It was a very, very good offseason for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats, retaining almost all of the team’s production with remaining eligibility, signing three top-40 high school recruits and adding one of the top transfer portal classes in the country. With 14 talented pieces on the roster going into 2025-26, there aren’t many groups better from top to bottom when you combine ability, versatility, size, experience and depth.

In fact, there may not have been a bigger winner of the offseason than Kentucky — at least if you look at the program’s five top-60 portal additions, as David Cobb of CBS Sports believes.

In a list of the biggest winners of the 2025 portal cycle, the Wildcats sit atop the list put together by CBS Sports, a class that included six total newcomers and just two departures in Kerr Kriisa and Travis Perry.

“Kentucky went shopping in the luxury aisle and came away with some high-end portal additions to reinforce a roster that is losing five double-figure scorers to due to the expiration of eligibility,” Cobb said of the Cats. “Five of the additions are ranked among the top-60 transfers, headlined by No. 12 Jayden Quaintance. After shining as a shot-blocking freshman at Arizona State last season, Quaintance will combine with ex-Alabama forward Mo Dioubate to give the Wildcats a ferocious front court. Jaland Lowe (Pitt) will run the show at point guard after averaging 5.5 assists for the Panthers, while Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and Kam Williams (Tulane) will add perimeter pop.

“Year 1 under coach Mark Pope showed proof of concept, and now the Wildcats are poised to keep building after a strong offseason.”

Not too shabby.

Among the other big winners: Louisville, St. John’s, UCLA, Michigan, Kansas State, Washington, UConn, Florida, San Diego State and George Washington.

The losers? North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, UCF, Oregon State, Washington State, Memphis and Robert Morris.

Kentucky sits at No. 2 nationally in On3’s transfer portal team rankings, that rating system combining both additions and departures. Quaintance sits at No. 4 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking, followed by Lowe at No. 52, Dioubate at No. 61, Williams at No. 80 and Aberdeen at No. 89.

Read all of David Cobb’s analysis with CBS Sports here.

PORTAL / INTERNATIONAL COMMITS (7)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | Committed 4/12
• Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21
• Reece Potter – C – Miami (OH) — 6.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.6 FG%, 36.7 3PT% | Committed 5/5

RETURNING PIECES / INCOMING FRESHMEN (7)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Going through NBA Draft process
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)
• Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Incoming Freshman – Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)

ATHENS, Ga. – Oklahoma State smashed seven home runs and staved off elimination at the NCAA Athens Regional Saturday as the third-seeded Cowboys knocked off No. 4-seed Binghamton, 13-5, at Foley Field.
 
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 29-24 and will take on the loser of tonight’s Georgia-Duke contest Sunday at 11 a.m. (CDT). Binghamton ended its season at 29-26.
 
The seven home runs by the Pokes is the most ever in an NCAA Tournament game under head coach Josh Holliday, surpassing the five against Florida in last June’s NCAA Stillwater Regional. It is tied for the seventh most in a tournament game in NCAA Baseball Championship history, two shy of the record.
 
Six different Cowboys homered against BU, and four Pokes had multiple hits in the contest. Kollin Ritchie led the way, going 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and a career-high four RBIs.
 
Stormy Rhodes came out of the bullpen and earned the first win of his collegiate career as he improved to 1-1. The freshman right-hander allowed just one run on three hits in 2 1/3 innings.
 
Hunter Watkins started on the mound for the Pokes and worked 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and allowing four runs on six hits.
 
Ethan Lund closed out the game with two shutout innings and a pair of strikeouts in his first appearance since April 1.
 
OSU jumped out to an early lead in the first. Back-to-back doubles from Brayden Smith and Avery Ortiz to open the inning made it 1-0, and Ritchie joined in on the fun with an RBI double of his own to put the Cowboys up by two.
 
The Bearcats got on the board in the second, plating an unearned run when OSU dropped a fly ball in left field that made the score 2-1.
 
A power surge by the Cowboys grew their lead in the third. For the first time this season, OSU hit three consecutive homers as Ritchie, Colin Brueggemann and Ian Daugherty all went deep to extend the advantage to 5-1.
 
It was more of the same in the fourth as the Cowboys went back-to-back once again. This time, it was Ortiz with a two-run blast followed by a bomb off the bat of Nolan Schubart, which marked his team-leading 18^th round tripper of the season and 58^th of his career.
 
With OSU leading 8-1, the Bearcats used two long balls of their own to cut their deficit to 8-4 in the fifth, but the Cowboys got two of the runs back in the bottom of the inning on an Alex Conover solo homer and a RBI groundout by Smith.
 
The Pokes plated their final three runs in the eighth to put the game away, which included Ritchie smacking his second homer of the game and 13^th of the season, a two-run job over the right-field wall.
 

Florida baseball kept its 2025 season alive for at least another day.

Freshman Aidian King pitched another gem and the Florida Gators gave him more than enough support as No. 2 seed UF routed No. 4 seed Fairfield 17-2 in a Conway S.C. Regional game on May 31.

Stream Florida baseball vs. Fairfield (free trial)

UF pounded out 17 runs on 16 hits while drawing 11 walks, successfully bouncing back from an 11-3 loss to East Carolina to start regional play. The Gators (39-21) improved to 7-0 in their last seven regional elimination games.

Florida will face the loser of the game between No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina and No. 3 seed East Carolina on June 1 (time TBD). UF needs to win three more games to advance to Super Regional play.

With the wind blowing out at Spring Brooks Stadium, Florida blasted three home runs to take an early 7-1 lead. Blake Cyr started the power barrage with a solo home run in the fourth inning to put Florida up 1-0.

After Fairfield tied the score at 1 in the bottom of the fourth on a Matt Bucciero solo homer, shortstop Bobby Boser put Florida ahead to stay 3-1 with a two-run homer to left field, sparking a four-run fifth inning. UF added two more runs in the inning on a Cyr RBI single and a fielder’s choice, with Ty Evans making a nice hook slide to score from third base with the infield in after Hayden Yost grounded to second.

In the sixth inning, Brody Donay put Florida up 7-1 with a towering, two-run homer to left field.

From there, Florida put the game away with eight runs in the eighth inning, which included two-RBI singles by Cyr and freshman Brendan Lawson.

That was more than enough support for King (7-2), who pitched a season-high eight innings, allowing a run on four hits with two walks and seven strikes. King won his third straight start and has allowed just two earned runs over his last 21 1/3 innings.

Florida scored eight runs in the 8th inning to take a 15-1 lead on Farfield. Brendan Lawson and Blake Cyr belted two-RBI singles in the inning, and the Gators also scored runs on a Landron Stripling sac fly, bases loaded walks by Bobby Boser and Brody Donay and an RBI single by Hayden Yost.

Starter Aidian King has turned in another gem in a big spot so far for Florida, allowing just a run on four hits through six innings. King has walked two and struck out four. Florida 7, Fairfield 1 end 6th

Brody Donay belts UF’s third home run of the game, a two-run shot to extend UF’s lead to 7-1 in the top of the sixth inning. The Gators leave the bases loaded for the second straight inning, though. Florida 7, Fairfield 1 mid 6th.

Florida baseball has extended its lead to 5-1 on a Blake Cyr RBI single and fielder’s choice, with Ty Evans scoring from third with the infield in on a terrific break and slide. UF has knocked starter Bowen Baker out of the game. Righty Matthew Grabmann on in relief for the Stags. Florida 5, Fairfield 1 top 5th.

Justin Nadeau leads off the inning with a single, then Bobby Boser blasts a two-run homer to left to put Florida up 3-1. Florida 3, Fairfield 1 Top 5.

Farfield answers with a solo home run as Matt Bucciero blats an Aidian King fastball over the center field fence. Florida 1, Fairfield 1 end 4th.

Blake Cyr gets Florida on the board first with a solo home run, a 364-foot blast to left field. Ninth home run of the season for Cyr and second in last two days. Gators 1, Fairfield 0 top 4th.

Florida baseball and Fairfield remain scoreless through three innings. Florida starter Aidan King works out of a first and second jam by getting third baseman Dean Ferrera to ground into a double play to end the inning. Gators 0, Fairfield 0 end 3.

Despite being the higher seed, Florida will be the visiting team and bat first against Fairfield. The Stags will be the home team.

HP: Alan Gorewitz, 1B: Eddie Newsom, 2B: Billy Van Raaphorst, 3B: Jeff Head

3B Ferrera, SS Nomura, 1B Bucclero, C Kuczik, CF Schmalzle, DH Kipp, LF McIlroy, 2B Colby, RF Lussier

SS Boser, 1B Lawson, DH Evans, C Donay, LF Cyr, CF Yost, RF Wilson, 3B Stripling, 2B Nadeau

For the second straight game, Florida will face a lefty starter as Fairfield will send lefty Bowen Baker (8-1, 3,20 ERA) to the mound against the Gators.

What TV channel is Florida baseball vs Fairfield on today?

Florida baseball vs Fairfield start time

• Date: Saturday, May 31
• Time: 3 p.m. ET

First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Spring Brooks Stadium.

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

On his way to being named the National Player of the Year while leading Duke to a Final Four, Cooper Flagg reportedly racked up millions upon millions of dollars for his year of service with the Blue Devils.

It doesn’t take an insider to assume Flagg made a boatload of money as the country’s best freshman and soon-to-be No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but when reports are coming out that he made nearly $30 million off just two NIL deals, it’ll make you take a step back. And that’s exactly what we heard when sports reporter Howard Bryant sat down with Bob Costas for a recent interview.

“He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said of Flagg’s NIL contracts from this past season, which equals $28 million across just two deals, when Costas asked Bryant how much the 18-year-old made in 2024-25.

That’s a lot of money just to lose in the national semifinal…

Is that $28 million figure a yearly payout or the total amount throughout the course of the two contracts, however long they might be? These are more than likely multi-year deals with Fanatics and New Balance, but with how much money is being pumped into NIL funds right now, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Flagg received all of that money in one calendar year at Duke.

The school itself certainly wasn’t going to be able to pay out that much money for one year of Flagg’s service (that number was reported at around $5 million), no matter how good he is/was. It’s why the idea of him possibly returning to Durham for a sophomore season was also nonsensical — Flagg is likely going to sign a four-year, roughly $62 million contract (according to Spotrac) as the number one overall pick in next month’s draft when the Dallas Mavericks inevitably scoop him up. Other endorsements will sweeten the pot even more.

Flagg recently signed with CAA Basketball as his representation. He joins an agency that includes the likes of All-Star clients such as Devin Booker, Julius Randle, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who are all signed to multi-year NBA contracts worth upwards of $30 million per season.

Money won’t be an issue for the Flagg family ever again.

Cooper Flagg may have earned much more through NIL deals in a single season at Duke than he will in salary during his rookie NBA campaign.

ESPN’s Howard Bryant said in a recent interview with Bob Costas (51:15 mark) that Flagg made at least $28 million in his lone season with the Blue Devils.

That total came from a $13 million deal with New Balance and a $15 million contract with Fanatics, according to Bryant.

Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick of the upcoming draft, is projected by Spotrac to sign a four-year, $62.7 million contract once he lands with the Dallas Mavericks.

That total is significantly higher than the $4.8 million NIL valuation originally estimated by On3.

Adrian Wojnarowski originally reported for ESPN in August 2024 that Flagg had signed a “significant” deal with New Balance.

Boardroom’s Nick DePaula wrote at the time that the deal was expected to span one year in college in addition to “multiple NBA seasons.”

Fanatics then announced in January that Flagg had inked an “exclusive, multi-year deal” with the company.

Flagg also became the first men’s college basketball player to sign an NIL deal with Gatorade in October.

These contracts could potentially continue into Flagg’s rookie NBA season, during which he is projected to make about $13.8 million in salary as the presumptive top pick.

The Dallas Mavericks are slated to draft first when the 2025 NBA draft begins on June 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

These deals are an example of both the hype surrounding Flagg’s single college season, as well as some of the NIL resources head coach Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils could have at their disposal when building a new roster this summer.

On3’s Pete Nakos previously reported that Duke is expected to spent between $8-10 million to build the 2025-26 roster through revenue sharing, but that one source described the program’s NIL resources as “unlimited.”