A pair of former Wildcats hopped in the portal ahead of the deadline

The men’s basketball transfer portal officially closes tonight at midnight. A couple of familiar names for the Big Blue Nation hopped in right before the deadline.

Memphis big man Aaron Bradshaw and Villanova guard Devin Askew are looking for new homes ahead of the 2026-27 season. Both players reportedly entered their names into the portal on Monday, although Askew will need a waiver for another year of eligibility.

Bradshaw will be searching for his fourth team in four years. He started his career at Kentucky in 2023-24 for John Calipari‘s final season in Lexington. A foot injury cost him some games early on as a true freshman, but he still started 10 of his 26 games played for the Wildcats. The seven-footer, who was a former five-star recruit out of high school, averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game at UK while shooting 57.6 percent from the field.

But once Calipari went to Arkansas, Bradshaw left the Bluegrass, too. He wound up at Ohio State in 2024-25, averaging six points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per outing. One of his best performances as a Buckeye came against Mark Pope‘s first Kentucky team. He scored 11 points as Ohio State smacked the ‘Cats by 20 points in New York City. Bradshaw then transferred again, this time to Memphis, where he averaged 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per outing this past season.

As for Askew, his true freshman season came all the way back in 2020-21 at Kentucky. Much like the team as a whole that season, he struggled to live up to expectations. Askew then transferred to Texas as a depth piece before making the move to California for two seasons, although both were impacted by injuries. He spent the 2024-25 season at Long Beach State, then last season at Villanova. That’s five different schools in six years of college ball.

On3 ranks Bradshaw No. 219 overall and as the 51st-best power forward to enter his name into the portal so far this offseason. Askew is not currently ranked, as he’s technically out of college eligibility and will need some help from the NCAA if he wants a seventh year.