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Following the conclusion of the 2025 season , head coach Mark Stoops was relieved of his duties after the Wildcats finished bowl-ineligible for the second consecutive year. Stoops concluded his tenure at Kentucky with an overall record of 82–80, leaving as the winningest head coach in the program's history.[ 4]
On December 1, 2025, Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart announced the hiring of Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as the program's next head coach.[ 5]
Following the staff transition, defensive line coach Anwar Stewart was the sole assistant retained from the previous regime. Head coach Will Stein's new appointments included offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman . The reconstructed coaching staff was notably characterized by its youth, with a majority of the new personnel under the age of 40.[ 6]
Positions key
Offense Defense Special teams
↑ Includes nose tackle (NT) ↑ Includes middle linebacker (MLB/MIKE), weakside linebacker (WILL), strongside linebacker (SAM), off-ball linebacker, and outside linebacker (OLB) ↑ Includes free safety (FS) and strong safety (SS) ↑ Also known as a placekicker (PK) ↑ Includes kickoff and punt returners
On December 17, 2025, guard Jalen Farmer declared for the 2026 NFL draft as an underclassman with one year of eligibility remaining.[ 7]
The Wildcats had four players selected in the Draft. Guard Jalen Farmer was the first Wildcat off the board, taken in the fourth round by the Indianapolis Colts .[ 8] Jager Burton , who was selected 153rd overall by the Green Bay Packers.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11]
2026 Kentucky offseason departures
Name
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Jager Burton C 6'4" 315 Senior Lexington, KY Drafted: Round 5, Pick 153 (Green Bay Packers)
Jalen Farmer G 6'5" 312 Senior Covington, GA Drafted: Round 4, Pick 113 (Indianapolis Colts)
Josh Kattus TE 6'4" 261 Senior Cincinnati, OH Signed as undrafted free agent (NFL)
Kendrick Law WR 6'0" 201 Senior Shreveport, LA Drafted: Round 5, Pick 168 (Detroit Lions)
Ja'Mori Maclin WR 5'11" 185 Graduate Kirkwood, MO Signed as undrafted free agent (NFL)
Seth McGowan RB 6'0" 220 Senior Mesquite, TX Drafted: Round 7, Pick 237 (Indianapolis Colts)
Daveren Rayner LB 6'2" 215 Graduate Indianapolis, IN Signed as undrafted free agent (NFL)
Over the offseason, Kentucky added twenty-nine players from the transfer portal.[ 12] 247Sports , Kentucky had the No. 9 ranked transfer class in the country, as of January 23, 2026.[ 13]
Incoming transfers
Name Pos. Height/weight Class Hometown Prev. school Sources
Hasaan Sykes CB 6'0", 185 Jr-Tr Charlotte, NC Western Carolina
Mark Manfred III CB 6'1", 166 Fr-Tr St. Louis, MO Missouri
Ahmad Breaux DL 6'3", 278 Jr-Tr New Orleans, LA LSU
Dominic Wiseman DL 6'2", 300 Sr-Tr Mobile, AL South Alabama
Jamarrion Harkless DL 6'3", 345 Jr-Tr Indianapolis, IN Purdue
Antonio O'Berry EDGE 6'6", 240 Gr-Tr Charlotte, NC Gardner-Webb
Tyler Thomas EDGE 6'5", 259 South Alabama
Coleton Price IOL 6'3", 318 Sr-Tr Round Rock, TX Baylor
Max Anderson IOL 6'5", 311 So-Tr Nashville, TN Tennessee
Tegra Tshabola IOL 6'6", 322 Sr-Tr West Chester, OH Ohio State
Adam Zouagui K 5'11", 188 Sr-Tr Tampa, FL South Florida
Elijah Barnes LB 6'1", 244 Dallas, TX Texas
Tavion Wallace LB 6'1", 239 So-Tr Little Rock, AR Arkansas
Lance Heard OT 6'6", 330 Sr-Tr Nashville, TN Tennessee
Mark Robinson OT 6'5", 320 Jr-Tr El Paso, TX UTEP
Olaus Alinen OT 6'6", 322 So-Tr Helsinki Finland Alabama
JacQai Long QB 6'2", 205 So-Tr Atlanta, GA Marshall
Kenny Minchey QB 6'2", 208 Jr-Tr Hendersonville, TN Notre Dame
CJ Baxter RB 6'1", 227 Orlando, FL Texas
Jovantae Barnes RB 6'0", 211 Sr-Tr Las Vegas, NV Oklahoma
Aaron Gates S 6'0", 198 Jr-Tr Fort Lauderdale, FL Florida
Cyrus Reyes S 6'1", 200 Jr-Tr Miami, FL Mississippi State
Jesse Anderson S 6'0", 185 Jr-Tr Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh
Jordan Castell S 6'2", 213 Sr-Tr West Palm Beach, FL Florida
Brock Coffman WR 6'0", 180 Fr-Tr Lexington, KY Louisville
Ja'Kayden Ferguson WR 6'2", 187 Houston, TX Arkansas
Nic Anderson WR 6'4", 208 Sr-Tr LSU
Shane Carr WR 6'2", 190 Sr-Tr Southern Utah
Xavier Daisy WR 6'3", 210 Jr-Tr Mobile, AL UAB
[ edit ]
Youngstown State Penguins (FCS) (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : September 5Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics YSU UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Youngstown State Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Alabama Crimson Tide (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : September 12Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics ALA UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Alabama Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) at Texas A&M Aggies (0–0) – Game summary
at Kyle Field • College Station, TX
Date : September 19Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics UK TAMU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Texas A&M Passing
Rushing
Receiving
South Alabama Jaguars (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : September 26Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics USA UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
South Alabama Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics UK SC
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
South Carolina Passing
Rushing
Receiving
LSU Tigers (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : October 10Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics LSU UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
LSU Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics UK OU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Oklahoma Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Vanderbilt Commodores (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : October 24Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics VAN UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Vanderbilt Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics UK TENN
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Tennessee Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Florida Gators (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : November 14Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics FLA UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Florida Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) at Missouri Tigers (0–0) – Game summary
at Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri
Date : November 21Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics UK MIZ
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Missouri Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Louisville Cardinals (0–0) at Kentucky Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary
at Kroger Field • Lexington, Kentucky
Date : November 28Game time : TBATV announcers (TBA) : TBA
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics LOU UK
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Louisville Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kentucky Passing
Rushing
Receiving
↑ Gaylord-Day, Kaden (December 1, 2025). "Will Stein officially named UK Football head coach" . WKYT Television. Retrieved January 31, 2026 . ↑ Uggetti, Paolo (December 1, 2025). "Kentucky hires Oregon OC Will Stein as next head coach" . ESPN . Retrieved January 31, 2026 . ↑ Pereles, Zachary (December 2, 2025). "Kentucky hires Will Stein: Wildcats tab Oregon offensive coordinator after firing Mark Stoops" . CBS Sports . Retrieved January 31, 2026 . ↑ Hale, Jon (December 1, 2025). "Kentucky football fires all-time winningest coach Mark Stoops after 13 seasons" . kentucky.com . Lexington Herald–Leader. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Vannini, Chris (December 2, 2025). "Kentucky hires Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as head football coach" . dallasnews.com . New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Hale, Jon (January 29, 2026). "The new UK football staff is young, but it might not be as young as you think" . kentucky.com . Lexington Herald–Leader. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Hale, Jon (December 17, 2025). "Where UK football's offensive line stands after Jalen Farmer declares for draft" . kentucky.com . Lexington Herald–Leader. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Stankevitz, JJ (April 25, 2026). "Colts select Kentucky guard Jalen Farmer in fourth round of 2026 NFL Draft" . colts.com . Indianapolis Colts. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Spofford, Mike (April 25, 2026). "2026 NFL Draft: Packers select Kentucky C/G Jager Burton in fifth round, No. 153 overall" . packers.com . Green Bay Packers. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Spofford, Mike (April 25, 2026). "Lions trade up, draft wide receiver Kendrick Law" . detroitlions.com . Detroit Lions. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ Spofford, Mike (April 25, 2026). "Colts select Kentucky running back Seth McGowan in seventh round of 2026 NFL Draft" . colts.com . Indianapolis Colts. Retrieved June 22, 2026 . ↑ "Kentucky Wildcats 2026 College Football Transfer Portal Latest Activity" . 247sports . Retrieved January 21, 2026 .↑ "2026 Transfer Football Team Rankings" . 247Sports . Retrieved January 24, 2026 .↑ "2026 Kentucky Football Schedule" . fbschedules.com/. Retrieved December 11, 2025 .↑ "2026 Football Schedule" . University of Kentucky . Retrieved January 12, 2026 .
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