Mark Pope's Year-Three Roster, Position by Position

Mark Pope's first two Kentucky teams were built on the fly. Year three is the first time he has had a full offseason to shape the roster the way he wants, and the result is a team that opens at No. 23 in the preseason AP poll with two preseason All-SEC players and more size than any Kentucky team in recent memory. Here's how the 2026-27 roster breaks down, position by position.

**Centers: the tallest room in the SEC**
This is where the roster starts. Kentucky's roster lists four players at 7-0 or taller, led by three true centers:
- **Malachi Moreno** (7-0, sophomore, Georgetown, Ky.) tested the NBA Draft process and came back. He was named preseason All-SEC, and in the exhibition opener against Little Rock he had 11 rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. The homegrown big man is the closest thing this team has to a hub on both ends.
- **Franck Kepnang** (7-0, senior, Yaoundé, Cameroon) brings veteran rim protection and physicality, the kind of player who makes teams pay for lazy drives.
- **Reece Potter** (7-1, senior) is a stretch option who got his first minutes as a Wildcat late against Little Rock.

Pope can always keep one true big on the floor, and often two. That's a big change from his first season, when Kentucky regularly gave up size.

**Forwards: built around the nation's best shooter**
- **Milan Momcilovic** (6-9, senior) is the headline addition. At Iowa State last season he led the country in 3-point percentage (48.7) and made 136 threes, the most in Iowa State history for a single season. ESPN rated him the No. 1 transfer available, and he was named preseason All-SEC.
- **Trent Noah** (junior) gives Pope toughness and a Kentucky-born connection, but a hamstring injury has him out for what Pope estimated is several weeks to a month.
- **Braydon Hawthorne** (sophomore) and **Justin McBride** (senior) round out the forward group, along with 7-footer Ousmane N'Diaye, and they'll absorb the minutes Noah leaves while he's out.

**Guards: new faces, old questions**
- **Zoom Diallo** (junior) had a team-high five assists in the opener and looks like the primary organizer.
- **Alex Wilkins** arrived from Furman and immediately showed he can shoot, scoring 11 against Little Rock.
- **Mason Williams** (freshman) may be the most intriguing young piece. His 10 points, three assists and three steals in his debut hinted at a two-way player.
- **Zyon Hawthorne** (freshman) adds depth.
- **Kam Williams** (junior) is working back from a second foot surgery. Pope called his latest imaging "extremely positive," and he's listed week-to-week.
- **Jerone Morton** (senior) is out with a knee injury and has no return date.

**The big question**
The biggest question for this roster is who takes the big shot late in games. Last season the answer was Otega Oweh, who's now in the NBA. Momcilovic is the obvious candidate, but defenses will chase him off the line in crunch time. That makes creating off the dribble the swing skill. If Diallo, Wilkins or Mason Williams can collapse a defense in the final four minutes, this roster's ceiling goes up a lot.

**Schedule checkpoints**
After tonight's exhibition against Texas Tech, Kentucky hosts Central Florida on Oct. 28 and opens the season against Manhattan on Nov. 3. The SEC is loaded again, with Florida ranked No. 1 and Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Vanderbilt all in the preseason Top 25. In-state rival Louisville starts at No. 11.

**Our Take:** This is the most balanced roster of the Pope era. It has real size, an elite shooter and enough guard depth to survive injuries. No. 23 is a show-me ranking, and it fits a team with new pieces and unanswered questions. If the guards hold onto the ball and someone emerges as a late-game creator, this team has the tools to play well into March.

Sources: ESPN Kentucky roster · Wikipedia, Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball (Pope's record) · UK Athletics, Momcilovic signing · On3, preseason AP poll · KSR, Kentucky opens ranked · Kentucky MBB on X (preseason All-SEC) · KSR/On3, injury report · WKYT, Little Rock recap