KSR Today: La Familia vs. Stroh's Squad, recapping SEC Media Days, and another day at Peach Jam

Good morning, folks! Kentucky’s alumni team, La Familia, is set to begin its second-ever run in The Basketball Tournament later tonight. The team of former Wildcats earned the 1-seed in the Lexington Regional and will start their journey to win the $1 million grand prize at 9:00 p.m. ET (FS1) against the 8-seed Stroh’s Squad inside Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are still available, by the way.

La Familia made it to the semifinals last summer, beating the Louisville alums along the way in TBT’s most-watched game in its history, but they might have a deeper and even more talented group this time around. Ranging from the Billy Gillispie era to Mark Pope‘s first season, there are Kentucky players on the roster from multiple generations — along with a few familiar faces from other schools.

Keep in mind, this is a single-elimination tournament. La Familia needs to win six straight games to take home the championship. As of this morning, DraftKings has the Kentucky alums as 13.5-point favorites to beat Stroh’s Squad in round one. Memorial should be rocking tonight. Come join the fun!

La Familia 2025 roster

• Ansley Almonor (2024-25)
• Kahlil Whitney (2019–2020)
• Aaron Harrison (2013-15)
• Andrew Harrison (2013-15)
• Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15)
• Archie Goodwin (2012–2013)
• Doron Lamb (2010–2012)
• DeAndre Liggins (2008–2011)
• DJ Burns (Southern, Murray State, & Youngstown State)
• Kerem Kanter (Wisconsin-Green Bay & Xavier)
• Marques Warrick (Northern Kentucky & Missouri)

Head Coach: Sean Woods
General Manager: Twany Beckham

[PREVIEW: La Familia opens TBT Lexington Regional on Friday against Stroh’s Squad]

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Putting a bow on SEC Media Days

The KSR football crew departed Atlanta yesterday after spending all week listening to coach-speak at SEC Media Days. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops and a few Wildcats made the trip to the Peach State on Thursday to chat it up with local and national reporters. Nick Roush, Adam Luckett, and Steven Peake were hard at work pumping out content on all the notable topics, including Vince Marrow‘s departure for Louisville, Stoops’ motivation going into year 13 as head coach, his thoughts on revenue-sharing, and so much more.

If you missed any of it, do not fret, we’ve got you covered — and then some.

• Everything You Need to Know About Kentucky Football at SEC Media Days 2025
• Mark Stoops holds no ill will toward Vince Marrow, but “we moved on quickly”
• ‘I didn’t do anything different’: Mark Stoops says quiet offseason was not intentional
• It’s Not Motivated Mark Stoops, He’s Grateful Mark Stoops
• Mark Stoops on Year 13 at Kentucky: ‘This Shit’s Hard,’ but ‘We’re Going to Swing’
• Mark Stoops is excited to have offensive coordinator continuity for first time in half-decade
• Mark Stoops Cautiously Optimistic Revenue-Sharing will Even the Playing Field
• Mark Stoops wants to move forward after disastrous 4-8 campaign in 2024
• Mark Stoops references old ‘spat’ with John Calipari while praising Mark Pope
• Kentucky Football has a 4th-and-1 Mentality in 2025
• Mark Stoops is ‘very happy’ with Kentucky’s offensive line rebuild

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11 Personnel: Kentucky at SEC Media Days

Before heading back to the Bluegrass, Nick and Adam hopped on the mics one more time for a SEC Media Days farewell episode of 11 Personnel. Use this as your one-stop shop for everything that happened Thursday in Atlanta on the Kentucky front. There was plenty to discuss.

Another day at Peach Jam for KSR

KSR’s Jacob Polacheck is back in the Peach Jam gyms today to check out Kentucky’s top recruiting targets on the Nike EYBL circuit. Mark Pope, along with assistants Jason Hart and Alvin Brooks III, spent all day Thursday getting first-hand looks at some of the best high school prospects in the country. All three coaches were front and center for five-star SF Tyran Stokes last night. Throughout the day, they also got eyes on the likes of Jordan Smith Jr., Qayden Samuels, Bryson Howard, and Anthony Felesi from the 2026 class, along with Baba Oladotun, Obinna Ekezie, and TJ Jamison from the 2027 class.

Who will Pope and Co. follow today? Keep an eye on KSR’s Peach Jam Live Blog for updates throughout the day.

Highlights from Kentucky vs. La Familia 5-on-5

With La Familia in town, Mark Pope used it as an opportunity to train his 2025-26 roster. The former ‘Cats and current ‘Cats practiced with each other on Tuesday before going through a 5-on-5 on Wednesday. The UK Sports Video team dropped some highlights from said 5-on-5 yesterday that will have you ready to run through the walls of Rupp Arena.

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim has all the behind-the-scenes info on the final score, player standouts, and more, over on KSBoard, but UK was kind enough to bless us with some actual highlights of what went down on the Memorial Coliseum hardwood.

Went to work last night with @LaFamiliaTBT in the Historic Memorial Coliseum. pic.twitter.com/zQJImcXb7i

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 17, 2025

An honest conversation with Archie Goodwin

It’s been over a decade since Archie Goodwin suited up for the Kentucky Wildcats, but it was a run that most Wildcat fans try not to think about too hard. Missing the NCAA Tournament after Nerlens Noel tore his ACL made for a not-so-happy season all around. Goodwin, Kentucky’s leading scorer as a one-and-done freshman, was publicly shouldered with plenty of the blame for how things unfolded.

Now back in Lexington to play for La Familia, he used his Thursday appearance on KSR to have an open conversation about his experience and why he believes things went south. It was about as honest and therapeutic of an interview you’ll ever hear out of a former player — and I’m glad he was able to finally get those thoughts off his chest. That couldn’t have been an easy year for a teenager back in 2012-13.

“I still think about it,” Goodwin said of his lone season at Kentucky. “Not in a haunting way, but man, I wish I could redo that season. There would be so much that I would do different.”

Goodwin talked for nearly 20 minutes with the KSR crew. Every member of the Big Blue Nation should hear what he had to say.

[Archie Goodwin opens up on Kentucky’s 2012-13 season and what could have been done differently]

Kentucky Football Fan Day details

Football season is right around the corner. Kentucky’s annual Fan Day is set for August 2, which also marks the first Saturday practice of fall camp.

The open practice will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET on the fields outside the Joe Craft Football Training Center. Admission is free, as is parking in the Blue Lot outside Kroger Field. Fans can begin entering the facility at 10:00 a.m. at the practice field gate in the plaza outside Gate 12 of Kroger Field. The clear bag policy will be in effect.

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