KSR Today: UK VB is ELITE, '26 FB schedule and Indiana prep

Volleyball school? Volleyball school. Craig Skinner’s Winners took center stage at Historic Memorial Coliseum on Thursday to begin the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky volleyball taking on Cal Poly in the Sweet 16. With a spot in the Regional Final on the line, the Wildcats absolutely smoked the Mustangs in a 3-0 sweep — highlighted by a 25-7 third-set rout after going 25-18 and 25-19 in sets one and two.

It was absolute domination in Lexington as the Cats hit .419 as a team, led by phenomenal performances from Lizzie Carr (11 kills, six blocks), Trinity Ward, Eva Hudson (nine kills, seven digs), Brooklyn DeLeye (eight kills, eight digs) and Molly Tuozzo (nine digs).

There was so much to like across the board, this group looking every bit the national title contender they were hyped up to be entering postseason play.

They’ll take on No. 3 seed Creighton in the Elite Eight on Saturday at 5 PM ET inside HMC, live on ESPN2.

“I don’t think they’re a team you score in bunches,” Skinner said of Kentucky’s Elite Eight opponent. “You’re probably not going to score four or five points in a row. You’re going to have to side out, get one or two, and keep siding out. It’s a high-level game against a high-level team.”

Want to see your Wildcats claim a spot in the Final Four? Of course you do! That’s why you need to buy tickets to the Regional Final right HERE.

One win away from Kansas City, three wins away from the program’s second national championship. They’re halfway there.

2026 Kentucky Football Schedule

Also a big part of Thursday? The official release of Kentucky’s football schedule to begin the Will Stein Era in Lexington. There is one additional SEC game and one fewer bye week in 2026 from the year before, making the 12-game slate a doozy for the Wildcats, but that’s what you sign up for playing in the big leagues.

The schedule opens on Labor Day weekend against a familiar name, followed immediately by Alabama in Week 2 — welcome to the SEC, Coach Stein. From there, Lane Kiffin’s debut in Lexington as LSU’s leader is a big one on October 10, followed by Jon Sumrall’s return to his Old Kentucky Home as a Gator on November 14.

Take a look at the full schedule:

9/05: Youngstown State
9/12: Alabama
9/19: at Texas A&M
9/26: South Alabama
10/3: at South Carolina
10/10: LSU
10/17: at Oklahoma
10:24: Vanderbilt
10/31: BYE
11/7: at Tennessee
11/14: Florida
11/21: at Missouri
11/28: Louisville

A must-win game for Kentucky MBB…

Oh, right. Men’s basketball. We certainly haven’t forgotten about it, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world to admit just how much is riding on the Wildcats taking care of business at home against Indiana this weekend.

Mark Pope’s group hasn’t beaten a single team of substance this season, and with a historic rival in the Hoosiers coming to town, there has never been more pressure on them to get in the win column against power competition. Lose it to bring you to five losses in five tries to open the year? Oh boy.

Pope will preview the matchup at Noon ET on Friday, talking about the return of the rivalry and what makes IU a tricky mid-December opponent. Remember Lamar Wilkerson? He’s coming off a 44-point effort just days ago as someone Kentucky desperately wanted this past offseason. I’m sure the UK head coach will have plenty to say about that.

What’s wrong with recruiting?

Speaking of struggles, Kentucky has not landed a single recruit in the class of 2026, leaving the early signing period without a pledge for the first time in who knows how long. The Wildcats have been at or near the finish line for several targets, but haven’t cleared it with any for a number of reasons. Among them? Contract hang-ups, a lack of clarity in NIL and Pope’s closing strategy, KSR reported this week.

You can read the complete article with intel from sources with direct dealings with Kentucky since Pope took over here. From there, additional scoop has been shared on KSR+ highlighting where things are going wrong and how they get fixed — starting with a GM.

We talked over some of the details on a new crossover on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll call it… Sources Say that… Here Comes the Boom?

Check it out:

We’ll see if Pope is wanting to address any of it today before Kentucky’s crucial matchup vs. Indiana.

Kentucky FB hires a DC!

Switching back to football, how about a big-time update from Stein on his staff — maybe the most important member of that staff, depending on who you ask.

Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman will be leaving College Station to join the first-year coach’s debut staff, taking the same position.

BREAKING: Kentucky is set to hire Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman as its next DC, @petenakos reports.https://t.co/MDZp5JwGD0 pic.twitter.com/S1oA3eBbSj

— On3 (@On3sports) December 11, 2025

He’ll join former LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, who will also be taking the same position in Lexington.

Bateman, 52, called the defense at Army for five seasons before doing the same at North Carolina under Mack Brown from 2019-21. He was a linebackers coach at Florida from there before Mike Elko brought him to A&M to be his first defensive coordinator.

Now, he’s making the move to Kentucky under Stein. KSR broke down the move shortly after it went public:

The pieces are coming together, folks.

Let’s have a good weekend — and please beat Creighton and Indiana.