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)

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When former Michigan TE Jake Butt speaks, the college football world listens. And that is not because he was one of the best tight ends the Wolverines have produced. Butt, a two-time All-American and Big Ten Tight End of the Year, went on to play at the NFL with Denver before turning to the analyst seat at Big Ten Network.

Nowadays, Butt’s got the platform, the credentials, and a front-row seat to the chaos of the NCAA dealing with NIL legislation. The NIL era has changed college football. And while it is sweet for the players cashing in, it has been messy for the NCAA trying to keep up. And according to Butt, the NCAA’s grip on the game is slipping.

“NCAA’s Inability to Enforce” — Jake Butt Exposes NIL Dilemma Amidst Power Four’s New Proposal

Jake Butt was recently on an episode of “Next Up” podcast with Adam Breneman, and he didn’t mince his words. What’s the biggest pain point in this whole NIL saga? As Butt puts it, “The hypocrisy and the disconnect in how the rules get enforced.” And this is not coming from someone on the sidelines.

Butt has been on the field and has been through the maze. As he laid it out, there was always money moving behind the curtain in college football, even long before NIL deals were above board. However, now the NCAA’s acting like a traffic cop in the middle of a Formula One race. And no doubt, that comes with the fear of being sued.

“They’re just scared to death. Because they have been getting sued, and they’re basically paralyzed,” Butt claimed.

Currently, the Power Four conferences are proposing a new College Sports Commission to take over the NIL side of the NCAA. The commission will introduce a revenue-sharing cap and have a committee in charge of policing NIL deals for “fair market value.”

Now that sounds good on paper, but the schools that sign this can’t sue the new commission. And if they don’t like the rules, well, too bad, or the school can step out.

And that is where Jake Butt’s frustration cuts deepest. The NCAA, in his eyes, has already lost control.

“I don’t know what they can do—seriously,” he admitted. Looks like even the Power Four proposal is not convincing enough. Butt seems to think that the only way is for the players to step forward.

RELATED: Georgia HC Kirby Smart Exposes Wild $20,000-Per-Month NIL Deals For High School Commitments

As Butt sees it, “The players almost have to propose a CBA… because otherwise, the NCAA can’t be the first to bring this. They will just simply get sued.”

Here, Butt is referring to the House v. NCAA settlement, where $2.78 billion in backpay is on the line and the future of roster limits, Title IX, and NIL disclosures are being hashed out like a last-minute play call.

If it all falls apart, states like Tennessee already have laws that could bulldoze over NCAA policies anyway. And so, as power players scramble, conferences realign, and legal threats loom, Jake Butt’s idea does not sound bad at all.

While college football is changing by the minute, one thing remains painfully consistent: “hypocrisy and disconnect” still seem to be running the show.

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