KSR Today: Kentucky WBB to the Sweet 16, Spring Football, Baseball vs. Murray State

Good morning, friends. It’s supposed to be another beautiful day in the Bluegrass, and at least one Kentucky team is still dancing in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky WBB held off West Virginia last night to advance to the Sweet 16. That’s our top headline this morning, but we’ve got plenty more on the plate, including Mark Pope’s final radio show of the season, spring football picking back up, and a Kentucky Baseball and Softball doubleheader.

Let’s get to it.

Kentucky WBB is dancing to the Sweet 16

For the first time in a decade, the Kentucky Women’s Basketball team is headed to the Sweet 16. The No. 5 seed Cats knocked off the No. 4 seed West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, 74-73. They’ll face No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday in Fort Worth.

Kentucky led by 14 near the end of the third quarter, but West Virginia wouldn’t go away, clawing back to pull within one in the final minute. Thankfully, the Cats held the Mountaineers off to secure their spot in the Fort Worth regional. It will be Kenny Brooks’ second Sweet 16 appearance. In 2023, he took Virginia Tech to the Final Four. Fingers crossed for a similar run. The BBN could certainly use it.

The path isn’t easy. Saturday’s game is a rematch of February’s game in Austin, which Texas won 64-53. The Longhorns will likely have the crowd advantage in Fort Worth. The winner will get either Michigan or Louisville. Kentucky vs. Louisville for a spot in the Final Four. Can you imagine? Bring it on.

Earned!!! 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/1YcnXu8i2a

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 23, 2026

Denzel Aberdeen and Braydon Hawthorne made the trip to Morgantown for the game. Aberdeen is dating Clara Strack, who finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Last week, Kenny Brooks said that Strack is better than Aberdeen, who stepped up to be Kentucky MBB’s starting point guard when Jaland Lowe went down with a shoulder injury. When asked after the game, Aberdeen was happy to give Strack the edge — for now.

After @KentuckyWBB's first-round win against JMU, a reporter asked Clara Strack if she talked to @KentuckyMBB's Denzel Aberdeen about playing in the tournament. Strack kept it short, replying, "I guess, yeah." While Coach Brooks said, " She's better than him."

I asked Denzel if… pic.twitter.com/Pw9Ua7DX8E

— Sierra Newton (@SoFlossieWrites) March 24, 2026

CATS SUPPORTING CATS: "I think they can go all the way."😼

Denzel Aberdeen and Braydon Hawthorne made the trip to Morgantown to watch @KentuckyWBB advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 10 years! @BBNTonight x @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/1TUrbRotgR

— Sierra Newton (@SoFlossieWrites) March 24, 2026

Quick-hitters from the final Mark Pope Show

Sadly, Aberdeen, Hawthorne, and the rest of the MBB Cats are done for the season. Last night, Mark Pope sat down with Tom Leach to talk about the second-round loss to Iowa State and the season as a whole. Jack Pilgrim shared some of his comments on the site last night, but here are some quick hitters to catch up:

“We’re making progress”: Always positive, Pope tried to reassure BBN that things are headed in the right direction with some numbers. He said Kentucky has a better winning percentage in the last two years than in the four before he took the job, despite playing a tougher schedule. He also said that Kentucky was one of only five teams in the country this season with five or more top 20 wins and one or fewer losses to teams outside the top 40.

Backcourt woes: Obviously, injuries played a big role this season. Pope said that was especially true at point guard. Pope said Kentucky built its offense around a left-handed point guard with Jaland Lowe in mind, but when Lowe suffered his shoulder injury and eventually decided to have surgery, it was too late to change things around. He said finding “creators” for next season is at the top of his list.

Roster Building Timeline: Pope said he will start his meetings with players later this week, giving them a few days to decompress from the end of the season. When it comes to his staff, he said his front office hires could take up to six weeks to be finalized due to the HR process. Reminder that the transfer portal opens on April 7, two weeks from today.

Shoots down Yaxel Lendeborg story: Last week, Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg said Kentucky offered him $7-9 million last offseason. Pope danced around that question in St. Louis last week, but told Leach last night it is “100% categorically false.”

Lots to unpack there, and more questions than answers ahead of a pivotal offseason.

Spring Practice resumes

That was a lot. How about some football to cheer you up? Spring practice picks back up today after taking last week off for UK’s spring break. Special teams coordinator/inside linebackers coach Parker Fleming and select players will talk to reporters later this morning. Adam Luckett is en route to Lexington to cover it all for us, so check the site around lunch for a recap.

Speaking of football, Will Stein continues to turn heads on the recruiting trail. Justin Rowland spent his Monday chasing down leads on Kentucky’s latest offers and visitors. If you haven’t yet, check out his excellent work on KSR+. We’ve got a 50% offer going right now, so between football recruiting and basketball roster building, there’s never been a better time to try KSR+ out.

Take advantage of our KSR+ SPRING SALE to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including the latest intel on Kentucky’s efforts in the Transfer Portal, Spring Football, and the search for a new Athletic Director — plus a year of access to The Athletic. Annual subscriptions are 50% off for a limited time.

A Kentucky Baseball and Softball doubleheader

It’s a busy day on the south end of campus, where both the Kentucky Baseball and Softball teams are in action. The softball team hosts Bellarmine at 5 p.m. at John Cropp Stadium. Rachel Lawson’s squad is 20-12 so far this season, coming off a series loss at No. 16 Texas A&M. SEC play has not been kind to the Cats so far. Kentucky is just 1-8 in conference play, the lone win coming at Auburn on March 6. Today, they’ll get a chance to regroup against a 10-19 Bellarmine team. The game will stream on SEC Network+.

Just down the hill, the Kentucky Baseball team hosts another in-state foe, Murray State. The No. 18 Bat Cats are coming off their first SEC series loss, at No. 19 Ole Miss this past weekend. That takes Kentucky’s record to 19-4, 4-2 in SEC play. The Cats hit the road again this weekend for a series at LSU.

First, a date with the Racers, the darlings of last year’s College World Series. Dan Skirka led the Racers to their first-ever CWS last season and elected to stay in Murray despite interest from other programs. This year’s team is 16-8 and was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Racers are coming off a series win at Valparaiso. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the game will stream on SEC Network+.

It’s beautiful outside. Hit the links with CKSMGA!

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