KSR's Transfer Portal Notebook: 24 hours of movement in the books

There were back-channel discussions leading to early transfer decisions, like always, but the portal did not officially open until midnight ET on Tuesday, April 7. Since then, over 1,500 names have become available, ranging from low-major role players to high-major standouts and everything in between. If you’re looking to rebuild a roster, there is no better time than right now ahead of the 2026-27 season, and it’s an important one for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.

How are they treating the start of the chaos? They got back Kam Williams, who joins Malachi Moreno among returning players, while Jaland Lowe, Mo Dioubate, Brandon Garrison, Andrija Jelavic and Jasper Johnson all decided to explore their options. Collin Chandler, Trent Noah, Braydon Hawthorne and Reece Potter are the only players left to make public announcements on their respective futures — although Denzel Aberdeen randomly popped up in the portal without any remaining eligibility, so maybe we should keep an eye out for Otega Oweh, too?

Let’s not get too crazy.

KSR digs into day one of the portal with confirmed conversations with Pope and what’s to come the rest of the week, along with the other major headlines you need to know as a fan.

Completed Virtual Meetings

It was a guard-heavy day to open the transfer portal, as Washington’s Zoom Diallo, Utah’s Terrence Brown and LSU’s Dedan Thomas Jr. all participated in virtual meetings with the Kentucky staff on Tuesday. G League star Dink Pate also joined in on the action to close out the night, adding to the long list of conversations with him after Pope watched him play in two G League games in March.

Diallo averaged 15.7 PPG, 4.5 APG and 3.9 RPG as a sophomore with the Huskies this past season and the Wildcats are considered ‘strongly in the mix.’ Elsewhere, Brown was the Utes’ leading scorer in 2025-26, averaging 19.9 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.4 RPG and 1.4 SPG. Injury concerns are there with Thomas, limited to just 16 games this past season for the Tigers before undergoing season-ending foot surgery, but he was one of the best guards in the SEC up to that point, averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.5 APG and 2.7 RPG in 29.4 minutes per contest.

That four-man group is the one to keep an eye on in the backcourt as the next wave comes the rest of the week.

Upcoming Zoom visits

When he wasn’t leading conversations himself on Tuesday, Pope was getting other virtual meetings on the books in the coming days. Those include, but are not limited to, FAU’s Devin Vanterpool, St. Mary’s Paulius Murauskas, Robert Morris’s DeSean Goode, Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas and Missouri’s Anthony Robinson.

Elsewhere, Finley Bizjack (Butler), Miles Byrd (San Diego State), Donnie Freeman (Syracuse), Camren Hunter (Central Arkansas), Tyrone Riley IV (San Francisco), Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame) and Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon) have all been linked names tossed around, but without confirmed meetings.

Other National Storylines

It’s not just Kentucky getting in on the action with many of these players. In fact, one of the Wildcats’ biggest rivals, Louisville, turned heads to open the portal by scheduling joint visits with Kansas transfer Flory Bidunga and Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad — two top-15 players among those available — going into the weekend. They’re being thrown in the mix with several other talented prospects, too.

Speaking of familiar faces, former UK pledge Skyy Clark — who also spent time in the 502 as a former Cardinal, ironically — is back in the transfer portal after making other stops at Illinois and UCLA. He would need a waiver from the NCAA to suit up in 2026-27, but he’s giving it a shot.

Someone who does not need a waiver for a seventh and final season of eligibility, however, is former Wildcat wing Cam’Ron Fletcher. He already applied for one and got it at High Point, bringing him back to the Panthers for one last run after averaging 13.2 points and 7.1 rebounds this past year.

How about one more old friend before calling it a night? It’s not a player, but a staff member, rather, as Arkansas assistant coach Chuck Martin, who spent one season (2023-24) in Lexington under John Calipari before following him to Fayetteville over the past two years (2024-26), will reportedly join Michael Malone’s new staff at North Carolina. He was one of Coach Cal’s top recruiters with 14 years of coaching experience, including previous stops at St. John’s, Memphis, Marist (HC), Indiana, South Carolina and Oregon immediately before his time with the Cats and Hogs.

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It’s both a marathon and a sprint, coaches using this 15-day window to first set a foundation with solidified targets of mutual interest — that’s where we are now — before transitioning into scheduled visits, list cuts and commitments. Though it may feel like the calm before the storm, real traction and movement will be here before you know it, and KSR will be there for BBN every step of the way.

Day one is in the books. What will day two bring?

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