KSR Today: Will Stein's introduction, Mark Pope speaks, and Kentucky VB in the NCAAT

Good morning, folks! It’s been a rollercoaster week for the Big Blue Nation. From the highs of Will Stein‘s hiring as the Kentucky head football coach to the lows of the men’s basketball team losing yet another ranked matchup, emotions have been all over the place. The ride isn’t over yet, either — Mark Pope‘s squad will face another ranked opponent on Friday night while Kentucky volleyball begins its NCAA Tournament run tonight.

But before we dive into that, let’s talk more about Stein’s introductory press conference from yesterday afternoon at Nutter Field House. A big group of current players was in attendance, including QB Cutter Boley, TE Willie Rodriguez, DB Ty Bryant, and more. A handful of assistant coaches were also there, including the likes of Anwar Stewart (DL) and L’Damian Washington (WR).

This was our first time hearing from Stein after he was officially hired on Monday. He certainly isn’t shy on confidence, a necessary trait to be an SEC football coach. He’s had his hands extra full with Wednesday being National Signing Day. Most of UK’s high school commits have already put pen to paper and signed, but a couple more still need to do the same between now and Friday. Stein has also already brought in a general manager, per reports.

To say it’s been a busy few days for Stein would be an understatement. He still has to go back to Eugene at some point to prepare for Oregon’s postseason run, too. But he aced his first test with the BBN in the press conference. We’ll have plenty more from Stein on the website throughout the day, but you can dive into everything we’ve already written about by clicking the links below. Expect a fresh episode of 11 Personnel with KSR’s Nick Roush and Adam Luckett sometime this afternoon.

• Will Stein needs the Kentucky Quarterback to be “The Toughest MFer on the Field”
• Will Stein promises ‘exciting brand of football’ that will ‘light up the scoreboard’ for Kentucky
• Will Stein on holding a Spring Game: ‘You know the best way to get better at football is? Play football’
• ‘We’ve got plenty of that’: Will Stein believes Kentucky is resourced to win big
• Will Stein’s Kentucky ‘vision’ is to win immediately

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Mitch Barnhart was FIRED UP

After Stein wrapped up his Q&A with the media, reporters flocked over to Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart, who was uncharacteristically fired up when a couple of questions appeared to have touched a nerve. Barnhart made sure to shower Mark Stoops with praise when asked about the recently fired head coach, but that wasn’t what set him off. A question about Kentucky’s NIL funding with Stein now in charge did not sit well with him.

“We’re confident in what we’re doing. People ask that question 19 different ways with all that stuff that’s been going on, and it’s exhausting,” Barnhart said. “Enough. Enough about ‘Have we got enough?’ We’ve got enough. And we’re working at it just like everyone else is working at it.”

That was only part of his long-winded answer. Listen to everything the longtime AD had to say below.

We’ll hear from Mark Pope today

We’re less than 48 hours removed from Kentucky’s 67-64 loss at home to North Carolina. It was a tough one to swallow. UK is now 0-3 against ranked teams this season. But the opportunity to get in that win column will happen again on Friday in Nashville. Kentucky is set to take on No. 11 Gonzaga that night (7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN2). KenPom projects a tight one, giving the Bulldogs the slight edge with a 78-77 win.

Later today, Pope will take questions from the media as he tries to get this season on track. We’ll likely get some sort of injury updates on Jaland Lowe (shoulder) and Mo Dioubate (ankle). But the vibes surrounding the men’s basketball program are admittedly not great right now. No matter what Pope says today, the only thing that will help is winning on Friday.

Kentucky VB begins NCAAT run

The hunt for a second national championship begins tonight. Kentucky volleyball, which earned a 1-seed and the No. 2 overall seed, will host its first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside Memorial Coliseum. Up first? The Wofford Terriers, which won the Southern Conference to keep its season alive. A name to know is Chloe Smith, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors after Wofford’s dramatic 5-set win in the SoCon Tournament Finals. She also happens to be Nick Roush’s cousin.

Tonight’s match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+), but it could start earlier or later. The match beforehand, Georgia Tech vs. UCLA, begins at 4:30. Kentucky vs. Wofford will begin 30 minutes after the previous match ends. So if you plan on making it down to campus tonight, keep an eye on the other match and prepare accordingly. If Kentucky wins tonight, they’ll face the winner of GT-UCLA on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+).

WBB wins in ACC/SEC Challenge

After dropping its last two games in the ACC/SEC Challenge, Kentucky women’s basketball picked up a win this time around. The Wildcats went into Coral Gables and smacked Miami (FL) by a score of 64-48, improving to 9-1 on the season.

Tonie Morgan paced UK with a game-high 20 points on 7-14 shooting, while Clara Strack stuffed the stat sheet: 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks. After scoring just 26 points in the first half, Kentucky racked up 24 third-quarter points, blowing open the game and allowing the ‘Cats to cruise down the stretch. Miami shot only 32 percent from the field and 2-18 from deep while turning the ball over 15 times to just three assists.

Big-time recruits playing in Owensboro tonight

The Grind Session circuit is in Owensboro this weekend, where several of the nation’s best high school players will take the floor. But the headliner is tonight, and it features a bunch of Kentucky targets. Prolific Prep and Southeastern Prep will go head-to-head tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Owensboro Sportscenter. KSR will have boots on the ground to cover it all. Here is who we’ll have eyes on tonight.

• Caleb Holt (Prolific Prep, ’26) – No. 2 overall
• Brunch Branch (Prolific Prep ’26) – No. 5 overall
• CJ Rosser (Southeastern Prep, ’27) – No. 1 overall
• Obinna Ekezie (Southeastern Prep, ’27) – No. 2 overall
• Nasir Anderson (Prolific Prep, ’27) – No. 6 overall
• Beckham Black (Southeastern Prep, ’27) – No. 18 overall

Tune into KSR Happy Hour at 4!

It’s Friday Jr., which means we’ll have another live episode of the KSR Happy Hour show this afternoon, starting around 4:00 p.m. ET on the KSR YouTube channel. We certainly won’t be shy on topics this week. Come join the fun to close out your workday.

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