, Erick Dampier Sr., played for Mississippi State from 1993-96 before an 18-year NBA career. After going up against his pops in the SEC, Pope is hoping to coach Dampier Jr., considered the 4th best player in the 2028 class.

“[Pope] said he liked my style of basketball, and he said I play relentlessly,” Dampier told Jacob Polacheck. “He likes how I can pass the ball, play in transition, and dribble. That’s a really big thing for me. He says that could separate me and help me in the long run.”

What will happen in the World Cup today?

One common complaint about soccer from American sports fans is ties, or rather, draws. During pool play, there are no overtime periods, meaning that teams will earn one point for a draw, versus three points for a win or zero for a loss. All four World Cup matches on Monday were draws, but it was far from boring; in fact, the 0-0 tie between Spain and Cape Verde is the upset of the tournament so far, the tiny African island country holding the World Cup favorite scoreless through 90 minutes.

That’s thanks in large part to their keeper, Josimar “Vozinha” Dias, a 40-year-old who skyrocketed to stardom, going from 50,000 followers on Instagram before the match to almost seven million this morning. This 41-year-old calls that inspiration.

The action continues today with four matches, which include co-favorite France taking on Senegal and Messi and Argentina kicking things off vs. Algeria. Here’s the schedule:

Kickoff (ET)MatchTVLocation
3:00 PM ETFrance vs. SenegalFOXMetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
6:00 PM ETIraq vs. NorwayFOXGillette Stadium (Foxborough, Massachusetts)
9:00 PM ETArgentina vs. AlgeriaFOXGEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)
12:00 AM ET (Wednesday)Austria vs. JordanFS1Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California)

Pardon My Take Day on KSR

It’s the most polarizing day of the year for the KSR radio show! Pardon My Take will host the show for the tenth time today, bringing their world-famous, unique brand to the KSR airwaves. By now, the KSR audience knows what to expect from Big Cat and PFT Commenter, but there’s always a stray that doesn’t, which makes it a must-listen show. Tune in an hour from now to hear their takes on Kentucky sports and beyond, and better yet, to hear them interact with KSR callers. Bob in Jamestown, this is your time to shine.

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Curated by editors

2026-07-11
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