In three weeks, the NBA Draft Combine will take place in Chicago, and Kentucky head coach Mark Pope will be closely monitoring players who might choose to return to college instead of staying in the draft. The chaotic rush of players entering the transfer portal has officially ended now that the deadline has passed, no new entries are allowed. A total of 4,949 players decided the grass would be greener elsewhere, and nearly 1,000 of them remain in the portal without a team.
The tough reality is that some won’t find new landing spots; this happens every portal cycle. Many players are convinced they can earn more money or have a bigger impact somewhere else, but those opportunities often fail to materialize. Meanwhile, coaches sometimes “encourage” players to leave, leaving some with little choice. Add in the fact that programs like Arkansas have already started cutting Olympic sports, and the future of college athletics looks grim except for those already at the top tier of competition.
But this is the current landscape. Among the roughly 1,000 players still in the portal, several will wait until they receive feedback from the NBA Draft Combine next month before making a decision. The combine runs from May 10–17 in Chicago. Kentucky may be especially interested in seeing who withdraws, particularly if top recruits like Miikka Muurinen and Tyran Stokes commit elsewhere. Four names Wildcats fans should watch closely: Allen Graves (Santa Clara), Juke Harris (Wake Forest), Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor), and Milan Momcilovic (Iowa State). Pope will likely track these players during the combine and explore whether any might ultimately return to college—and if Kentucky can get involved.
ESPN has released its updated 2026 NBA Draft rankings. Among the group above, only Graves cracks the top 30 (No. 25 overall), meaning many of these prospects could opt for another year of college development and NIL money. Among current Kentucky players on ESPN’s list: Jayden Quaintance at No. 18, Malachi Moreno at No. 43, and Otega Oweh at No. 74. Of the non-Kentucky names mentioned, Momcilovic stands out as the best fit to fill Kentucky’s biggest need: a sharp shooter. But any of the four could make sense. As for Oweh: if he receives a fifth year of eligibility, it’s hard to imagine him turning down a potential $3–4 million in college to instead fight for the end of an NBA bench and earn just over $1 million. If Oweh doesn’t return, which of the other four do you think would best complement Kentucky’s roster next season?
